Westland Petrel

[Simon Bennett]

Westland Petrel applying the foot-brake off Kaikoura, New Zealand. This rare seabird only breeds in forest on a small area of the South Island of New Zealand.

Canon 40D, EF 70-200 f/4 IS @ 70mm, handheld, ISO 400, f/8, 1/800. Canvas added on left and cropped.

[Jim Poor]

Cool pose for sure. I like it with the exception of the sharpening halo.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I'm a big fan of seabirds and haven't seen this species before. Thanks for sharing. I like the eye contact and dangling foot and wish the underside of the near wing were visible. A higher shutter speed would have helped, you could have gone to ISO 800 at this short distance without much more noise.