Pacific Loon - splash dive display

[Matthew Studebaker]

Churchill, Manitoba | June |Canon 40D | Canon 500mm f4 IS

From Churchill Manitoba last June - yep, still busy editing. A splash dive is a display used by both male and female loons to frighten predators or other loons. I waded up to my chest in a northern lake and spent hours getting hundreds of feet away from shore deeper and deeper into the water to get close to this pair. They seemed to accept me, and would often dive very very close. My saving grace was that the lake was crystal clear so that I could see where I was stepping and positioning my tripod legs. I got my shots and started heading back towards shore when the pair starting splash diving and barking wildly. I grabbed a couple shots before realizing it was me they felt threatened by. But why where they tolerant one minute and freaking out the next? Then it hit me. As I made my way back to shore I must be approaching a nest. With in a couple seconds I scanned the shore and saw it. A small cluster of reeds woven tightly, barely keeping the single egg dry. I immediately left the area and ended one of the most amazing afternoons I had ever had in bird photography.

[Tony Whitehead]

Interesting behaviour. Backlight really showing off all the flying drops. Image looks too dark to me - I would be interested in your metering and exposure info. I have tried a version lightening the image and setting the whitepoint to accept that some of the highlights are going to blow to white while trying to regain something in the white breast. There are also no clean blacks as flare is hurting the dark head so I have roughly burnt this in to try and give a cleaner black. Not sure how this correlates with what you saw.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks for the story Matthew, and a great lesson for all in how to respect our subjects. Well done. Love the image, sorry Tony but I prefer the original as like the mood in that one better.

[Tony Whitehead]

Love the image, sorry Tony but I prefer the original as like the mood in that one better.
No problem, Dan. That's what great about this site. You are probably lucky enough to have seen this in real life and I only have the image to respond to and imagine what it is like in real life :(

[Mike Lentz]

I prefer the Original. Its good that your learning about this species and hopefully others with no experience with them has learned something behaviorally speaking as well. I always like seeing images done differently and this one fits that category. If I had to post a nit, I'd tone down the one extra bright highlight about the Loons beak.

[Juan Aragonés]

Superb image Matthew and great story. Way to go! :-) The loon image is really artistic. I like a lot the light circles in the FG and BG... uummmh, I think that I should say that I actually LOVE that effetc on the water. The backlighting is fantastic and the pose of the loon surrounded by the cristal clear water drops floating in the air are the ice on the cake. I do not know if you croped this image but if you have more room at the right I think that it would be great to go for a different composition with more room at the right. Very good job!

[Judd Patterson]

This is so unique Matthew. I love your story to go along with this unusual (and beautiful) image. Very artistic impression of this species.