Anhinga with Fish

[Sid Garige]

At Gatorland on Saturday
D300, 200-400mm VR
F4 1/1200

[Tony Whitehead]

This is unbelievable, Sid. Awesome timing, light and colours. The curve of the fish over the bill is amazing. Works beautifully against the dark BG.

[John Blumenkamp]

Outstanding... agree with Tony's comment about the curvature of the fish. The eye of the fish tells a story... as if it's looking down the throat seeing what lies ahead.

[Gavin Spooner]

Sid:

Wow! The colours of the fish and the Anhinga, the action all make for a tremendous image. Do you think it would be improved (if possible) with a slight ccw rotation to straighten the neck and a shift to the right of the frame? The background would allow such a change but not sure how it'd effect the angle of the fish tale at the top of the frame.

cheers
gavin

[Lorant Voros]

Fantastic capture...great sharpness, eye contact, pose, light. Congratulations.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Great action captured here. Exposure and comp. are great as well. Tells a story.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Well, the action can't get much more dramamtic than here! Seeing both the bird's and the fish's eye is a superb bonus! I really love the curvature of the fish above the bill...and swooping down the hatch!!

[Amy DeStefanis]

Wow - it's about as close as you can get to actually being the fish! Absolutely awesome!

Congratulations!
Amy D.

[Steve Maxson]

This is stunning, Sid. I would agree with all the positive comments above.

[DanielleCox]

The quality of the image is obvious, but I would like to add one more element that I think is outstanding. There is a pink motif that is evident under the beek, edges of the gill, and the Anhinga's eyes. I think that is a very nice way of tying the shot together!

[Philip Pietri]

I'm normally not a fan of packing the frame so tight but this action deserves the loud treatment you gave it. The black background gives it a menacing look too. I love it. Great image.

[Bob Malbon]

Sid, Over the top! This image is a winner!! Bob

[Mike Godwin]

Great capture Sid! Nice coloring on the Tilapia, my only wish was that the Anhinga had her breeding colors which would have made it over the top and back again. If this is any indication of what's to come, should be a great year for birding at Gatorland. Be sure to save this one for our 2009 Photo contest (coming soon)!!!

Mike Godwin
Gatorland

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Sid, As you might have guessed, this is a killer image as noted above (despite the side light). The d-o-f is amazing for f/4. How big a crop? How did you focus? How did you determine the EXP?

Was the bird on a railing? What else is going on at Gatorland in the winter?

[Dave Phillips]

lol, no questions Sid.......this is one awesome image.
Only a photographer could understand and appreciate all the elements here......such a fine capture

[Sid Garige]

Hey Sid, As you might have guessed, this is a killer image as noted above (despite the side light). The d-o-f is amazing for f/4. How big a crop? How did you focus? How did you determine the EXP?

Was the bird on a railing? What else is going on at Gatorland in the winter?

Artie,

Thanks for kind words.

Image is around 1/3 crop of original image.

Single point AF-C on.

I was experimenting with flash during harsh light. Bird was sitting on a branch gave me enough time. Matrix metering with -1&1/3 EV and SB800 at +2 ETTL. Tried to under expose the image and use flash as main light. Not sure if it worked out or not.

Post processing cloned few harsh green spots in background. Quick mask to reduce brightness on right side of birds neck.

Gator land is picking up very good. Atleast 10 pairs of great egrets building nests.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Sid. Everything that you did worked well. Was the sensor on the bird's eye? Any chance that you could post the original before cropping?

May the light be with you.

[Sid Garige]

Arite,

Here is the original image. I checked with raw file and focus point was on fish (marked with red dot).

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Sid. Seeing the ORIG is quite instructive. The point of focus was close to being on the same plane as the eye. The image certainly held up well to the large crop.

[DanielleCox]

Seeing the original is indeed instructive just from the cropping. Seeing the original image, it is a pretty cool picture and i would have been proud to have it. But the crop, as it often does turns a good picture into a *great* picture. Once again, great job on the shot!