Western Grebe (Rushing Pano)

[Mike Lentz]

Another image taken last weekend, only the sun was out for this image. I thought a pano crop allowed me to keep much of the take off water splash... any opinions?

http://www.pbase.com/mike_lentz/image/112386248.jpg

Nikon D300 ~ Nikkor 300mm F/2.8 w/1.4x Nikon TC attached
ISO 400 ~ F/7.1 ~ 1/8000 sec

[Stu Bowie]

Mike, these comps are always difficult to get right, as one wants to include the splash, which is not always directly behind the subject, and still leave space for them to fly into. You have succeeded very well in this. Im amazed at their head angle. Exposure looks good, and the head is nice and sharp. I would maybe add a bit to the top. Still a great image.

[Tony Whitehead]

I think the crop works well here, Mike. You managed the exposure well in the sunlight. Wondering if a wider aperture would have thrown the BG more OOF (you would have had to reduce ISO though at 1/8000)

[Bruce Enns]

A great action shot Mike. I think the pano crop works well too, but somehow feel the bird ends up being too dead centre...have you tried a bit more canvas on the left and maybe a bit more on top? If this were my image (I wish), I would QM out the bit of vegetation directly above the birds head.

Cheers!
Bruce

[Mike Lentz]

I would QM out the bit of vegetation directly above the birds head.
Fantastic idea!! Thank you for that advice! :)

Tony, my camera was accidentilly set on "bracketing" and I was actually -2 EV... YIKES! I started looking at my images and some were light and some darker and then I chimped on the numbers and was shocked! Anyways, thats why the SS is where it is. I'm still not sure how I rolled something on my D300 to get it to do that bracketing deal. :confused:

[Tony Whitehead]

Tony, my camera was accidentilly set on "bracketing" and I was actually -2 EV... YIKES! I started looking at my images and some were light and some darker and then I chimped on the numbers and was shocked! Anyways, thats why the SS is where it is. I'm still not sure how I rolled something on my D300 to get it to do that bracketing deal. :confused:

Been there myself before, Mike. Was doing 5 exposure bracket captures for HDR landscapes then couldn't work out why my bird shots were all over the place exposure wise! I have my front function button set up to change this without going into menus - not sure what the default is.

[Steve Maxson]

Must have been fun to photograph these guys, Mike. I like the dramatic action, the included splash, and the pano crop though I might vote for a bit more room at the top. I like Bruce's suggestion to remove the OOF cattails just above the bird's head. Well done.

[Fabs Forns]

I love the pano crop for this one and the way you kept the water splash behind him, which places him in the center of the frame, for a good reason, though.