Common Tern

[John Chardine]

I'm working on a colony of terns that nest on an old sunken barge near a marina at Shediac, New Brunswick. I don't go into the colony, just observe from a distance and the photo-ops are pretty good, except for the perches! The morning started out cloudy but the dreaded sun came out!

Full, frame, no crop. Darkened the BG pilon after first Quickmasking the adjacent bird parts. Removed two nails from the top and side of the perch. Sharpened. That's it!

Hope you like it.

Canon EOS 50D, 500/4 x 1.4 = 700mm
capture date: Wednesday, 17 June, 2009, 9:32 AM
exposure program: Manual
ISO speed: 400
shutter speed: 1/2000
aperture: f6.3
exposure bias: +0.0
metering: Pattern
light source: Auto
flash: ON - beamer, ETT-L no compensation

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent exposure on this tern, and I love the wing positions. Was it about to take off, or flapping for balance in the wind? The OOF perch is somewhat distracting, but I'm sure it was alot worse before you toned it down. I do love the vegetation surrounding the bottom of it. The band of blue makes for nice colour combination, but I'd tone down the deepest shade of blue a bit. I love the overall feel to your image John, well done!

[Mital Patel]

this is a fantastic shot. agree with daniel about the OOF perch distracting the bird. rest is awesome

[Mark Dumbleton]

Another "agree" on the BG perch. Lovely exposure, although some might feel the whites are a bit bright.
Great detail and sharpness. Not very fond of these hand-of-man perches tho. Well done.