flying machine

[John Chardine]

Out of the box, but I was taken with the flying perfection of this Black-legged Kittiwake, as captured by a still photograph, at Cape St. Mary's, Newfoundland. The bird essentially presents a smooth, pointed cylinder with propellers on each side, to the on-coming air.

The "tickle-aces" as they are called in Newfoundland were gathering grass and mud behind me for their nests, flying to their nests in front, then flying back towards me. I have to admit that these kittiwakes were quite a "bird-in-flight" challenge for me, and the 50D had trouble keeping up too.

I'm sure there are other crops but it just felt right to put the bird where it is.

Canon EOS 50D, 500/4 mounted on Mongoose
capture date: Saturday, 6 June 2009, 11:48 AM
exposure program: Manual
ISO speed: 400
shutter speed: 1/1600
aperture: f6.3
exposure bias: +0.0
metering: Pattern
flash: ON - with beamer but ineffective at this distance
focal length: 500.0

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Good to see one of your research subjects. I like the wing position and slightly tilted head. I would probably crop a bit left and right.

[Randy Stout]

John:

This image really does show how efficiently designed they are for their environment. Very clean, low drag.

Sharp, well exposed. The crop: I would be tempted to try a bit off the top, Just a personal choice.

Thanks for sharing.

Randy

[Octavio Campos Salles]

Very nice and unusual. It really shows their aerodynamics.

[DanWalters]

I love the head on view. Looks like he is coming at you pretty fast. Like the color of the background as well.

[Ilija Dukovski]

Very interesting pose, great whites exposure, nice feel overall.
I wish the LLH corner feature was more blended in surrounding.
Perhaps a thigher crop might work too, to get more of the eye contact
in-your-face kind of feel.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Nice head-on image John. A little crop off both sides would work better for my taste. :)

[John Chardine]

Thanks for all the comments. I've taken a little of the top and sides and toned down the LL, as per suggestions.

Yes the bird was coming at me at a great rate. I spent about 2 hours and ended up with 10 so-so keepers! I was having an issue with the AF on the 50D, which I'll post to the photo gear forum for some advice.

[Randy Stout]

John:

I think the slightly tighter crop adds impact to the photo.

Cheers

Randy