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Vivek Khanzode
10-21-2009, 10:47 PM
Hi folks,

A few weekends ago, we saw this one during a pelagic birding trip off the coast of Half Moon Bay, CA..

This one landed so close that it was difficult to frame it any other way; this _IS_ full frame using a 70-200 f/4 on a 40D. I could've zoomed out, but there were a lot of gulls around this guy. I was not interested in the gulls. Taken from a small boat about 35 miles off the coast of CA.

C & C always appreciated.

http://birdpixel.smugmug.com/photos/688577505_ZanMK-M.jpg
Marc Mol
10-22-2009, 07:04 AM
The large water drop off the beak is a nice touch, however the top of the head looks blown.
Ilija Dukovski
10-22-2009, 07:51 AM
I love it! You've got huge range of brightness, and the histogram looks like the Rockies.
Well done. The bird is fantastic. Taken from a boat, this is really good, HA, not too bad angle etc.
You mentioned the tight frame, if that is OK with you why not take other images from that day and
add canvas from them in PS?
Connie Mier
10-22-2009, 08:18 AM
Congratulations on capturing this one, very beautiful and the whites look fine to me. I look at the bird's head and would love to see a close up of it.
Kiran Poonacha
10-22-2009, 09:04 AM
Would have loved the see a bigger frame Vivek, loved the water droplet from the beak, nice details too.. a little lower angle would have made this a killer, still like this, congrats..
Vivek Khanzode
10-22-2009, 04:00 PM
Marc, the top of the head does look blown, but it is not; I remember checking it. The lack of "texture" is probably because of the "wax" on their feathers and the fact that the birds are always dipping their heads in the water.

Ilija, Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely try to add more canvas in PS. I would've liked more room around the bird myself.

Connie, I am glad you liked it. I will try to post a "portrait" crop this weekend if possible.

Kiran, I will try to "create" some canvas for this one over the weekend. Lower angle is simply not possible given the fact that I was in a boat and the bird was on the water. Although the boat was not huge, it was not a small one either. I surmise, we were about 10+ feet above the water when I took this shot.

Thanks all for the comments.

-- Vivek

Regards

-- Vivek