Wood Stork

[Doug Brown]

This bird was hanging out at Gatorland one day during my Florida trip. The overcast skies helped with the exposure. They sure do have a lot of birds there. And you can get so close to them; not at all like New Mexico!

http://birdwhisperer.smugmug.com/Animals/Birds/BPN/20100302-V5C3031-Wood-Stork/804713141_yJirm-O.jpg

Canon 1D Mark IV, 70-200mm f/4 @ 121mm, f/5, 1/3200, ISO 500, hand held

[Scott Frye]

I like the feather details in the chest with the clean background and lots of colors in the beak. The stork stands out nicely against the dark background.

[Bill Jobes]

A cool-looking character indeed, Doug !

I like the crop and the fantastic detail.

I was wondering if, through selective reduced brightness, it would have been possible to recover some detail in the white back feathers, as that section seems to conflict somewhat with the softer luminance of the balance of the image.

That said, it's still a winner in my book !

[Don Lacy]

Hi Doug, A nice looking head shot (for a wood stork that is) with nice HA and BG. I would be tempted to lighten the eye a little and maybe another round of sharpening on the head and beak.

[Alfred Forns]

Good looking adult bird Doug I like it as presented, good detail and overall feel. Glad your going after them... the young ones are actually pretty !!!

[arash_hazeghi]

nice portrait, like the comp, HA and details, a bit more dof will bring the tip of the bill and lower neck feathers in focus, looks like you had room with SS. TFS

[Doug Brown]

Good point Arash; f/5 and 1/3200 doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Normally I stop down for portraits like this. The image was made in Av mode; maybe I caught some unexpected sunlight for this shot.

[allanrube]

Doug, this guy looks like the one whose image I took with my iPhone 3 feet away.

I wish all birds were like the ones at Gatorland. I mean, don't they realize they do not have to stay away from us - they can fly away anytime they want.

[Mike Godwin]

Hey Doug,

Nice image of the Woodie, looks like you were rigged for flight shots when you came across this guy. I sometimes do the same thing and forget to stop down to increase f-stop on the closeups. I always put it down to sensory overload! :)

Glad you dropped by, looks like you and Kristin got some nice images!

[Manjesh Lingamurthy]

Nice details in the bird and well cropped.

[Aidan Briggs]

Jeez, 121mm... Perfect HA, exposure, BG. Not much to improve on.

Well Done!!

[Paul Lagasi]

Very nice image as presented..I'll go against the grain and say its tough to make an ugly bird look good but you did it..love the crop, details on face, head and bill..TFS

[Doug Brown]

Jeez, 121mm

Tell me about it! My 70-200 is my wide angle lens!

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Agree with the above comments Doug. Excellent image all around !!!

[Stu Bowie]

Incredible detail Doug, and well done on those whites. I wouldnt change a thing.

[Vida van der Walt]

Ditto excellent detail and a beautiful image Doug!:)