White-faced Ibis, Baylands, Palo Alto CA

[Hank Christensen]

Canon 40D, EF 800 f/5.6L
1/400 sec @ f/5.6
ISO 200
Ex Bias: -2/3 EV
no flash

This white-faced ibis is not a regular at Baylands, but has graced us with its presence over the last month or so. Unfortunately, it is very elusive and keeps hidden in the tall grasses. I was lucky to catch him out in the open in late evening, preening and fishing. While its feathers looked almost metallic in the midday light, they really seemed to glow in the setting sun.

[Rodney Flowers]

Great colors and eye contact. I really like the warm lighting. I would really like to see more details in the shadows on the back of your subject. A better lighting angle or fill flash would have helped with the shadows on the back.

[arash_hazeghi]

were lucky indeed and a nice pose, I would brighten the deep shadows and sharpen up the head.

There are actually a pair of them at the Baylands, my guess is either escapees or navigation error, they first spotted in Jan. If you hang out long enough you can get flight shots too :)

[Hank Christensen]

Arash,

Thanks for the additional info on the ibis pair. I did some web research and see that white-faced ibis have been spotted (rarely) at Baylands and in Mt View over the past few years. Not sure if it is the same bird(s) over time or not. However, the pair seems to be more active this year than in recent years.

I had actually seen this one earlier in the day (in the same location) with early afternoon lighting. I captured a bunch of feeding shots before it flew away. Then, just as I was packing up at the end of the day, I saw another big-lensed photographer speed walking with his rig back to the same spot I had photographed earlier. I was happily rewarded when I unpacked all my gear and followed him, on the off chance that he had spotted the ibis from across the slough. Much better lighting than earlier in the day.

I was definitely lucky, as I had only two minutes with this bird before a kid ran screaming down the path directly behind me, and the ibis flew off.

[Hank Christensen]

Here is a repost. I've added some slight fill lighting to the shadows to open up the back feathers. And as Arash suggested, I added some sharpening to the head.

Rodney, I agree about the "almost" ideal sun angle. Unfortunately, there was no way to move any further to the left as the trail moved directly away from the bird at that point. Also, I didn't have my flash set up on the rig.

[arash_hazeghi]

repost is big improvement Hank,

Lol what day was this? The other photographer running around might have been myself :D


This is a shot (http://www.stanford.edu/%7Eahazeghi/Photos/birds/ibis%20landing%20low.jpg)I got at the pond near the trail head.You were luck indeed they are tough to get since they fly very short paths!!!

[Hank Christensen]

Great shot Arash. Which lens did you use for that one? This shot was taken April 7th, just before 7pm.

[arash_hazeghi]

Great shot Arash. Which lens did you use for that one? This shot was taken April 7th, just before 7pm.

I use 500, I think it was 3-21...

[Rodney Flowers]

Opening up the shadows helps the image. Good improvement.