Sooty Shearwater

[Gal Shon]

Taken yesterday in Eilat north shore, lots of wonderful birds over there those days.
Hand held from a small boat.
Spoils from a near by fishing boat.

40D 400/f5.6
Iso 200, 1/1250, f6.3
~ 75% of the original
All C&C are appreciated and thanks for looking

[denise ippolito]

Gal, I like the skipping on the water look. Nice details and composition. I imagine this was a hard shot to get. Nicely done. I was wandering why you chose ISO 200? Just wandering /not questioning.:)

[Gal Shon]

Thank you,
You can ask anything :),
About the Iso, I'm trying as much as I can, not going over 200, it brings out noise and I prefer a better IQ with less noise to deal with.
We started with lots of Lesser Black-backed Gulls which gave me very good shutter speeds, then two Sooty Shearwater appeared (what a joy...) I adjusted the EC and managed to get a few picture.
From Pictures taken later that day Iso 400 is not looking too good (for me) on those dark blue water.

[denise ippolito]

Thanks Gal. I was just wondering since I shoot w/ the 40D also and feel the noise is always a concern for me too.:)

[Ofer Levy]

Excellent shot Gal! Not crazy about the drek in its beak but there was nothing you could do about it...:D
Regarding the 200 iso - I am sure you miss quite a few great shots due to the relatively low SS. I have no doubt the 40D can handle iso 400 beautifully which will give you SS of 1/2000-1/2500. You can get rid of a bit of noise but you can not fix a blurred image.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I photograph with the 40D too and have ISO 400 as my "default"...especially for action. Using a higher ISO can permit you to "shoot for the right" with the same SS as a lower ISO. I'm very comfortable even with ISO 800 with this camera. No noise issues for me using this method. Having said this, your techs gave you good results here, so whatever works for you!:)

Wondeful image, great action, and the food morsel is a great bonus. I love the deep blue water you got. Well done!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Cool action captured and since I'm a big fan of seabirds, I always enjoy seeing shearwaters. I didn't know this species can be found in your area.

[Stu Bowie]

Gal, lovely posture, and overall well exposed. Glad he got a piece of the left overs. I like the colour of the water too.