Red Footed Booby

[Rachel Hollander]

Taken on Genovesa Island, Galapagos Islands in April 2009.

Canon 50D
70-200 f4L non-IS at 200mm
Tv 1/1250
Av f9.0
ISO 400
Slight crop to remove oof stray branch at bottom left. BG selectively darkened in PSE.


C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Rachel Nice close up portrait !!! Good exposure and sharp !!

Framing wise would like seeing the eye down/left Intersecting thirds make for strong composition and this sure fits !!! Settings wise would have preferred doing away with the dof and try blurring the bg but it is far enough the image is strong !!! Sure must have been a fun place to shoot !!

[Bill Dix]

Hi Rachael. Great detail and placement in frame. I agree that less dof might have helped in this case - bg is a little distracting, but still a great shot. I wish my trip had taken us to Genovesa to see the Redfoots.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Al and Bill. This was a bad day for my photo gear. During this landing I discovered the AF on the 70-200 wasn't working properly and then later that day a short circuit in the motherboard fried my 50D. Fortunately I had back-ups with me. Not an excuse, but at the time I was concentrating more on the focusing issue than the BG. Btw I would highly suggest that anyone going to the Galapagos go on a cruise that includes Genovesa for the Red Footed Booby. The other islands I made sure my itinerary included were Espanola for the Waved Albatross and the western islands of Isabela and Ferandina for their overall diversity.

Thanks again,

Rachel

[William Malacarne]

Rachel

I like it a lot. I thought of a crop such as Al but my reasoning was that I would do it just above the shadow as I find it a little bit distracting. It could probably do with more background blur but as is does not really bother me as the bird does stand out from it.

Bill

[Bill Dix]

Btw I would highly suggest that anyone going to the Galapagos go on a cruise that includes Genovesa for the Red Footed Booby. The other islands I made sure my itinerary included were Espanola for the Waved Albatross and the western islands of Isabela and Ferandina for their overall diversity.

Rachel

Good advice from Rachael. Genovesa is supposed to be one of the best islands for photo opportunities -- I skipped it as a needed compromise to persuade my wife to go to the islands, since the trip to the northern island of Genovesa is reported to have rougher seas than to other destinations and she doesn't do well on boats. (Although we did just fine everywhere else.) In addition to the islands she mentions, don't forget North Seymour for Frigatebirds. I have also heard other horror stories about equipment failures from the Galapagos humidity and wet landings, so take backup equipment!

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Bill. Is this crop more what you and Al had in mind?

Rachel

[Rachel Hollander]

Bill - Lots of Frigatebirds on Genovesa too but only the Great species. We also visited North Seymour which has both Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds, lots of Blue Footed Boobies and the Land Iguana. For what it is worth, we did not experience any rough seas.

Also the equipment problems were coincidental and not b/c of the conditions in the Galapagos. But I was very glad I had a second camera body with me.

Rachel

[William Malacarne]

That crop works for me....:)

I'll bet Al was really disapointed when he saw the Subject Line and then when he opened the picture he did noy see a foot....:D

Bill

[Rachel Hollander]

That crop works for me....:)

I'll bet Al was really disapointed when he saw the Subject Line and then when he opened the picture he did noy see a foot....:D

Bill



I wouldn't want to disappoint Al. I can post a foot shot tomorrow.

Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel I might be tempted to crop even tighter to reduce the BG. Knowing what you were up against the BGs are very difficult to get the best out of everything. I was there later in the year during the breeding season and the light & BGs can be rather harsh at times. I have to say even at f/9 the bill is not quite sharp at the end, frustrating, as I too fell into that trap, need to be slightly further away when shooting.

Think you might be able to squeeze a bit more detail out of the image IMHO.

TFS
Steve ;)