gannet with landing gear down

[annmpacheco]

7D 400mm lens, iso 640, ss 1/1600 f 6.3, manual.
Taken at Bonaventure Island, Quebec. With a six foot wingspan, the beautiful blue eyes take a back seat. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Joel Eade]

I like the pose, the head angle and the back ground.

It seems a bit dull and noisy, especially under the wings, makes me wonder if the original was underexposed a tad or maybe is a large crop.

[carole wiley]

Really like the wing blurr and the pose Ann. Nice head angle too. I can't help with the eyes as I am not very good at PP, maybe dodge? not sure.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Ann, really nice action capture and placement in the frame. The underwing area is pretty dark as are those blue eyes. Not much you could do with the light behind the bird as it appears to be here. Fill flash would have helped. You could lighten the eyes and wing areas in PP but there is no substitute for real light.

[Sachin Saraf]

Ann I agree with Kerry about adding light around eyes/wings...Wonderful shot!

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice action shot but often we must shot the light too. Great wing spread and compelling action shot. Flash would probably made it stronger but some post adjustment might help as well (e.g., dodge and/or use layers to lighten parts). Check the Education Forums - tutorial section for more tips.

How did histogram look was it underexposed a tad.

[Sid Garige]

Beautiful landing pose Ann. Here is my take. All I did was boosted mid tone level to 1.10 and smart sharpening at 0.3 radius and 100 amount.

[John Chardine]

Hi Ann- Great action and look (eye contact). Composition is great. Sid's repost lightens the image where it needed it. Agree flash would have been the answer. I know you had your flash mounted Ann but as you know, without one of those battery packs it will fire maybe once or twice before it needs to recycle.

[carole wiley]

Repost is top notch. Amazing what you can accomplish when you know what you are doing.

[SaraMonnai]

Hi Ann- Great action and look (eye contact). Composition is great. Sid's repost lightens the image where it needed it. Agree flash would have been the answer. I know you had your flash mounted Ann but as you know, without one of those battery packs it will fire maybe once or twice before it needs to recycle.

John, Would the flash be able to reach the bird from that distance? I have been just starting to use a flash - what would you recommend in this case.

Great shot Ann! The eye contact is so menacing and handsome.

[annmpacheco]

Wow, looks like a different bird! Thanks very much for all your help. Anyone know where I find mid tone level? I have many shots that would be salvaged bc of this editing tool. Thanks Sid for the repost.