Heres looking at you!

[Grady Weed]

Imaged from my kayak about 15 feet away. This was one hard loon to take pictures of. It ducked, dived, stayed behind the nest, the light kept changing, the swells from nearby boats keep moving me around! You name it, it happened! About 75% of frame left here for 11x14 image.

Here are the specs: Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 7/24/2011 6:48:36 PM, Aperture-Priority AE, Shutter Speed 1/125, Aperture Value 2.8, Weighted Average Metering, Exposure Compensation -1 1/3, ISO 200, Lens EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM, RAW, Flash Off, White Balance Mode Auto, AI Servo AF, Picture Style Standard, Sharpness 3, Color Space sRGB.

Let me know what you think please. And thanks in advance!

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Gary lovely low angle and tight composition. You managed to get good detail in the darker area and the whites. I also like the dark BG but looks a bit noisy, would give it a round of NR TFS:cheers:

[Troy Lim]

Nice close up, why did you choose to stay at ISO200?
I would have gone up a bit to allow you to stop down to get the entire head sharp. Like to see more room on the left if you have any.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Can imagine that DOF becomes a challenge with this tight a portrait of a bird this size. Well exposed and nice colours...agree on some NR to the BG needed...:w3

[Grady Weed]

I stayed at ISO 200 for several reasons.

1) To get a Loon you need speed. they never stay still for more than a few sweet seconds. Yes I could have set it at 400, but I wanted to balance it with a good film grain look, less noise to deal with up front. The low light meant my lens would slow down to focus. This loon is as sharp as you will see at this close a distance, considering their behaviors.

2) I have always pushed the limits of my lens and camera while staying as low in ISO, F Stop and shutter speed.

3) There is no more room on the left side. I wanted it tight and I got it. Besides the water has specular highlights close to the head area which would have detracted from the final image. I will deal with he noise , which I probably introduced in processing in the final print. I do appreciate it being pointed out here. :S3:

4) Morkel makes a good point. It is very difficult to get more DOF in a bird this close and this size. I think it is rather well defined as is. The body being a bit OOF is putting emphasis on the head and eye, where it should be.

[Troy Lim]

Thanks for explaining the situation.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Gary, good job with the blacks and the sharp eye. I like the attentive pose as well. Excellent shooting angle. good thing the SS was sufficient...considering you were in a kayak.

However, I still think you should have increased the iso to 400 at least. Black&white birds are always tricky on that front, agreed. I dont have experience with 1D mark2n....but would have guessed noise wouldn't be that big a concern at iso 400.

f/2.8 is too wide for such close range. stopping down a bit could have given you better sharpness on the throat and the bill tip. I think the back being out of DOF range is fine.

You said 'The low light meant my lens would slow down to focus.' I dont understand the correlation of that to iso or f-stop.

You also said 'To get a Loon you need speed. they never stay still for more than a few sweet seconds.'

Considering that and the fact that you were in a boat, higher iso would have been better as you'd have got higher SS even if you wanted to stay wide-open.

[Troy Lim]

One more I like add. At ISO 200 and get the noise, my guess would be that you underexposed in the original shot. That's why I said increasing ISO would have given you either a faster speed or smaller fstop. :)

[Grady Weed]

Gary, good job with the blacks and the sharp eye. I like the attentive pose as well. Excellent shooting angle. good thing the SS was sufficient...considering you were in a kayak.

However, I still think you should have increased the ISO to 400 at least. Black&white birds are always tricky on that front, agreed. I don't have experience with 1D mark2n....but would have guessed noise wouldn't be that big a concern at ISO 400.

f/2.8 is too wide for such close range. stopping down a bit could have given you better sharpness on the throat and the bill tip. I think the back being out of DOF range is fine.

You said 'The low light meant my lens would slow down to focus.' I don't understand the correlation of that to ISO or f-stop.

You also said 'To get a Loon you need speed. they never stay still for more than a few sweet seconds.'

Considering that and the fact that you were in a boat, higher ISO would have been better as you'd have got higher SS even if you wanted to stay wide-open.

You make some good points, after a bit of reflection on my part. I shall endeavor to apply them when I go out next. I think 3 years off of the ponds has dulled my skills just a bit as to the loons. Good reminders.

[Troy Lim]

You make some good points, after a bit of reflection on my part. I shall endeavor to apply them when I go out next. I think 3 years off of the ponds has dulled my skills just a bit as to the loons. Good reminders.

This is what the forum is all about. Learning from others. :) I have learned so much from people's critiques.
Keep them coming, love them for sure. Hope to get a chance to photograph them one day.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

You make some good points, after a bit of reflection on my part. I shall endeavor to apply them when I go out next. I think 3 years off of the ponds has dulled my skills just a bit as to the loons. Good reminders.

You are welcome.