Northern Gannet Taking Off

[Rhys Marsh]

Another photo from my recent trip with Paulagics, this was taking ~10 miles off the coast of Long Island. Original image was dark in order to expose the whites properly in the bright light, but I was having trouble bringing balance to the image without making the whites too hot. Would love C&C on this topic as well as any other thoughts. Many thanks!

http://gallery.birderproject.com/Geography/North-American-Birds/i-QSF2sLw/0/L/Northern-Gannet-Tone-L.jpg (http://gallery.birderproject.com/Geography/North-American-Birds/20278874_763WcF#!i=1691284478&k=QSF2sLw&lb=1&s=A)

Canon 7D
70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM w/ 1.4x Extender II
1/8000 f/4.5
ISO 250
Handheld
No Flash

[Daniel Cadieux]

Dynamic pose here, we can see the strenght of this guy taking off from the water. Nice brackish-looking water. I do wish the wings were fully up though.

Harsh light can wreak havoc on these high contrast situations and is usually best avoided unless these are unique opportunities with no other chance at them. Exposing for the whites is the best thing to do with these subjects, so you did well in-camera. If photographing in raw you can manipulate just the midtones and blacks during raw conversion. Looks like you did OK here.