White Ibis Fledglings in Flight - Houptie Deux Challenge

One of the toughest challenges out on the Houptie Deux at the Alafia Banks is photographing the White Ibis fledglings in flight. The White Ibises are nesting now, so it won't be long. The fledglings come in every which way but straight. They zig and they zag. They have no idea what they are doing and, therefore, neither does the photographer. Not the best flight pose but considering how tough a challenge it was, I wasn't too unhappy with this capture.

Canon 1D3, Canon 400 DO
F8, 1/2000sec, ISO 400, manual mode
Hand held

C & C always welcomed and much appreciated.

Hi Marina, nothing wrong with this incoming pose - a good angled banking, and a good show of the far wing. What really makes this image is how the whites of the Ibis pop against the dark green BG, especially the head. Although I like 'looser' comps, the full in the frame works here. Well captured.

Marina:

Like the banking pose with great display of far wing, heads position (slight bill merge with wing OK with me), feet and tail. Well exposed. Tight comp, but works for this pose.

In a perfect world, a bit more open upper wing would have been nice.

Good background.

I have not had that opp., but can certainly image the challenges!


Randy

PS: Stuart and I were typing at the same time, sorry for repeats.

Quite a nice image! Love the blurred wing tips and the eye contact. More noise reduction on the bg wouldn't hurt.

Excellent shot!!!
Terrific pose, exposed very well, very nice background, and excellent details.
Very well done.

Hey Marina. They can indeed be difficult to photograph in flight as they often come in fast, changing their flight direction multiple times at the drop of a hat. I think the angle is quite good and the green background sets of the bird nicely. My only complaint is that I think that the sharpening is a bit heavy handed as there are a few areas that look "icy" to me... or perhaps maybe it is a matter of preference. Overall a lovely post.

Marina I think you're too a bit too modest....this is excellent in my view. The focus on the head and eye contact really make it for me. The light is wonderful as well. Kudos!

I know what you were saying about the zig zag landing, to get one like this is great, congrats on nailing this one. BG is noisy and I feel it is just a tad tight.

Well I'm not happy about this one either........unhappy that I didn't take it :t3....a bit too hard on yourself there Marina.

The V Good = The quality of light and exposure is as good as it gets, great timing on the wing spread and great catch light in the eye, love the wing spread

The Not As Good = background a bit splotchy, not keen on the squarish crop, needs more space left and top

I really like the pose. The head is clearly visible, nicely lit and sharp as is the rest of the bird. I really like it as presented.

The exposure, whites, sharpness, detail and wing spread- all excellent. The only down is the BG, as suggested more NR will probably help.

Zip and zap is an understatement. They zig, zag, dip, twist, drop etc. all at speed.

I don't mind the tight framing, it is about the only way to get a decent background at that location.

Well exposed and sharp and I really like the wing positions. IMO if the bill was not intersecting the wing the image would be even stronger.

It takes a lot of skill just to find the bird and keep it in the viewfinder, much less create an image like this - well done!

Excellent flight pose,you have captured.Wonderful details in whites,lovely lights and Green BG.
Love the way bird pops up against beautiful BG,HA and shadow of it's beak.

Regards,
Satish.

I like the flight pose, great underwings details, sharpness & perfect exposure. TFS

Marina, your images always make me feel inadequate -- great shot. The perfect focus on the eye and the eye contact really make this special to me. Thanks for sharing.

- Ron

Hi Marina,
Excellent flight pose,great details, sharpness and nice BG.

Marina , this is awesome! Love the light, and super wing detail. BG works well here toobut I am seeing some noise on the bottom and left lower corner... I think:e3

Wonderful underwing detail Marina I would be overjoyed to haver this in my files

I really like it. They're difficult to track for sure, especially on windy days. The great detail close to the body as well as the slight blur in the wing tips make it look technically good, while still conveying fast motion. Congrats on the photo of the mother and (tiny) colt Sandhill Crane. I was up at 3 am waiting for the rain to stop so I could take the dogs out and thumbed through the May, '13 issue of PP when I saw that shot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robert vanMierop

Congrats on the photo of the mother and (tiny) colt Sandhill Crane. I was up at 3 am waiting for the rain to stop so I could take the dogs out and thumbed through the May, '13 issue of PP when I saw that shot.

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Thank you, Robert, for your kind words.

Thank you everyone else for all of your comments and critiques. It's much appreciated.