Learning to fly - common loon juvi

This image was taken this morning. The juvi was born on ~Jun 13th, and I have watched him grow and mature on an intermittent basis since then. Over the past four days he began to practice flying. The first visit, he would patter along the water for 20 or 30 yards, but not lift off, initially, but by the end of the session he was going several hundred yards, actually flying a few feet above the water, before splashing back down. These major efforts were followed by short naps and preening, and then off he would go again. He made four 'flights' during my three hour session with him.

Each visit saw him flying further, starting to turn at the end of the lake, and starting to do a lap or so of the lake , but still quite close to the surface.

Today he clearly was improving, and was reaching an altitude of 20-30 feet, but never left the confines of the lake. Because they can't land on solid ground, they have to be pretty confident of being able to reach another lake before leaving their natal lake. i suspect he will try to follow one of his parents when he feels confident enough.

D4 600VR f/4, 1/1250s, ISO 1000. Pedestal mounted in my little boat, the Loonie Too.

Post. leveled image, selective sharpening.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

Hi Randy, what a privilege to be around the loons and observe their season of nesting to fledge... What a great day to watch this loons training practice and progress! Wonderful angle of the bird and with sharp details. I love the water drops on the body as well as the splash from wingtips to the trailing water motion... Also, just enough wing and foot blur to reinforce the movement you captured. If it were my image I'd try a pano and less water space below the bird, maybe add canvas to the top so the wingtip has room. Looking forward to more. TFS

cool dynamic frame Randy, good details and exposure plus the trailing water that is the icing on the cake. I'd run a bit more NR on the BG

TFS

Great pose, splash, and story. I might pull the curve up on the whole thing ...

with love, artie

Thanks everyone:

Artie - I absolutely get the idea of brightening the image a bit. I spend so much time photographing these guys in the early, predawn light, that I tend to do my images with a similar luminosity. I will revisit and try a tweak or two.

Randy

Great action shot Randy. Sharp with good details. Love the trailing water and wing position. I'd prefer a little more room on top and maybe a little warmer. TFS.

I love what you did with the repost and am fine with the framing.

with love, artie

Randy, I really like the repost, a very difficult action shot to get especially here in So. CA., loons are early seen IF or taking off.

-Tim

Hi Randy, well timed for the take off, and love the raised wings. The overall sharpness is spot on where it counts, and I like the trailing water splashes. With regards to pane # 5, I would still take a bit off the bottom.