Pied Avocet in profile

I revisited a favourite pond for an evenings photoshoot and again captured a number of images of this Pied Avocet. I chose this one to post because the profile and the foot-up pose emphasized the elegance of the bird. With more practice at these mainly white birds I now seem to be able to get histogram data in all five "zones" - in camera.

Also, I'm especially happy to be able to post this as it was very nearly my last photo - ever!

A happy hunter decided to visit the same pond and when he blasted two mallards from the sky, one fell wounded in the water nearby. The unfortunate creature tried to escape up the bank where I was laying hidden and into the wheat field, so the hunter took another shot at it on the ground and I caught three pellets in my foot and calf.:eek: One pellet penetrated my boot, but not my skin.

I explained to the hunter that I wasn't too impressed! He said that I was so well camouflaged that he hadn't seen me until I jumped up shouting and swearing. He was very apologetic, but I couldn't help but think that had the duck been just a few feet closer, my wife would have been collecting the insurance!

So, before my next sortie, I plan to get one of those fluorescent orange flags they have for kids' bicycles and will be marking my (camouflaged) presence with that.

Technicals on the image: Canon 1D MkIII, 500 f/4 with 1.4 EX converter
1/2000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 400 (Manual)
PP included White balance and straightening in LR2, foreground clean-up and NR on the background with CS4.

Comments and suggestions welcome!

And be careful out there! :cool:

Gerald

Good looking bird...the exposure looks right on to me, may be a couple of hot spots but I'm not into pixel peeking....:) Sounds like you should be getting combat pay. Glad all is ok.

Bill

Wow! You lucky guy. Glad you came away from that experience ok.

Your/our avocet looks mighty good to me -- exposure, pose, crop, etc. As it presents on my monitor, I would only wish for a little more distinct catchlight. Good job, Gerald.

Hi Gerald,
Boy, now that was a day to remember! There are all kinds of articles of clothing designed to keep you safe from hunters; my favorite is a flourescent orange cap. It sounds like you learned a lesson you'll never forget.

As for your pied avocet, that's a beautiful shot. It looks like everything came together just right. A couple of questions for you - when you did the foreground clean-up, did you blur the foreground at all, or is it as shot, and did you use a tripod?

Thanks,

Sorry about getting shot Gerald ... that was close !!!

Bird is just perfect, love the pose, angle and light Wouldn't change a thing ...... just your clothing :)

and your underpants --- LOL :)
Lovely image your best yet.
good pose, HA and exposure - looking forward to seeing more.
Congrats :)

Beautiful photograph! By any chance are you a Democrat?

The technical suggestions have been covered but I want to mention that this is one cool bird, I love it!

Many thanks for the comments. I'm thinking of investing in a "flack jacket" and "flack underpants", too! :D

Katherine - about as Democrat as Dick Cheney!

Ron - the foreground is pretty much as shot - I simply removed a few bits of twigs and stalks. I had the camera on the tripod - legs retracted and fully splayed out so I was as close to ground level as I could get.

Wendell - Our avocets are doing great - the juveniles are growing quickly but still keeping well out of camera range. I have seen spoonbills on the same pond, so I am heading back there tonight!

Thanks, everyone!

Gerald

Lovely picture!

I was going to say(nice shot)but it does not seem right after what happened,lovely image,BG,low angle,pose.thanks.

Hi Gerald,
You have a good head angle, sharp eye contact and good color rendition...I like the fine details in the feathers and the raised leg is a plus...well done...looking forward to seeing more...:cool: