Broken leg in spoonbill paradise

Had a great time last Friday and Saturday morning in Spoonbill paradise with James Shadle on his pontoon boat the Hooptie Deux. It is worth the trip down to Gibsonton, FL, for a day out on the water with James. You can check out James Shadle and his work here. (Click on the word "here" for more info.)

On Saturday morning it took a while for the spoonbills to come to the water (they must have had a late night partying on Friday. It is mating season anyhow). We discussed relocating the boat to another area, but just when we had packed up the gear for the move, the action started! I was sitting in the water underneath my tripod to get the lowest possible angle and concentrated on the flapping action. I used my 800mm with the 2.0X and manual focus. Liked the perspective of that combination and was actually quite amazed that it delivered pretty sharp results (when stopped down). Than disaster struck. I wanted to change my position and get back on my knees again. Instead of doing it properly, I took the easy way out, and leaned on one of the tripod legs. You can guess what happened: it snapped, nearly submersing myself and my equipment. Lesson learned: Never take the easy way out!

This image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 2.0X III TC, and the EOS-1DMIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at -2/3: 1/800 sec. at f/13 set manually. Manual focus.

All comments are welcome.

Thanks for looking.

Clemens:

When I read the title, I thought there was a spoonie with a broken leg! Sorry about your tripod, but better that than a spoonie!

Great shooting angle, lots of action with water and pose, well exposed and sharp.

A bit tight in the frame for my taste.

Nice job of manually focusing on the bird with so much action. I suspect there might have been one or two frames out of focus!

Cheers

Randy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Randy Stout

Clemens:

When I read the title, I thought there was a spoonie with a broken leg! Sorry about your tripod, but better that than a spoonie!

Great shooting angle, lots of action with water and pose, well exposed and sharp.

A bit tight in the frame for my taste.

Nice job of manually focusing on the bird with so much action. I suspect there might have been one or two frames out of focus!

Cheers

Randy

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Here is the original file size (I uploaded the version that I have on my website).

I little more room on the left would help. Once you got the focus right it worked quite okay. The spoonbills don't move that much with their heads during splashing.

Excellent job with manual focus Clemens. I like the original file in pane #2 compared to tight crop in original post. Great timing and excellent details.

Ouch! I think I just cut myself on that image mate! Great contrst and love the water action. Makes it come alive! The hooptie and James and co is the way to go if down that way.

You got me wincing as I read your commentary!!

Superb bathing action, and I love the FG wavelet. I much prefer the looser comp of the repost.

Nice action here Clemens with good eye contact and exposure. Glad youre equipment is OK after the mishap.

Clemens,
Sharp, well exposed and a beautiful subject.

The narrow angle of view that resulted from using a 800mm lens and 2X eliminated a nasty background.
I love the low perceptive, however I feel that the original was too tight and the re-post could use a little more room at the bottom.

Overall this is an outstanding image, congratulations.

Clemens, I love the action you captured and the sharp well exposed details.:S3: Sorry to hear about your tripod-but when I first read the title I was thinking it was "your" leg!!:S3:

WOW! 800mm and x2 TC !! Very impressive and head looks crisp sharp to me in this resized version. Does the camera give you the focus confirmation sound with this combo?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ofer Levy

WOW! 800mm and x2 TC !! Very impressive and head looks crisp sharp to me in this resized version. Does the camera give you the focus confirmation sound with this combo?

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The camera does not give a sound and neither do you see the green focus confirmation light in the display.
It is difficult to find the sharpest point as the viewfinder is relatively dark. Luckly the spoonbill eyes are bright red, which makes it a little easier.