A Month on a Ship

Just got back from a great Southern Oceans voyage: the Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica. This image was created with the hand held Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, (hand held at 200mm) and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop off the sky: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 confirmed by blinkies/histogram check and set manually.

Black-browed Albatross, Steeple Jason, Falkland Islands. The sparkling diamonds in the ocean are albatrosses. See more at Home From the Southern Oceans Trip.

Don't be shy; all honest comments and critiques welcome.

Nice to see you back in action Artie..I am sure we are going to see some excellent work from this trip and images of some of the bird species we don't usually see.

Nice HA and love the dangling feet..I also like the inclusion of habitat.

Nice pose excellent exposure, super focus and DOF.
For me Artie, the image lacks that something extra that I have always come to associate with your images. This is not very constructive, but I am not sure what is bugging me. :e3 It is a very good image technically but is it perhaps because the bird is in the middle of the frame, or perhaps it would look more dynamic if it were larger in the frame or maybe it would look more impressive had there been more background. Maybe it needs a bit of POP?
Putting it simply it looks like one I could have taken as opposed to one you could have taken. (That is not intended to be an insult!!:S3:)
I would appreciate your comments especially if you think I am barking up the wrong tree.:S3:

I like the incoming pose, exposure and setting. Looks like a strong wind was coming in from the right . The BG has a painted feel to it. Well done Arthur!

Artie:

Glad you are back safely. Even for you, that is a long trip.

I really like the pose of the albatross, dangling feet, wing spread, head position. I appreciate that the bird is placed where it is, versus part way against the sky, part against the ground.

Strong sense of habitat. I do feel that f/5.6 would have done well on the bird, and perhaps given the bird a bit more separation from the BG.

Look forward to more, and some interesting stories about MKIVs.

Cheers

Randy

Nice to see you back and posting cool images. I really like the habitat here and how softly it appears in the image ,not distracting at all. I can't believe the sparkles are more of these great birds.

Sweet image. I really like the pose of the bird. Excellent wing position and nice head angle. Exposed very well and love the habitat.
Well done.

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Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton

Nice pose excellent exposure, super focus and DOF. For me Artie, the image lacks that something extra that I have always come to associate with your images. This is not very constructive, but I am not sure what is bugging me. :e3 It is a very good image technically but is it perhaps because the bird is in the middle of the frame, or perhaps it would look more dynamic if it were larger in the frame or maybe it would look more impressive had there been more background. Maybe it needs a bit of POP? Putting it simply it looks like one I could have taken as opposed to one you could have taken. (That is not intended to be an insult!!:S3:) I would appreciate your comments especially if you think I am barking up the wrong tree.:S3:

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Thanks for your honest comments. Though this one is not in my top ten from the trip I like this one a lot for all the reasons mentioned by all the posters above and below :). And the many folks who saw it on the ship loved this one particularly. Just for the record books, the bird is not in the middle of the frame; there is twice as much room from the bird's left wing to the frame edge than from the right wing to the frame edge. Most of all I love the albatross diamonds.

Only I can insult me :). Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

Thanks all for you kind comments and good wishes.

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Originally Posted by Jim Crosswell

I like the incoming pose, exposure and setting. Looks like a strong wind was coming in from the right . The BG has a painted feel to it. Well done Arthur!

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Thanks a stack Jim. And yes--the wind was from the right. A few birds were landing to loaf on the top of a low ridge so I sat to try and get the birds in the sky with the habitat below but this one worked out well for me.

Artie, liked the pose and the habitat a lot. those feet are awesome. I have to agree with Randy that opening up a bit would have been better. any reason to be at f/8?

Here is some math for KD and Randy :). Total d-o-f at 30 feet with the set-up that I used at f/8 is about 2 1/2 feet, pretty much perfect for a large bird. The d-o-f beyond the point of focus at f/8 is only 5 inches greater at f/8 than it is at f/5.6.... I am thinking that that will not make very much difference.

I had never done the math till y'all asked but it is interesting to consider. Why f8? That's what I always use for flight if I have the light.

Artie:

Thanks for crunching the math! I stand corrected. I didn't factor in your shooting distance, closer than I would have guessed, which of course does have an impact on the DOF variation at various f/stops.

I often am light constrained, living in Michigan, and tend to shot wider open for BIF, to have enough shutter speed.

Cheers

Randy