Roseate terns

[gail bisson]

Taken in Mass during Mike Milicia's workshop. We were photographing common terns when Christopher noticed these roseate terns.
Needless to say, he and Mike were thrilled with this find. I didn't know how rare they are until I got home and did my reading.I love the foot on the tail! He was dismounting from her after mating.
Any advice on getting more out of the male's eye? I dodged it a bit.
Canon 1D MKIV
f 500mm and 1.4x
ISO 400
F 8.0
SS 1/1250
Manual
Cropped by ~35%
I cloned out OOF birds on the left of the birds and cloned out all 4 bands on the legs.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the low angle, interaction, BG and composition. Great cloning job on the leg bands. Well done Gail!

[Grace Scalzo]

This is one cracker jack of an image....just beyond gorgous Gail. And yes, the foot on the tail is sweet. No idea on the eye, I rather like it as is. I do suspect that you may have a bit more detai available in some of the whites, try detail extractor with a gentle hand.

[Rachel Hollander]

Gail - looks like an elaborate ballet even if he is stepping on her tail. Nice control of the whites, great low pov and sweet bg. Well done!

TFS,
Rachel

[Sachin Saraf]

Gail, what a beautiful capture, low angle, exposure, BG and pose all looks great to me. Nice work with cloning the bands. I liked it a lot.

[Bruce Enns]

Beautiful image Gail, I find the foot on the tail slightly comical (he might have to bring a couple of extra fish next time), and it adds great character to the image. The spread wings on the male and the head up pose of the female are excellent. Nicely exposed. Good cloning work.

Thanks for sharing!

Bruce

[Jeff Dyck]

Gorgeous image Gail - you captured a great moment. I particularly like the attitude evident in the female's pose. A masterful handling of the whites. I do agree that even a subtle bit of reflection or hint of a catchlight on the male would elevate the image. Well done.

[rajandesai]

So this is what I missed Gail... Excellent capture. Love the raised wings. Great capture.

[arash_hazeghi]

sweet Gail, love the low angle details and exposure! the only thing I might consider is adding a tiny catchlight for the male.

Excellent work

[Ofer Levy]

Beautiful image! Agree re the catchlight.

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent Pose and light, good exposure control, nice comp and good ambient, Gail.

[Bill Dix]

Super image Gail. Great comp, love the pose including the foot on the tail, nice bg, light, exposure. In short, a real beauty of a shot, of a species not often seen around here (and never by me). Another vote for a catchlight.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, love your low angle of capture, and well timed to capture the male's raised wings. Whites are well exposed, and agree adding a catchlight will enhance the male's eye.

[Melissa Groo]

Wow, great job on this Gail! Excellent wing positions on male. Great exposure control, low angle, behavior capture, and your cloning work was superb. Hope I got something near as nice as this--havent had time to look yet.

[Robert Holguin]

Superb shot!! Love the low angle, very nice light, I really like the poses on both terns, and exposed very well. Excellent pp work too.
Very well done.