Took this at dusk at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia a couple months ago. The day had been cloudy and low light to begin with and dusk was falling, so I hiked up the ISO. I was watching a few skimmers return repeatedly to a stream by the side of the road, just standing by my car and handholding. I liked this for how it reveals more of the skimmer than we can see.
Wonder if I should get rid of the stuff in the water that shows up in the reflection, or just leave as is. Hoping I got rid of the noise, did a couple of NR passes.
Thanks so much for looking, all comments and critiques greatly welcomed.
At first I was unsure - but now, once I saw it, like the fact that the face in visable in the reflection. An image that caused me to think a bit as well as observe better. Like it - TFS.
I always like a good reflection and especially if it can give the viewer a different side of the bird to look at. I would keep the stuff in the water in the reflection. Great catch.
Melissa, you really got something special here. I absolutely love the flashy bill against the rest of the image. The play between the hidden eye on the subject and its' visibilty in the reflection is quite the pleasure to study! I'd be tempted to have the skimmer and reflection a bit higher in the frame but it still works well as is. The bits in the reflection that you speak about don't bother me much, but yes, you could try a version without them there. Congrats on a very memorable image!!!
Hi Melissa, different and it wirks for me. I have many images of ducks in flight with their wings 'wrapped' around their heads, but the difference here is that we can see the eye in the reflection. Love the trailing wake from the skimming, and would maybe take some off the top.
Excellent stuff, Melissa. always a pleasure to look at your images. Unique and out of the box. well done. Was NR done on the bird? I see details but they are a bit soft...it could be due to SS as well. Great timing and shooting angle.
A very creative catch, Melissa. Clever of you to notice that the reflection gives us a look under the hood. Yes, perhaps just a bit soft, but very interesting.
Love the artistic pose, the movement, the curves of the bird. The fact that you can see the bird's head in the reflection is unique. Agree on the lack of details in the blacks in the near wing probably due to NR but not sure it's an issue. I do see your image needs some CCW rotation.
Thank you for all the feedback and the helpful suggestions, much appreciated. The lack of detail in the wing is most certainly due to heavy NR, which this image needed.
Black Skimmer Revealed in Reflection
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