Burchell's Sandgrouse

[Arno Ellmer]

I have been immersed in work and travelling quite a bit , so I apologise for my lengthy absence and not participating much on the forum lately.
This image was created on a farm in the arid Northern Cape ,near the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
The sandgrouse taking off is the male and the other the female of the species.
These sandgrouse travel up to 60 km to find drinking water , land , drink quickly and then 'explode' on take-off.

Canon 1D X
500mm
f/7.1
1/2500
ISO 1000
cropped on all sides
shot from a car.
All vomments and crits welcome.

[Norm Dulak]

This is a very fine image. The background, sharpness of the subjects, action and interaction between the birds are all excellent. And the wing positions of the departing bird and eye contact are great.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jack Breakfast]

Great poses! Great looks! Great action!

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the interaction, splash, eye contact, wing position, IQ and complimentary BG. Superb image Arno!

[dankearl]

Great to get both in focus and nice to see the the male and female.
Very nice photo.

[Karl Egressy]

Great moment captured, Arno. I like the composition and the pose of the one taking off, is fantastic.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Great action and overall story here . I love the second birds expression. The colors are really nice too

[Satish Ranadive]

Wonderful image.You have great composition of two birds;one in flight and one sitting.
Love the open beaks,trailing water,beautiful colors,nice details and lovely background too.

Regards,
Satish.

[arash_hazeghi]

this is excellent! love the dynamic take off, light sharp details and the trail of droplets. exciting work!

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot.
Wonderful job on getting both birds sharp, excellent take off pose, love the water splash, and great comp.
Very well done.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Wow, the colors, the pose, the detail!

[mohammad reza shahab]

hi
Great poses! Great looks! Great action!

[MohsenVahedipour]

Excellent timing. Perfect in every aspects. TFS

[PhilCook]

Great action shot, love the water splash, well timed and composed, top shelf photography !

[Mike Milicia]

Fantastic image ... you caught a wonderful moment here ... excellent takeoff pose and love the trailing water drops!
The female and the interaction is a great bonus!
I think a slightly looser crop may make it even better ... would especially like a bit more room top, right, and bottom.

[Tony Whitehead]

Great behavioural shot, Elmo. Great timing as the "explosion" is hard to capture well. The female is illustrating the interesting technique they use to transport water in their arid environment. By soaking their breast feathers as she is doing they are able to effectively carry water back to their nest/chicks.

[Arno Ellmer]

Thank you all for all the crits and comments. Always appreciated.

[Arno Ellmer]

Great behavioural shot, Elmo. Great timing as the "explosion" is hard to capture well. The female is illustrating the interesting technique they use to transport water in their arid environment. By soaking their breast feathers as she is doing they are able to effectively carry water back to their nest/chicks.

Thanks ,Tony !
Yes , I failed to mention the 'belly wetting ' technique employed by sandgrouse.They soak water up into the breast feathers and carry is to their young to distances of up to 60 km. Amazing !!

[Frank Schauf]

Very nice colors and great action, Arno.

[Marina Scarr]

This capture is simply amazing. Sorry I missed it on the first go around. Great to get both in focus and love the action.