Roseate Spoonbill Portrait

[Mike Landwehr]

This spoonbill image was taken at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. It's difficult to avoid the busy backgrounds at Corkscrew, but I found this spoonbill in the north lettuce lake, perched in front of a rather dark, shaded area. I'm not real big on black backgrounds, but felt this one provided a little variety for a spoonbill image. C & C always appreciated.

1D Mark II N
500 mm + 2.0x
1/400 @ f/8
ISO 400
Tripod

[dankearl]

Beautiful portrait and the dark BG is very nice.
I like the gradual darkness on the bird.
Sharp and very attractive.

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot.
I really like it. I like the how the spoonbill fades into the darkness. Excellent pose and great comp.
Very well done.

[David Salem]

What a unique capture. Almost looks like you took him to a studio. Like all of it and how it fades away int the dark. Techs are great too. Very Nice.

[Nick Palmieri]

I like it as presented. I like the pose and the ability see the full bill.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Very gorgeous portrait, and I agree about the bg.

[Mike Landwehr]

I should mention that I did darken the background just a bit (blacks +5 in RAW conversion), and did apply a slight vignette to the image, to emphasize the fade into darkness that was already present at the bottom of the image.

[Gary Hamilton]

Love the background and the portrait is beautifully captured.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the spotlight effect too, no matter if you enhanced it or not (good job!). The subject is well exposed and I like how it is posing for you. I'd prefer a bit more at bottom.

[Bill Dix]

Beautiful portrait. I like the comp, and the black bg works well for me. I might imagine a tiny bit more USM.