Two Black Skimmers

[Henry Domke]

Walking the beach at Sanibel yesterday I came across a group of about 50 Black Skimmers resting near the water's edge. I sat and watched them and was able to get shots of birds coming in. I enjoyed seeing the birds head-on. It shows how thin their beaks are.

Canon 5D3
400 2.8 Lens with a 1.4 teleconverter
ISO 1600
Aperture f14
Speed 1/2500th of a second
Manual Exposure.
AI Servo with AF Case 2 selected

The image was processed in Lightroom 4 and then I used Photoshop CS6 to mask out extra birds at the bottom of the frame.

[Daniel Cadieux]

It is pretty neat how surprisingly thin their bills are! Good to have a pair here, and they are juxtaposed just enough. Tough light but well handled. As posted I could see either more cropping from above, or more canvas below.

[Shawn Zierman]

This, and your previous pano of this species are refreshingly different from the majority of images I've seen of this species.
Nice job with creative presentations. I think Dan is right on regarding his composition tweaks.

[Henry Domke]

This, and your previous pano of this species are refreshingly different from the majority of images I've seen of this species.
Nice job with creative presentations.

Thanks!

[gail bisson]

excellent DOF and agree more canvas on the bottom is needed.
it is technically very difficult to get direct incoming birds tack sharp so well done!
gail

[Marina Scarr]

Well done on the two birds. Like their poses. I would crop from the top for more of a pano or add some space to the bottom.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Great job getting them both sharp and mirrored poses. I would like to see more room on he bottom to fly into as well and less on top. Nice

[Raymond Lee]

Nice sharp shot of both birds. Definitely not easy to do. I also vote for chopping some of the top.

[John Cooper]

Well done Henry bagging not one but two skimmers. I like the way they mirror each other in flight. Another vote for a crop from the top.