Synchronized wave dancing

[Alan Lillich]

Shot from the MV Ushuaia while returning from South Georgia Island to the Falklands. Catching the storm petrels in flight while standing (and not falling overboard) is incredibly hard. They move very fast and tend to approach from the stern then suddenly veer off when they get close. On this day I finally noticed a small platform, about 1' high and 2x4 feet in size, towards the rear on the main deck - maybe 15' above the waterline. Sitting on that I could lean through the railing with my arm on the middle rail and shoot straight back. A 20+ knot headwind also helped to reduce the birds' relative speed. You can't see the slope, but they are running down the face of the large swell. I don't know if they approached the water intentionally or were pushed by a vagrant gust. Some would land and some would run a bit then lift off again.

7D, 70-200 f/2.8 at 182mm, ISO 400, 1/2000 at f/5.6 set manually.

Modest processing in LR, the main thing I did there was add an inverted grad filter to even out the water - it was originally lighter on top and darker on bottom. In PS I removed some distracting foam with the patch tool. I've cropped about 1/4 off the right and about 1/10 off the top. That puts the birds on the diagonal, but the more I look at it the more I think I took too much off the right.

[Doug Schurman]

I like that you can see the color pattern on the tops side of the wings as well as being able to see the splashes in the water where there feet hit.

I do have a hard time connecting with though. Maybe it is the angle or not being able to see the face well. I've never been on a Pelagic trip before but I can image that sometime you don't have the perspectives you would most like.

I would have loved to see the slope of the wave but it looks like that would not be possible on a boat of this size.

Good job on the exposure with darks and whites on the bird.

[Shawn Zierman]

Excellent symmetry in the bird's flight pose. I also like the POV because it's unusual and successfull imo.
The crop feels off to me, but I can't quite figure out why...not concise enough maybe...would lean towards
a more of a 4x6 feel with a little off the top and a bit off the bottom.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Alan, I enjoyed your introduction to the image, but one thing for sure, You wont catch me on any ship out in the blue yonder - sea-legless. Good symmetrical poses from both birds, and I like how we can see the splashes from the feet. Lovely blue to that water. Comp wise, I would just take a bit off the top.

[Melissa Groo]

I think this is a very neat capture, as it shows such interesting behavior and is an unusual perspective. I would like to see some trimmed from top and bottom too. But really enjoyed this image for its uniqueness and symmetry.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Alan, this is a view we don't get to witness every day! thanks for sharing it. I love the color of the water, and great job on capturing the symmetry. I'll agree with Melissa about cropping a bit from both the top and bottom.

[Clemens Vanderwerf]

Alan, I remember you sitting there having a top view on the birds. Like the two birds running over the water after they picked up some food from the vessel's propeller wash. The square crop does not do it for me. I would take quite a bit of the top and bottom. The blue of the sea is a little too blue in my opinion, and the blacks on the birds seem a little too gray. Other than that a very nice image from a unique point of view.

[Marina Scarr]

Terrific perspective you have here. I am with Clemens on this one. I tried a more vertical crop (taking from the top and bottom) and I find it quite a bit more pleasing and better showcases your subjects and their behavior.

[Alan Lillich]

The blue of the sea is a little too blue in my opinion, ...

I thought about this, since I had done nothing conscious to modify blue. I was inclined to accept it since I remember talking to Pauline Carr one morning in the Zodiac line about how incredibly clear and blue the water was. She said it is that way in the winter, getting cloudy and gray when the phytoplankton grow in the summer. Then I remembered that a while back I changed my LR import default to use the Camera Landscape calibration profile - I was picking that a lot when using the 1D-IV. I looked at all of the profiles and there is quite a difference in the blues! The image here is a mosaic from screen grabs. I agree now that the Camera Landscape blue is a bit garish. I have no idea which is really the most accurate, it is raining today else I would make a Color Checker Passport profile and try that. Comparing in the full image I think Camera Neutral is best, Pat agrees.

[Clemens Vanderwerf]

Comparing in the full image I think Camera Neutral is best, Pat agrees.

Alan, I agree on this one as well. Looks way better with Camera Neutral.