BBPL in flight - AKA "The Bullet"

[Bill Dix]

I've tried on several prior occasions to catch Black-bellied Plovers in flight, with marginal results. This is my best effort to date. BG is water, from Ding Darling in November.

D7000, 700mm, ISO 800, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual

[Karl Egressy]

Great flight shot, Bill. I like everything about it.

[Grace Scalzo]

Between this and the Piping Plover I'm feeling very inadequate! Good job getting it in focus with a nice wing position.

[dankearl]

I don't think you could get this small guy much sharper in flight.
Nice work.

[Dennis Zaebst]

Nicely done Bill. I always enjoy your images. This one is terrific. The sharpness and color are good; I wonder if a slightly tighter crop would work as well? Just a thought...it's great as is.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Nice light, pose and the details look great. Excellent work. I'd definitely crop tighter if IQ holds.

[Don Nelson]

I like the wing position clearly showing the field mark of this species.

[gail bisson]

Wow Bill! Well done on the "bullet".
Nice and sharp and I like the black armpit showing so well,
Gail

[Doug Brown]

Definitely a tough bird to photograph in flight. You've done very well here, with good wing position and sharpness, as well as a solid exposure. Another vote for going a little tighter if image quality permits it.

[Dan Busby]

Congrats on getting this thing in focus Bill. I really like the closely paired wings, sharp feet and underwing pattern.

[Nick Palmieri]

Sweet and simple. TFS

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent Bill, this is a tough bird to get in flight sharp and you did an excellent job, not to mention you got it with an excellent wing position and against water. It is great to see Nikon is offering such capable AF even in lower cost biddies.

I also suggest going tighter if it is not too big of a crop

[Uri First]

excellent capture

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Get out of town! I can't imagine trying to get a shot like this. Even when you can predict the flight pattern, it's still hard to capture on the CCD. Well done, with almost impecable timing to get that wing and body position.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Bill, excellent flying posture, well exposed and sharp. Im going to go against everyone and say, I feel the comp works fine as is.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks everyone. This was already more of a crop than I ever like to do -- 41% of full width as posted originally. Here's a version at 33% of full width. I don't know if the larger bird is worth the additional loss of IQ. Time for a mega-pixel body, I guess.