Image shot at Fort Clinch State Park (Amelia Island, Florida) on 12-28-12 at 5:08pm. I was watching and photographing this loon (Common Loon?) as it sat on the beach at the water line. It had tolerated people walking by without seeming to be alarmed. However, when a local man approached within a yard or so (presumably to see what was wrong with it), the bird started crying and reared up on its legs to protest. Needless to say, the man changed his mind and decided it would be wiser to alert the park staff about the bird. After the man left, the bird started to scoot through the sand toward the water and with help from the incoming waves, it was able to swim away.
Canon 5D MKII, 600mm (300mm f2.8L IS + 2X III extender); ISO 500 f5.6 @ 1/2000sec.
Processed in LR4 (black and white points), cropped about 20%; NIK dfine 2.0; Viveza 2.0; ColorEfex Pro; Sharpener Pro
Great action captured.I like the story.
Beautiful image.Love the calling pose,wing position and raised feet in the air with flash of water.
Very nice composition too.Image looks little bright on my monitor.
Maybe he just likes to dance hehehe, well timed shot and quite sharp, but a little bright I feelwith a couple of hot spots showing particularly on the upper chest......it appears to maybe have something under or caught in it's right foot ?
Hi Julie,
This is a very interesting behavioral shot of this (likely injured or ill) common loon.
I agree with the brightness issue and would consider warming the image a bit or increasing the saturation.
I like the splayed feet and the sand and water that are kicked up. Nice and sharp considering you were wide open with a 2X so well done,
Gail
Funny and interesting behavior. I like the open bill and running feet as well as the whole pose in general. Agree about the brightness could be toned down a little.
Nice different pose and yes to reprocessing.
Too bright is usually a much easier fix than too dark and worth the effort here.
The whites don't look blown so it should look great toned down a bit.
Thanks Satish, Phil, and Randy for your critiques. The RAW file did not have any clipped whites. I originally brought down the highlights in Lightroom and the brightness with Viveza the first time. For this repost, I went back to Viveza and reduced the brightness again. Was it enough?
Phil, I think that is sand the bird is clutching in the right foot.
Randy, since your avatar is a loon, I am sure that you have made a lot of those loon images yourself! I will not be returning to this area for at least another year or two (I went there on my Christmas Break).
Thank you Gail, Cheryl, and Dan for your comments as well. I would love to know what you think of the repost. Also, I forgot to ask in my original post for opinions on the double catchlight in the eye (sun and its reflection on the ocean).
Last edited by Julie Brown; 01-19-2013 at 09:11 PM.
the pose is great and dynamic, details look sharp, light is excellent and I like the BG. The whites were blown in the original and in the repost they turned grey. I would just go back to the RAW and bring down the red channel / highlights until they are no longer clipped the simple way. I personally Would avoid using those plugins, they usually make things worse.
Hi Julie, I like the pose, but unfortunately the loon seems scared, and as everyone says, either ill or injured. Good low angle, and with regards to the double catchlight, I always feel its best to neaten it up to show one. Just a personal thing.
Superb shot!!!!
A different pose from the norm we usually see.
Excellent details, terrific comp, and excellent timing.
Repost looks good, but I think you can reduce the brightness just a sliver more.
Very well done.
Thank you Arash, Stuart, and Robert for the additional comments. This is a learning experience for me, as I have had problems with water reflectance and loss of detail in the whites. I am going to keep working on this image until I get it right. I greatly appreciate further comments from those of you who go through this process with me.
Stuart, I knew the bird was scared, and I felt bad for it when the man walked up to it. I had been talking to him and his wife about alerting park authorities when he started walking toward the loon. I don't know if he thought he could just pick it up and carry it, but the bird definitely let him know that it was a bad idea. I suspect that sharp bill could do some damage! I have a sequence of 6-8 images that document the loon's reactions. Do you or anyone with experience with Lightroom know how to process them as a batch so that I can apply the same effects to each image?
Arash, I tried reducing the red channel (both saturation and luminance) but there seemed to be no effect. I had better results with the orange channel. Perhaps you could take a look at my preliminary experimentations in Lightroom?
Here is what I did to the 5 images below (the intent was to make the whites white, not gray): column 1: #1: crop only; #2: crop + set white & black points; #3: crop + b&w points + Orange saturation slider -100; column 2: #4: crop + b&w points + temp reduced from 5500 to 4503; #5: crop + b&w points + temp reduced from 5500 to 4503 + Orange saturation -50
So now, what should I do to regain detail in the whites? Arash, you suggested using the highlight slider. Doesn't that make the whites look gray? All further suggestions are welcome!
Last edited by Julie Brown; 01-20-2013 at 12:39 PM.
I'm a new Member here, but I do understand Loons and photographing them ... Agree, this is an exceptional image, technicals aside. This Loon came to shore to die (he is emaciated)...other than breeding/nesting, dying is the only reason you will see them on land. I hope I don't overstep my "bounds", but this bird should have been allowed the privacy and dignity to die in peace.
I'm a new Member here, but I do understand Loons and photographing them ... Agree, this is an exceptional image, technicals aside. This Loon came to shore to die (he is emaciated)...other than breeding/nesting, dying is the only reason you will see them on land. I hope I don't overstep my "bounds", but this bird should have been allowed the privacy and dignity to die in peace.
Hi Sandy. You are certainly not overstepping any bounds in my opinion. I have very little experience with Loons, so I appreciate knowing more about what was happening to the bird. I knew when I saw it on the beach that something must be wrong, and made sure to keep my distance when I started photographing it. The loon was sitting not far from where a steady stream of people were walking by. My inclination was to alert park authorities about the bird. That is what I was discussing with the local couple when the man decided to approach it. Why do you think the bird made the effort to get back in the water and swim away? Thanks for your comment. I always want to know more about the birds I photograph.
Last edited by Julie Brown; 01-21-2013 at 09:14 PM.
Hi Sandy. You are certainly not overstepping any bounds in my opinion. I have very little experience with Loons, so I appreciate knowing more about what was happening to the bird. I knew when I saw it on the beach that something must be wrong, and made sure to keep my distance when I started photographing it. The loon was sitting not far from where a steady stream of people were walking by. My inclination was to alert park authorities about the bird. That is what I was discussing with the local couple when the man decided to approach it. Why do you think the bird made the effort to get back in the water and swim away? Thanks for your comment. I always want to know more about the birds I photograph.
Julie, thank you for your kind reply to my post....I see with your lens length, you were plenty far away, and am sure didn't interfere. Loons are like every wild creature and will use the last of their strength in "flight or fight". I am unsure how that particular Park would deal with the situation... but, it's always a good idea to notify them. Since the man backed off, that was a good thing. If you make it up here to MI in the summer, I'd be happy to point you toward some potential Loon locations or good birding/photo spots.
Leave Me Alone!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Julie Brown
