Forster's Tern - HH target practice

[Miguel Palaviccini]

After a full day of hand-holding the 500, I was fairly comfortable with tracking BIF. The bigger challenge came when I saw a group of 6 terns diving into the water, searching for their next meal. While I still had a large majority of "throw away" type of shots, I also got some nice keepers. The one posted here isn't very interesting (in terms of pose), but it was one of my favorites.

I think that this 30 minute encounter did two things for me:
1) convinced me to hand-hold more often. I was able to track the birds better than with a tripod. I attribute this to not having a single pivot point to move about, hence giving me more range of motion.
2) I need to work out more. After two days of hand-holding, my left shoulder felt bruised - almost like someone punched me and the residual soreness was still there. Hats off to those who can HH these lenses for long periods of time.

Shooting info:
Nikon D800 | 500 f/4
1/2500 | f/4 | ISO 1000

[nick clayton]

I like this head on view, it gives the impression the tern is popping out the front of my monitor, a flight shot well caught. The background is OK apart from the bright area top left of centre Miguel.

[Arthur Morris]

Love the look of concentration on the bird's face. Eliminated the light areas of the BKGR with Denise Ippolito cloning on a layer. Rotated 1 degree CCW and cropped to center the wings.

[dankearl]

Nice work Miguel and Arthur's repost makes it look even better.
For BIF photo's, handholding is about the only good way to get them, IMO.
Nice head on look, not easy!

[Raymond Lee]

I was quite happy with the original image itself, but Artie brought the image to the next level...nice to get a different perspective on an image.

[Rachel Hollander]

Nice head on view, sharpness and comp. I agree with your own assessment that Artie has taken it up a notch.

TFS,
Rachel

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Miguel, nice and sharp, and the Tern really pops from your smooth BG. I do like the shape of the wings and fanned tail from your angle of capture.

[arash_hazeghi]

nice and sharp, great job. You'll get used to HHing fast!

[Faraaz Abdool]

Beautiful shot Miguel. Didn't think it could be improved upon until I saw Artie's repost. I too love the expression on the tern's face. The couple of water droplets are a nice touch.

[christopher galeski]

nice imageMiguel,like the BG and the water drops.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Thanks for the comments guys! Artie, thanks for taking the time to re-work this guy - I like it!

[Mike Veltri]

I love shooting terns, and you did so well with this oncoming shot. I like the rework by Artie, a real nice image Miguel.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the comments guys! Artie, thanks for taking the time to re-work this guy - I like it!

YAW. It is all in Digital Basics.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

YAW. It is all in Digital Basics.

I've got it and really like the defend cloning from Denise (which I got in an email from her). I've got to say that your tips for cloning in Digital Basics is probably the most used tips I have ever used. Thanks!

[Robert Holguin]

Terrific shot!!
Love the pose, wonderful background, exposed very well, and great comp.
Repost is great.
Well done.