Like Ian, I was able to witness the courting and mating ritual of the Black-necked Stilts the other day in a local pond. I tend to shoot stilts and other long birds in vertical orientation, but I wish I had shot these in landscape instead. However, the wing probably would have been clipped off. If I hadn't been so mesmerized with what I was seeing (first for me), I might have thought more about composition. It's a learning process I am slowly grasping. I cropped some from the bottom and added a little bit of canvas on the right side as the wing just touched the edge. Comments, feedback, suggestions are always welcome with much appreciation. Techs: Nikon D7000/500mm f/4-P, 1.6x TC on tripod/gimbal head @ 1/640, f/5.6, ISO 400. (RAW, converted in LR 4 and finished in CS5)
Last edited by Jeannean Ryman; 03-18-2013 at 08:45 AM.
You beat me to the punch! I was going to post my mating pic this morning, but I like your vertical crop better than my horizontal. Your composition works well and I like the BG. I'm looking at it on a crummy monitor at work, but are the whites under the male's wing a little hot?
Wow Jeannean, this image is amazing!!! There are so many super things about this image. You can clearly see both eyes and the color differentiation on the neck/back of the female vs the male. You have awesome BG water here. I love seeing all the"love bubbles." Not sure whether folks are aware that before the mating with the stilts and avocets, the males shake the water up a little under the female so that it makes bubbles under her just before he mounts her. The wing position is awesome!!!
NAILED!,..just look at the eyes and long beautiful legs,..what a great moment with nature and you tell the entire story with one still image. This is the essence of photography,..the image has a wonderful feel!
The background is fantastic often photographers forget the image must have balance and that includes all four corners, the colors, the action and the capture angle are really good,..might need to hang this one!
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 03-18-2013 at 05:18 PM.
Thank you all. I'm glad you liked it. It sure was interesting to watch. Marina, I got a shot of the bubble blowing activity as well. Basically, I was a voyeur through the whole process until they walked off together looking quite satisfied.
HI Jeannean, Lovely pose and action captured her and excellent control of the whites. Not sure how you added canvas but it looks like from the stretched out features in the water that you used the free transform method if so you need to be careful it isn't obvious
I love this and feel you did great with it. I disagre about the horizontal crop because you really needed the leg room for the bottom bird. There legs are so long so virtual legs are necessary IMO. You can always add some canvas to the image for more space for the wing. Marina said it: so much to like about this image. Well done.
Beautiful shot. Everything came together nicely on this one. Perfect exposure, details and great pose by both birds. One I would love to have in my files.
WOW, Jeannean, I can't say anything more than the others have already said. Absolutely outstanding shot! I find stilts are so difficult to expose properly, you really need the best light. Perfectly done! Wish it were mine ;-p
Mating Black-necked Stilts
