Late afternoon snack

[Alan Lillich]

Last week Pat and I went to the Flight School West workshop by Jim Neiger and Doug Brown. On our last afternoon they decided to try one of the side canals that had good light on the chance some skimmers would be feeding. Paid off. Hand held (what else!) 1D-IV, 600 II, 1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 800. Used some Color Efex Detail Extractor on the bird.

Artistic Freedom Note: Skimmers close their nictitating membrane when they catch something. I put in an open eye from another frame.

[Richard Stern]

Hi,

It's a clever image, but somehow it doesn't quite work for me. Personally I would prefer a wider crop, with more (or all) of the wing, and the bird flying into, not out of , the picture - I would also like to see more detail on the white flanks of the bird. Others my disagree. The beak trailing in the water and the water droplets are nice. The focus is spot on.

Richard

[Alan Lillich]

Richard,

Thanks for the comments. I understand the general crop comments, I cropped in closer to make the fish more visible. Sadly I cut the top 1/3 of the wings, so had to make some lemonade too.

[Doug Brown]

Hi Alan. Really enjoyed seeing you and Pat again! I've shot a lot of Skimmer frames, but I've never captured the moment when one emerges from the water with a fish. Your exposure and sharpness are excellent. I think you did the best you could compositionally, given that you clipped the top portion of the wings.

[jack williamson]

I think you could have used an even faster SS, the whites are a little hot. Pretty sharp for this fast action and it is amazing that I can see the eye of the minnow.

Jack

[James Fuller]

Great timing!

[Karl Egressy]

The water being not smooth is taking away from the otherwise nice and dynamic image.

[David Salem]

I like the creative comp myself. If it were a wider crop then we wouldnt see or appreciate the action and the fish grab as well. Exposure and details look good to me. Nice capture!

[arash_hazeghi]

great capture of this behavior, image is sharp and well exposed. I wish the wings were not clipped but you had no control as the skimmer was quite close.

It was nice meeting you and Pat.

best

Arash