European swallows interacting

[hennieloots]

Hi folks. Took this image at a nearby bird sanctuary at close range. I am not sure about the comp in 16:9, as well the pose with the back of the front bird to me. I did like the interaction and the open beak and the eyes on both guys visible; I Look forward to your opinions and advice.

Techs: Canon 1D-X | Canon EF 600mm F4 IS USM ii– 1/1000 @ F/7.1 & ISO: 1250 |EB: +1/3EV | On Gimbal head on tripod from hide |
PP:
Crop – 90% of original
LR – Contrast added, Increased expo with +.33, Sharpened, Vibrance, Clarity
PS6 – Canvass added to the LHS, LM to reduce highlights, Selective color, Hue/sats, Selective sharpening, Selective dodge & burn to birds.

All comments and critique always welcome and appreciated!
Regards
Hennie

[Randy Stout]

Hennie:

I like the interaction, colors, exposure. I don't think the large amount of space on left adds much, too much neg. space for my tastes.

Normally I wouldn't expect this combination with the closer bird's back to us would work well, but because the head is sharp enough, and you can clearly see the back bird, I find it effective.

The open mouth of the back bird acts as a nice focal point for the image.

Cheers

Randy

[gail bisson]

Hi Hennie,
The light and superb BG are really great.
I think I would crop from the left but keep the pano feel.
I think the interaction depicted is great and the heads are both sharp so image works.
I wish for less motion blur on the near wing,
Gail

[Karl Egressy]

Nice interaction captured in good light.

[Satish Ranadive]

Superb image. Very nice interaction you have captured. Beautiful colors.Love the open beak.

Regards,
Satish.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Hennie, lovely interaction between the two swallows, and great that we can see the eye of the near swallow. The open beak adds to the interaction. I do love the colour of the BG.

I recognise the perch - Marievale?? Ive always known these guys as White throated Swallows, so am wondering on your title.

[hennieloots]

Thank you to all for the kind comments.

Randy & Gail - Thank you for the advice, I will play some more with the comp.

Stuart - Marievale is 100% correct, sir. I will recheck the species in my books and get back to you on that, thanks for pointing it out.
Hennie

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Very cool interaction, great light, awesome BG. Well done.

[Melissa Groo]

Super behavior and interaction captured here, Hennie. Gorgeous light and background. Great job getting both sharp. I like the motion blur of the wings. I like the pano crop but would move them a bit to the left.

[Marina Scarr]

Killer action captured here. Love the colors and details. The dead space on the left tends to make the eye wonder in that direction.

[Richard Flack]

Nice image and interaction Hennie! Thanks for sharing. (IMO Stuart is correct in his ID)

[christopher galeski]

nice capture,love the light and BG,great interaction,would crop some of the space on the left.TFS.

[hennieloots]

Thanks to all for looking and the kind comments.
Stuart, Richard - I rechecked the ID on this bird and Stuart is correct, this is a White-throated swallow.
Apologies to all for my mistake.
Hennie

[Markus Jais]

Beautiful shot with great colors in the background. I like the wing pose of the flying bird and the motion blur. The open bill of the perched bird is great as it draws the eye's attention to it.

Markus

[Bill Dix]

Great interaction, sharpness, light. This is a case where seeing the back of the bird works just fine; the open beak is the focus and explains it all, and the right hand bird's eye is showing. Yes to a little off the left.

[adrian dancy]

Excellent colour and interaction. A little over sharpened perhaps. Stuart is correct with ID IMHO.

[BenBotha]

Hennie, I agree with the comments. The light really makes it special. Ben