The big blue (Cory's Shearwater)

[shane shacaluga]

Managed quite a number of shots of this species in my last boat outing. The way they fly cm's off the surface in rough water, just skimming their wingtips, is amazing

They can approach the boat between the waves and you wont see them until they are right upon you.

D800e
300f4 +1.7xTC
1/3200
f7.1
ISO 500

Handheld, AFC nine central points

very slight crop left and bottom for composition. This frame full size is 6600 pixels wide! My laptop was huffing and puffing!

Had to remove blue from the whites as the colour of the water was reflecting quite heavily. Not sure if I should have removed or left it there

Thoughts on this one please

[gail bisson]

Hi Shane,
This is your best image yet!
Tack sharp, great IQ and good light.Good call on taking the blue out ,but hard to tell without seeing the original.
The POV makes me feel like i am flying beside him.
I might remove the lower catchlight
Well done,
Gail

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks a lot for your comments Gail. My boat is pretty low so getting them at eye/water level is possible

I was contemplating removing second the catch light but there was so much light reflecting off the water i thought it looked more natural leaving as is

Will remove it and see how it looks though

[Arthur Morris]

What WHITEs? Nicely done and very sharp. Love the placement of the head against some clean (i.e., no top of a wave) water. As I'd like a bit more of a dorsal view you will need to get a taller boat or a tall ladder :).

Where was this image made? As I am late to the party tell me about your boat and your photo excursions.

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks a lot Artie, much appreciated. The white underbelly was actually a very pale blue due to the reflection from the waters surface ;)

The photo was taken in the straits of Gibraltar last weekend. It is migration season and many seabird species are coming through from the north and spending time here hunting. The Atlantic meets the Mediterranean and the sea is blooming with life.

This was taken from my small 19' May-craft boat which is quite low to the water. I could always stand on the drivers seat for a better topside angle

Thanks for taking your time to comment ;)

[Grace Scalzo]

Nice and sharp. I like your composition and found much interest in this image.

[Marina Scarr]

Tack sharp image and how it pops against that gorgeous BG. Angle of flight is nice. It looks as though you could reach out and touch the bird.

[arash_hazeghi]

Nice exposure sharp details and great light. Wing position is not ideal though. A few frames after this one would have a better dorsal view. A lot better if he was banking.

TFS

[David Salem]

Nice sharp detail and great blue BG color. Ya, wish for a better wing position but you take em as they come. Nice work

[Mervyn Marsh]

Hey nice shearwater photo, It looks great I love these sea birds.. keep em' coming :)

Cheers,

Merv

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Love the separation of bird and waves. Great shooting angle and detail on the bird as well.

[christopher galeski]

nice capture,great IQ,nice BG.

[Joe Murphy]

Beautiful rich colours & great IQ, great shot Shane.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

You've nailed this one Shane. The deep blue, rough sea looks excellent, and I absolutely love the 3D look this image has. Nice sharp details and eye contact.

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks a lot for all your comments everyone.

Weather permitting i will be out again tomorrow chasing these seabirds. Will try and get more of a banking shot if possible

Wish me luck haha!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Shane, the shearwater really pops from the sea BG, and good DOF too. The comp works well, and I like the roughness of the sea BG.

Something I would love to do - shoot marine birds out at sea, but I get terribly sea sick.

[Satish Ranadive]

Fantastic flight shot. Very nice composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Girish Prahalad]

excellent pose & IQ on this one. the blues in the water really makes the bird pop.

[vishaljadhav]

Wonderful image , all has been said.
I just love all of the image no nits for me at all

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks for the comment Vishal.