Pacific Loon

[gail bisson]

Canon 1DX 600mmII and 1.4XIII
ISO 400
f 7.1@ 1/3200
Small crop for comp. Taken in Nome on Matthew Studebaker's workshop June 2013.
This may not appeal to some because the shoreline intersects with the head but this is still a favorite of mine.
PP: Crop, increased exposure by 1/2 stop, increased saturation by +6 points, levels, DE at 5 % on loon, USM to JPEG
Comments and critiques always learned from and appreciated with thanks,
Gail

[Randy Stout]

Gail:

These guys always make me smile, must be the bizzare puff ball head.
The bg transition is soft enough that it doesn't bother me. Good shooting angle, colors complimentary.
Because loons flap facing away about 85% of the time, this seems natural to me, although I do prefer a front on shot when possible. The eye however shows well here, which is important.

Def. a bird on my bucket list.

Cheers

Randy

[Girish Prahalad]

excellent low angle & pose. details & exp look very good. the BG shoreline intersecting the head is not a deal breaker for me.

[Karl Egressy]

The pose is beautiful so is the bird.
The low shooting angle makes the water look wonderful as well.
Actually I like the way the blue and yellow bleed into each other, Gail.
Great image!!!

[keith mitchell]

Gail I don't have a problem with the water/BG in fact I don't have a problem with any of it, great image.

Keith.

[Shawn Zierman]

Wowser! Sweet head angle for the action and body angle that was going on. Exposure looks perfect. Beautiful tones in the water and background. I also enjoy the composition/subject placement in the frame, and those sweet sharp little water droplets on the right hand side of the frame....great little detail there.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Wow Gail, you really got this one in a beatiful place! love the light and I am fine with the two-toned BG. I can see so much detail on those wings! :)

[David Salem]

I would love to get a chance to shot these beautiful birds sometime and you did a great job on this one. I really like the pattern to the feathers and the fact that they are a bit loose so they add depth to the back.
I like the look back pose and the head on these guys is awesome and beautifully colored and looks so smooth. Barely notice the intersecting line in the BG. Nice shot Gail

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, exquisite light and IQ, which in turn has exposed the detail on the wingspread so well. Love the visible droplets at each wing tip, and Im fine with the BG as is, especially the colours. Your low shooting angle turned out well too. Well captured.

[Daniel Cadieux]

As Randy mentions the BG transition is smooth enough to make it look alright. I love the low angle, pose, head turn. Although I'm sure it is OK viewed really large I would enlarge the pupil just for web presentation. Superb image all around!

[Matthew Studebaker]

the shoreline is so out of focus, that it doesn't bother me even a little. I wouldn't change a thing.

[Jamie Douglas]

Ditto to the "I wouldn't change a thing" comment from Matthew above. This is outstandingly good in my opinion.

[Robert Kimbrell]

What a pleasing image Gail. Beautifully exposed, love the color of the water, and all the colors go so well together. You did well to get so low, I wonder if you got wet. Beautiful soft transition from the oof area in foreground.

[Grace Scalzo]

Why are you even concerned about that shoreline? The colors are so beautiful as is the bird and the light. I see the background as a positive, not a concern, in this beautiful image.

[christopher galeski]

Beautiful image Grace,love the light colors and BG,and the pose.TFS.

[Holger Leyrer]

What for a wonderful bird. Love the pose, Details and colors in BG

[Sidharth Kodikal]

This is so very beautiful Gail for all the reasons mentioned above. I like everything here, but my favorite part is the droplets at the right side. It likely just perception, but the image seems to need a bit of CCW rotation.