Memories of Summer Past - Common Loon family

[Randy Stout]

This image was taken last June in northern Michigan. Chicks about seven days old, and catching a ride on parent. As I am sitting here looking out the window at 2 feet of snow on the ground, I find it comforting to think of them.

D4 600VR f/7.1 1/500s ISO 800 Pedestal mounted in my little boat, Loonie Too!

Post: Cropped for comp, ~70% of original frame. Selective sharpening, mild spot removal from water, small amount of detail extractor on faces.

I liked the various head positions, with pretty good separation and the gentle water.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Geoffrey Montagu]

I too find this image comforting and very welcome in the midst of this ridiculously cold winter. Wonderfully captured and like all the eye contact. The family looks very content with you.

[Holger Leyrer]

Stunning family image in all points. Love the low angle, colors and the eye contact.

[Frank Schauf]

Great picture, nice deep shooting position and great eye contact.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Sweet is all I can say. One fine capture.

[mohammad reza shahab]

Great the low angle, colors and the eye contact.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Randy,

Feel like it's been a while since we've some some of your Loons! Looking forward to seeing some more.

Great capture with two nearly perfect head angles and one that's more than good.

Miguel

[David Salem]

That's an awesome photo Randy. The three poses are great and the chicks beaks didn't even cross. The detail, exposure control and the colors all look great. The comp looks perfect too. Very nice.

[Karl Egressy]

It is nice to see one of my favorite birds this time of the year. Excellent shot, Randy.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Love your image Randy, wish I had it amongst mine.

[Shawn Zierman]

So peaceful...calming. Technically almost too good! It's a really precious image sir.

[Marina Scarr]

What a stunning image, Randy. I was missing those terrific loon images of yours, and needed a fix. The best part of this image is the eye contact with all 3 birds. The water is smooth, and your subjects are calm. Your image needed a little CCW rotation. I also removed an ever-so-slight magenta cast from the chicks fuzz and did a burn layer on the adult's back. I understand you like more water, so do I, but I didn't have time to redo the crop with all the water in tact. I think you could make this already terrific image shine even more.

[Bret Goddard]

One beautiful memory, glad you shared it. Truly beautiful

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments, and esp. to Marina for taking the time for the repost. Some very good observations

Cheers

Randy