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Thread: Roseate Spoonbill

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Default Roseate Spoonbill

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    Just returned from a trip to Florida with Doug Brown . We had an awesome time and got lots of great shots of many different species of birds. We met our friend Jim Neiger on his boat at Lake Blue Cypress and had a blast shooting hundreds of Osprey and many other species including some great shots of Barred owls. I highly suggest booking a trip with Jim on the lake as he knows the lake real well and the birds even better. It was a trip that I will never forget with literally hundreds of Osprey flying around starting their nesting season. A sight to see!! I will be posting some pics from the lake soon.
    The second part of the trip took us to Fort Desoto state park. This is a great spot for shorebirds, wadding birds and Terns.
    The most amazing thing about this area is that the birds are almost oblivious to your presence,with most birds walking literally within a few feet of us. Pretty cool!
    The one bird I really wanted to see on this trip was a Spoonbill but it didnt look hopeful as they were mostly at the rookeries off shore and a boat was not available.
    Then on our third morning this beauty flew in to the north lagoon and gave us a full frame walk by. I was elated to see this unique and beautiful bird right next to us.
    I want to thank Marina Scarr for helping us and pointing us in the right direction, I really appreciate it. We all had a great time shooting together.
    Dose the shimmer on the body bother you? I have a few without it but the head is down with the bill half in the water.

    1DX---840mm---f7.1---ss1/4000---ISO640---FF---HH@8:35am

    Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it

    David

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    David,

    Sounds like you guys had a great time. Before reading your post, I was going to comment about the shimmer on the body ... that I like it! Not only did you get a chance to see a spoonie, but you you nailed it. The breeding plumage doesn't get any better, and the detail everywhere (especially those whites) is killer.

    The water coming off the beak takes this from an image to a story. I can see the him putting his head in the water and swaying it from left to right hoping to stir up a meal.

    I'm thinking this might look real good on a 20x30 canvas ;)

    Miguel

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    David,

    It was nice meeting you.
    I am glad that you got to photograph the spoonbill. Love the water drop on the beak. Awesome shot.

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    I was hoping you'd post this beauty! It really was an amazing encounter! The incredible color, great eye contact, and trailing water make this a special image. In an ideal world I would prefer no shimmer, but the trailing water in particular takes this frame over the top.
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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks guys for the comments.
    Great that we have two different thoughts on the shimmer on the body.
    It bothered me allot in the beginning and I even selectively reduced the exposure on the shimmer but after looking at it for a while it's not as bothersome.
    Maybe like Doug mentioned, the water from the bill helps to reduce the shimmers impact on the image.
    I agree that the breeding colors couldn't be better.
    Troy, It was very nice meeting you and shooting together. See ya next time I'm in Florida.

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    Forum Participant christopher galeski's Avatar
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    nice image,good pose,great colors,love the water coming off the bill,sharp with nice detail,well done.

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    Hi David, Good to see that your membership is once again active. And yes, Florida does not suck for tame birds!

    I love the image: SH with a perfect EXP. The flash rocks. Nice light and bird. The splash puts it over the top; you gotta love the 1D X frame rate for getting stuff that you cannot anticipate. I am fine either way with the shimmer--it is not in a bad spot. If it bugs you, it would not be too difficult to take the same feathers from another image with a Quick Mask and cover the shimmer.
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    This bird just lit up the entire marsh area didn't it? I was so happy for you b/c it's always special when someone photographs their first spoony in full breeding colors.

    I personally love seeing the shimmers on most images, especially when it's under the bird's belly, so no complaints here about the shimmer. It simply adds to the story. The water splash and head angle together really work great esp against the gorgeous blue. Your image appears to need some CCW rotation. You will note that the tip of your beak is not meeting its reflection. The only thing that could have improved this image for me would have been to see the raised foot outside of the water.

    It was great getting to know you, David. Glad you brought home so many keepers.
    Marina Scarr
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    Great image David! I like the breeding colours, trailing water, exposure, IQ and composition. I like the shimmer on the body as well.

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    Excellent image, wonderful colors,details and composition.
    Love the eye,water trail from beak and reflection of water on wings.

    Regards,
    Satish.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    A very nice image.
    I like the shimmer.
    Good HA and POV. If you have a bit more room below for those long legs then I would use it.
    Gail

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    Colorful bird wonderful captured. I Like the low angle and the water drops under the beak. Eye contact is great. Sharpness, too. Well done, David.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks again everyone for the comments.
    Marina, he sure did light up the lagoon and all the photographers faces too. :)
    Gail, that is full frame and adding canvas to the bottom with the silhouette would be a little tricky so I kept it the way it was. Thanks as always.
    I'm glad everybody likes the shimmer.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marina Scarr View Post
    . Your image appears to need some CCW rotation. You will note that the tip of your beak is not meeting its reflection.
    True with dead calm and perfect reflections but you need to be careful here as the water has been distorted....
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Hi David, sounds like a trip of a lifetime, and one I would surely love the opportunity. Pity you guys are nearly on the opposite side of the world. I really like the HA and eye contact, and yes, the drooling water takes this up a few notches. I do like the full breeding colours, well exposed and sharp. Im totally fine with the water's reflection on the body. Well captured.

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    A beautiful spoonie, indeed! Wonderful breeding colors, nice low POV, very sharp, water off of beak a big plus, nice head angle, raised leg--it has it all. Congrats. Regarding the shimmer, I prefer images without it, but it is present so often, I tend not to pay a lot of attention to it any more.

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    Welcome back Dave. This is a beautiful image and I'm looking forward to more from your trip. The bird is gorgeous and I just love the dripping water. By shimmer if you folks are referring to the light reflected on the body, I actually like that!

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