Almost Home (for Randy)

[Grace Scalzo]

These beauties will soon be leaving our Long Island waters where they winter and will head north to nest and raise their young. I enjoy them each winter. This one is just about in full breeding plumage and he obliged me with one after-preen flap.

Thank you for looking and for your suggestions.

1/2500, f8, iso800
Canon 1Dx, 600f4 + 2.0 tc + lowered RRS tripod

[christopher galeski]

nice image,good pose,nice detail and light.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent sharpness and exposure. love the pose too

Well done

[ramesh anantharaman]

Love the exposure wing position and the low angle.

[Randy Stout]

Grace:

Thanks so much for the inspiration. It has been a very long,cold winter in Michigan, and I have begun to despair about the loons being able to come back in time to raise their families and get them ready for the long trip south this fall.

Excellent pose, showing both ventral surface of near wing, dorsal of rear, with slight angle towards us.

It is fun to see the breeding plumage coming in, and it appears to be in the exact reverse order of how it goes away in the fall. First changes are around the face/eye area then, usually by mid August.

In the original file, can you see what is going on with the tip of the bill? Is there something in it?

Cheers

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Wonderful wing flap pose, very nice and sharp, good low POV as usual. Don't know if it's possible to open up the dark head to get a little more color? The loons I've seen on the Jersey Shore don't seem to have developed quite this far into breeding plumage.

[gail bisson]

Nice one Grace. Really enjoy seeing the transitional plumage,
gail

[Grace Scalzo]

Thank you everyone. Randy, the tip of this bird's bill extended over the bottom. I don't know if perhaps it is a first year bird and isn't worn down yet, or if it's just a trait of this individiual.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Grace, tack sharp, and you nailed the overall exposure. Great feather detail shown on the near underwing, and just a personal thing, but I would take a bit off the bottom.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Oh this is so very beautiful Grace. Nice details, exposure control, light and your low shooting angle. Very nicely done

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Love the shooting angle for this one. Looks like the 2x is a nice addition to that 600! The blue is a nice addition to the BW. Speaking of which, you nailed the exposure for this one. All around great. It'd be in my portfolio if it were mine.

[Rob Melone]

Hi Grace, I've sat and waited for this post preen flap at the Jersey Shore but each time they turn towards the open water (i.e. the Barnegat inlet) leaving me with my finger on the shutter. You were fortunate to get this nice low angle pose with the head forward and the wings back. Sharpness is there, plus a good exposure on this high contrast loon. Hey, come down for a harlequin shoot before they head north!