On the fly II

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi everyone,
just asking what species of bird this is? A round fat one……...

Just back from a wet and funny week on Helgoland, but as you can see i had some sunshine too , in between.

Canon EOS 1Dx
EF 200-400 at 560 mm
Tripod

F 8 / Iso 800 / 1/800 sec

Processed in PhotoNinja and PS cc ; cropped from bottom for comp; not ideal the main subject close to the border , but i feel it is working giving the expression the youngster got chased away by the adults , in fact he got chased by another youngster.

Hope you like it , C&C welcome.

Cheers Andreas

[keith mitchell]

Andreas when I first looked I was not sure about the OOF adults but after reading your little story must say I agree ,couple more flaps to take off, great piece of work.

Cheers Keith.

[Don Railton]

Hi Andreas,

Wrong forum I think... put it in avian..! Beautifully clear, sharp, good exposure and DOF. I like the rocks and driftwood inclusion. I too found the OOF adults distracting initially but the more I look the more I think they are needed for the story.. Maybe you could remove the wave break from top border.. but no big deal for me..

DON

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Andreas, glad you got some sunshine and dried out too.

A nice scene, like the fact the pup is about to get airborne. Agree, it's a tad tight either side, but you don't often see the extremities until after the event, as all eyes are on the main subject, the pup, so no deal breaker I think. Techs look good and yes the 200-400 is 'stella' sharp! If it was me, I might consider blending that green area in the BKG in the sea to give a more 'uniform' area, but your call.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andreas - glad you had a bit of sunny weather mixed in. Hopefully, he doesn't get frustrated not getting much vertical lift. I like the placement of the pup. I would consider cropping down from the top into a narrower pano taking out all of the waves, it places more emphasis on the pup and eliminates the distractions of the green area and the white waves.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks folks for having a look and your suggestions, appreciate them as always.
Steve removed the green blob, looks better thanks.
Rachel i thought and tried a different crop as per your suggestion but feel it is too tight , for my liking. Also tried to blend the white waves more in , but was also not working for me .
So just the RP with the blob removed.
Regarding being too tight, honestly i just saw the seal moving across and fired a couple of shots ……..
There are roughly around 120 seals at that one beach , and mostly lined up close to waters edge.They are kind of sensitive about movements of us humans,even if there are people walking or lying on that beach on regular basis..So sometimes not just easy to change position without making them panic.Worst case is when the tide is going out , easier when the tide is coming in. If you sit low and quiet , they may come up to 5m. But then you are stuck, because when you then start to move ,even crawling , it is making them very nervous and run back into the sea.On the other hand there are youngsters like the other one "On the fly", who come close and sniff at your kit .
Who understands that ? me not!

Cheers Andreas

[Nancy Bell]

Andreas, great capture of a rare take-off attempt of this flightless "bird"! The bkgd seals add context and frame the youngster. Lovely light and nice super sharp details on the little one. Would you consider a pano crop removing just the thicker white wave at the top and maybe adding back just a little on the bottom? Totally understand the inability & frustration to move around freely for a better position, etc. for fear of frightening the some of the animals. Same thing with birds.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Nancy for your comment.
The FG is too cluttered with various elements , thats why i have chosen this crop , and i actually like the white waves in the BKG.

THanks Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Andreas!

Andre says I must tell you the youngster looks like ET going home
I -on the other hand - have a little dilemma, just wondering what "kit" are you referring to?

I love this image Andreas, the subject stands out very well and I am glad you kept the other fellows in the picture, I also like the pebbles and wood in the foreground, nice textures on the fur of the seal, just wondering a bit about his eye - did you have to lighten it and if so, don't you think it is a tiny tad too light? I imagine their eyes should be almost pitch black and shiny, I could be wrong though. I am not in the habit of nit-picking, just thought I'd suggest you look at the eyes again.

Wonderful capture, and I am glad you had some sunshine at last!!!

See you soon,

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Gabriela you can nit pick as long as you like , i am fine with it, but will beat you many times , you will see in oct.
The eyes are not lightened at all , depending on the angle of sunlight they are kind of dark brownish to pitch black .

Kit ? . My kit…………. whatever you understand what i meant , leave it to your fantasy ………. and you have a great fantasy ……… think.

Cheers Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

Ha ha, I don't give in to threats! And beating is not allowed around here, save for for beating about the bush!
Thank you for explaining the eye colour...I now understand where the grey is coming from.
And we will explain to you in October the many meanings of the word "kit" around here

Back to your image, glad you removed the green blob and I personally like the wave at the back. I like the first chap on the left too, he looks as if he is smiling after having seen the youngster trying to take off...

Kind regards,

[Loi Nguyen]

Sorry for being late to the party, but this is a very fun image. I like it more than the recent seal image you posted. The pup is ready to fly for sure and the OOF adult seals give the image more depth. Loi

[edwardselfe]

Beautiful - I like the RP and I really love all the many things going on in this image.
Ed

[Morkel Erasmus]

Missed this! Love the pose/timing and likewise the colour. I'd consider cropping some "surf" off the top, Andreas?