"Skimming"

[David Salem]

Took this last spring on my very first trip to Florida. This young Black Skimmer was learning to skim in a small spot at the north lagoon of Fort De Soto state park.
I spent a few minutes focusing on him/her as it flew by. It was learning the ropes in the afternoon breeze.
Even though I didnt clip any part of it, I decided to try a close-up crop to accentuate the water splashes and the facial detail of this beautiful youngster. Hope you like it.

1DX---840mm---f6.3---ss1/3200---ISO640---HH@4:40pm---60% crop

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

David

[Mark Needham]

Fantastic image, David - well captured! Great catch light in the eye, nice and sharp with good details especially given the big crop, and love the details in the water droplets. This version works great for a tight crop. But, I would be curious to see a second version with less of a crop including some more negative space on the left so it looks like the bird is flying into something other than the wall of the image; I don't think you will lose much of the water effect with a slight crop out on the left, right, and top.

[David Salem]

Thanks Mark for the comment and the good suggestions. I did try a few different tight comps but stuck with this one because I wanted to keep the crest of the wave on the right and still keep a little room in front.
I dont think this is a room to fly into image as it is really concentrating on the head and the water splashes. More room in front would have created more of a pano, which might not be that bad?
Thanks again

[David Salem]

I decided to post the full size comp for comparison. this is not full frame. I did the same thing about year or so ago with a tight comp Osprey shot. I had some people mentioning that they wanted see the whole bird so I posted the whole bird in the frame. Some members came back to say that it didnt have the same impact and was a whole different frame. I would love to know your thoughts on this.
Thanks in advance.

[Mark Needham]

This is a tough one - I like both! They each tell a different story and each have a different type of impact. Always nice to have options though, eh? Great work.

[Satish Ranadive]

David I like the both the composition. However I will go for OP tight crop.Excellent close up with great IQ, wonderful colors and details.
Superb flash of water. I like the reflection of water on his belly. Would try to get more out of blacks on the far wing.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

Thanks again for your input Mark and you are right, it's nice to have some composition options with a shot like this.

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks for taking the trouble to show us the wider view David, both are excellent. I prefer the OP because of the intimacy - it creates the illusion of being right there in the water as this guy zipped past. It's not easy to pull this off. Superb IQ makes this possible, congratulations on an outstanding capture. regards, Ian.

[Joe Murphy]

Cracking shot David, I like the tight crop, gives it much more impact.

[Karl Egressy]

Seeing the whole frame that is good on its own right, I think it was a great decision to create the close crop.
It makes it a very unique, very dramatic image, David.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dave, great close up of the juvie 'skimming' through the water - love that we can see the water flowing through the bill. Exposure looks good, as does the detail for the amount that you have cropped. I also like the entry splash as it follows the line of the underside of the skimmer.

Nothing wrong with your original image, and it would work too, as it shows the wave pattern that cant be easy to skim. Well captured.

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi David, I agreed that the OP has more impact. Great shot! Loi

[David Salem]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[Richard Flack]

Two stunning images David! If I had to choose one, I would go with the first one. For me, it is more impactful, captures the moment better and the detail is awesome to see. Super stuff!

[Robert Kimbrell]

A beautiful image David, I prefer the first post as the best light seems to be on his face. I don't think the angle on the wings is strong enough to keep you from cropping as you did in the op. I love the clarity of the water splashes above his head.

[Ritesh Nangare]

What An Impassive image you got here David ,
the Details ,Water drops, the beak , the sharpness, colors .... all top class.
TFS My friend.

[David Salem]

Thanks again for the comments everyone. I appreciate it.