Look what I can do

[Grace Scalzo]

Here is a juvenile black skimmer from tonight at Long Island's favorite beach. They are such fresh looking youngsters.



Sunny 16 exposure
Full frame, Levels, sharpened, two specular highlights and one dust spot removed.
Canon 1dx, 600f4 + 1.4tc + rrs tripod

[keith mitchell]

Grace I tried for these on Lido Key Florida last week ,you have made a far better job than my attempts, certainly not in a position to look for nits, very nice well done.

Regards Keith.

[Bill Dix]

Wonderful shot, Grace. I've never seen one skimming the sand before. I hope a wave comes in before he snags a mandible. Great wing position and well exposed.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Grace, love the soft light, and well done on capturing this wing position. Nice and sharp, and the Skimmer really pops out the screen.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Grace lovely shot with some nice light . Love the shadow , but would tone down the blue a fraction in the same.Well exposed with nice tones and detail .
If you have a bit more room on bottom and RHS would give the bird more room to fly into.

TFS Andreas

[Dumay de Boulle]

Cracking image all around, detail and light are great with a strong pose. I like Andreas's suggestions re. space.

[Mike Poole]

There are many excellent parts to this shot for me. The focus is nailed on showing that stunning eye perfectly. The blacks and whites are handled perfectly, and the sand based shot is so nice to see (even though I love the regular water based versions). However, for me, the final polish is the shadow, which IMHO negates the usual need for space for him to fly into.

[Satish Ranadive]

Gorgeous image. Spectacular pose with full up wings, beautiful HA, and nice shadow of him on the sand, every thing is perfect.
Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

I really like this one Grace. The pose is perfect and the shadow cast below adds to the image IMO. The open beak, the catch light and the solid techs make for a real beautiful frame. Well done

[Carl Walker]

Hi Grace. Beautiful image. The light, wing, flight position over the sand superb - the shadow also gives it an edge. WD

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks to everyone who looked and commented. I will indeed remove some blue from the shadow. This is full frame, no more room. I was hoping that the shadow made this work as is, and I appreciate your comments about that.

[Diane Miller]

Perfect as is, for me! The bluish tint of the shadow might indicate the WB is just a touch cool. Worth checking out a tweak, but only very subtly, if at all.