Splash down - Common loon greasing the landing

[Randy Stout]

This fellow was imaged last month landing on a northern Michigan lake. I normally shot off a pedestal, but that doesn't give enough flexibility to capture these guys as they come whistling in . They more or less crash land at a pretty high rate of speed, and rarely do you hear them coming, so being able to move quickly is paramount. So handheld that day.

D4 500mm AFS f/4 1/2000s ISO 800

Post: added canvas to right, crop from left, selective sharpening. Cleaned up the multiple reflections on iris.

Considered removing the errant feather on far wing.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[John Robinson]

Looks just fine to me Randy. Wouldn't worry about the feather in the slightest ! Great stuff indeed.
JohnR

[Arthur Morris]

Love the perfect EXP, the SH, and the top of the feet against the water like upside down skis....

[Enrique Patino]

Great shot!

[keith mitchell]

Randy if I had an image as this I certainly would not worry about the feather you mention, excellent shot.

Keith.

[Tom van den Brandt]

Well captured this landing. Great sharpness and well exposed. The feather doesn't bother me at all.

All the best, Tom

[Steve Spenceley]

Very cool capture. Most times we try for birds flying into the frame rather than out of it but this shot works really well with that wake.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

I've never seen a Loon coming in for a landing like this. Definitely one I would print and hang up!

[Arthur Morris]

Great shot!

Enrique. If you like an image a lot please take the time to let us know specifically what you like. We are all working hard to avoid becoming just another "great shot" forum and we need your help. Thanks, and thanks for your membership support.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Randy, this is excellent! The sliding action and water trail behind the loon look great. The colour of the water is nice too, and I like the soft reflection. I can see why you thought of removing the stray feather, I would have had the same instinctive thought...but it does look OK left there.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Always a bit of a challenge on how to crop an image like this, where you really want to show the spray of water, but also don't want to place the bird too close to the edge of the frame.

I may have another go at this one to rebalance it, but overall I felt it was pretty effective.

Cheers

Randy

[Sandy Witvoet]

Wow... split-second timing (before the usually 'less-than-graceful' belly-flop!) exposure and sharpness on the bird with great back-splash of the water really conveys the speed and action!

[Binu John]

Excellent shot, Randy! Love the action, water splash and the beautiful golden color BG. The exposure looks spot on. Well done.