Theme: Joy of the bathing Jay

[Gerald Kelberg]

This one always makes me smile. The Jay always looks to me to be quite immaculate in the way it is 'dressed' - not a feather out of place. But when he hit the water, this guy went crazy and really seemed to be enjoying himself. It was taken a few years back on a trip to Hungary. I hope it brings a smile to you, too!

Canon EOS 5D MkII, EF 500 f/4L IS
1/400 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1600
DPP3, Levels, Curves adjustments to the mid-tones, NR with Dfine, pretty much full frame with slight crop for presentation.

Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Gerald

[christopher galeski]

HI Gerald,the thing I like about this image,is the expression on the birds face,he or she looks like it is really enjoying its self,nice POV,some nice detail on the head and under the raised wing,nice light.TFS.

[Ritesh Nangare]

WooooooooW.......

Fantastic shot withe freezing droplets and awesome BG, Great detail...........
Just perfect Bathing shot.
TFS...........

[keith mitchell]

" I hope it brings a smile to you, too!" smile it makes me beam ,sharp and detailed where it needs to be, water droplets on a nice b/g ,very nice indeed.

Keith.

[Jonathan Ashton]

It certainly made me smile and for the reasons you suggest - that is about the wettest jay I have seen! The head is very sharp and just a little wing movement make for a pleasing image.

[John Robinson]

Excelent! I was just about to put a bathing Jay on !! It can wait ! They do make great subjects. Good Stuff !
JohnR

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Super fun image Gerald. You're absolutely right about Jay's being always so immaculate; this image had me chuckling. Love all those flying droplets.
I'd tone down the whites at the far edge of the 'pool' that merges with the bg, but that's just nitpicking.

[Robert Kimbrell]

Excellent bathing shot, It makes me feel like I am in the water with him, Shutter speed worked well here. Well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

This is one wet bird Gerald, nicely captured the action. TFS