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Thread: "Tug-O-War"

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Default "Tug-O-War"

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    Caught this Frigatebird taking a squid from the mouth of this brown pelican while I was on a family vacation a few years ago in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They are the masters of stealing fish from other birds. It succeeded in it's thievery.

    1DX---840mm---f6.3---ss1/3200---ISO640---HH@8:15am---30% crop

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

    David
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    Astounding!! I am not qualified enough to comment! What a shot!!!!

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    This is terrific Dave.
    Terrific action you have captured here.
    I love the way the primary wing tip cups the pelicans' eye. Also wonderful to see that the eyes are visible on the birds and the prey.
    If I had one wish it would be to not have the sandbar at the top of the frame.
    Wish I had this one in my portfolio,
    Gail

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    Excellent action captured here. not sure on the square crop. i would prefer a vertical with more room for the virtual feet of the pelican.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone. I appreciate the comments and I'm glad you like the shot.

    Gail, me too on the sandbar!!

    Alan, I did try this as a vertical but it wound up wider than I wanted and it would wind up showing more of the sandbar that I didn't want to concentrate on, so the square comp worked best for me. Thanks as always for your help and suggestions.

    Also, I just found out today that this image made the finals in the BBC photographer of the year contest along with three others!

    Thanks again
    Last edited by David Salem; 04-01-2015 at 08:31 PM.
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    Congratulations, David. Awesome shot; great moment captured here. I like the square crop, but I miss some space at the bottom as well. Good luck with the contest.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks Lorant! Maybe I will add a little more to the bottom. I wanted the viewers eye to go right to the heads of the birds so maybe I didn't notice the bottom as much. Thanks again.
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    This is absolutely superb! Amazing action and composition. I like the eye contact on them and the exposure is very nice.

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    Absolutely amazing capture! Congratulations David.

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    hi David this is a real stunner ......... extraordinary action captured !!!!!!!!!
    If this was mine i would watch the sharpening , a bit heavy on the subjects , but this could be easily addressed .

    Great work David

    TFS Andreas

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    Beautiful, stunning, awesome, amazing, I love it all. That's a winner David. Very well done.

    Will

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    amazing interaction Dave, most folks don't realize what it takes to get a frame like this, you had really fast reflexes. congrats on your BBC nomination and best luck!

    agree with a bit less sharpening BTW and a tad decrease in contrast

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    Outstanding David.

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Amazing superb and awe inspiring! What a shot.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks a lot everyone for the comments. I'm glad you like it.

    I was sitting on the beach tracking the frigatebirds when this individual dropped down and started to hover.
    Within no time he was on top of this Pelican and the action happened in just a split second. Lucky to get this one.

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    never knew one can make images like these. astounding!

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    Within no time he was on top of this Pelican and the action happened in just a split second.
    It was meant to be David, right man on the job, with the right kit, LOL.

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    Hi David, brilliant!!!!! Superb action captured here, and I really like the parallel wings of the Frigatebird whilst hovering. Just a personal thing, Im not too keen on the square crop, but there again, with this action, it can be any crop.

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    Just awesome David, good luck with the nominations!

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks Girish, Steve, Suart and Richard. I appreciate the comments.

    Steve, thanks for that and and I do think it's the right kit for the job!! I love my 1DX and 600!! Not sure if I was the right man, but I got them in the frame this time
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    What superb timing - and even better anticipation!
    I agree regards the sharpening/contrast (especially on the pelican) but don't let that take away from the sheer quality of what you have captured.

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    awesome....i love it ....Register a special moment...nice pos and detail ....TFS

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    Simply outstanding, Dave!
    Huge congratulations on the nomination and best of luck with the final verdict!

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    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
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    Fabulous action captured, with an awesome pose by the Frigatebird. I had the same thought about the sharpening. Congrats on the multiple BBC nominations --- well deserved.

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    You have been hiding this one from me. Great capture Dave, good luck on those two contests.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone!!
    I lassoed both birds and sharpened them the same but I can see now that the pelican defiantly needs a bit less because of it's feather pattern. Actually I have noticed that with all my brown pelican shots.
    Their feathers have a specific look to them that doesn't need much sharpening or they start getting crunchy with the usual sharpening that I use.
    Thanks for the help everyone.
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    Excellent action shot David, best of luck with the BBC.

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    Lifetime Member Jim Neiger's Avatar
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    Killer action image with cool birds! Ive never seen an interaction shot involving a Mag Frig and a Pel. Way to Go, dave! BFAM
    Jim Neiger - Kissimmee, Florida

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    A couple of thoughts here, the first being a huge congrats on the BBC contest. Getting even one image into the finals is huge, for your to have four is wild. Now, how to critique an image of this caliber. I do have to say that I would like more space on the bottom .... I think that it would anchor the image more. The other thought that has been floating about in my head since I saw this is a caution....we all get so bent on head angles, background elements, etc here that sometimes we might be in danger of overlooking really great shots in our files because something about them may not fit the BPN model. We want more room here and there, a "better" head angle, less distractions, etc, while perhaps overlooking the big picture (Pun intended). Thanks for sharing this beauty, David. I have learned much from it and wish you all the best with your entries.

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    Fully action packed marvelous image.
    Love it.

    Regards,
    Satish.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks again everyone. I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.

    Grace, first off, thanks for the well wishes on the contest!!
    Second of all, you bring up a great point about the fact of possibly overlooking a special frame because it may not exactly conform to our rigorous BPN expectations.
    Yes I like everything to be as perfect as possible and I try to post only my best stuff but this shot is a perfect example of what you just mentioned. I took this a few years ago and when I got home from vacation, I looked at it, thought it was kind of cool, and then didn't do much with it because of the shoreline in the background, even though it was some pretty neat action. By dumb luck I happen to be going through some files looking for a shot when I ran across this frame again. Like you said I started looking at it closer and realized that even though it didn't one hundred percent conform to the expectations of a perfect frame, it still had a lot going for it. I put it in the BBC photographer of the year contest and it wound up making the finals. Go figure, just like you mentioned, keep your eyes open without blinders!!
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    Superb.... Great timing... What a frame ! You got the eyes of both the birds...Super fantastic...
    TFS

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Hello David,

    Coming in so late to this exquisite frame I suddenly found myself out of superlatives - just about everything has been said above. Been following your work for some time now, and I am constantly amazed at the quality as well as content of your images - congratulations on yet another sublime capture, well processed as always and so exciting to view!

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Amazing moment captured! Awarding winning shot in my opinion!

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    Quote Originally Posted by David Salem View Post
    Thanks again everyone. I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.

    Grace, first off, thanks for the well wishes on the contest!!
    Second of all, you bring up a great point about the fact of possibly overlooking a special frame because it may not exactly conform to our rigorous BPN expectations.
    Yes I like everything to be as perfect as possible and I try to post only my best stuff but this shot is a perfect example of what you just mentioned. I took this a few years ago and when I got home from vacation, I looked at it, thought it was kind of cool, and then didn't do much with it because of the shoreline in the background, even though it was some pretty neat action. By dumb luck I happen to be going through some files looking for a shot when I ran across this frame again. Like you said I started looking at it closer and realized that even though it didn't one hundred percent conform to the expectations of a perfect frame, it still had a lot going for it. I put it in the BBC photographer of the year contest and it wound up making the finals. Go figure, just like you mentioned, keep your eyes open without blinders!!
    It just goes to show - if the shot 'works' then a lot of what we would ordinarily claim to be technically 'important' elements become less important or even irrelevant.
    I know that I think too much about my photos and either talk myself out of not taking it at all or taking it and putting it aside. My wife either 'gets it' or she doesn't - and often if she 'gets it' that is enough for me.

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    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
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    Thanks Shantung, Gabriella, Troy and Mike. I really appreciate the nice comments!!

    Mike, Exactly!!
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    BPN Member Jim Keener's Avatar
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    I'm not competent to comment on the shot. What impresses me, in addition to the photograph, is the courtesy of those commenting, the rigorous standards, and the willingness to learn, even on the part of the experts.

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