Wire-tailed swallow

[gail bisson]

I am still working through my images from Africa from last year.
I am not 100% sure on the ID of this swallow so hoping Stuart or others can give me their opinion.
I was lucky enough to get this take-off shot. Shot from a boat.
Okavengo Delta, Botswana.
Canon 1DX 600mm and 1.4x
ISO 800 F 5.6 SS 1/800. I am surprised I got it sharp at the SS!
PP: crop to 60% FF, processed in DPP4 then to CS5 for levels, burned the perch, a touch a NR on BG then sized to JPEG and USM to JPEG.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[John Robinson]

H Gail
Whatever it is, its a pleasant shot Typical swallow family wing stretch. At least a little subsatnce in the BG which is nice. I suspect some will not like the "HA" as I believe its called. Likes fine to me.
Good one.
John

[Karl Egressy]

Good timing excellent wing stretch. IQ looks good and the nice smooth background makes the bird pop. Great work, Gail.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, Yes, your ID is spot on. Lovely pre take off shot with the raised wings, and well exposed on the whites. I do like that thin perch, and the clean BG. I can see this with a touch more contrast added.

[amir alimoradian]

Lovely bird in a great moment with a good BG. I just think better frame would result a more powerful image. This is my suggestion.

Good luck.

[arash_hazeghi]

nice dynamic pose, I like the small delicate simple perch and the BG. techs are very good, My only wish is that he was parallel to the back of the camera but the symmetrical wing position sure helps here

TFS

[Daniel Cadieux]

I really like that wing position...those primaries really are something! Good thin perch and clean BG. I like your crop, but I actually also like what Amir presented too.

[Satish Ranadive]

Gail,
Every thing has been said about this wonderful,simple and clean image of cute swallow with spectacular wing position.
Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the wing position, details, minimal perch, exposure and clean BG. I like both compositions and agree that a touch more contrast would look good. Well done as usual Gail!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gail a nice and very clean image . Well done in getting this shot .I like the wing position and the overall tones and contrast , for me no need of more contrast cause shot is taken under cloudy skies , i guess.
Not too fuzzed about the colors , maybe i am wrong , but for me the image does have too much red and magenta .

TFS Andreas

[mohammad reza shahab]

Hi Gail,
nice dynamic pose,clean BG,perch and Good details.

[David Salem]

Very nice Gail. I have a very similar frame of a tree swallow with the identical pose. The colors, perch and details look great and I think I like the re-post best. Feels more balanced to me. Very pretty capture.