Tern On

[Marina Scarr]

One of my favorite times to photograph Least Terns is in April during breeding season. The male prances around the female dangling the fish and his head back and forth and doesn't usually pass it off to her until just before his dismount. Smart fellow!

C & C always welcomed and much appreciated.

Canon 1D4, Canon 500L F4 & 1.4 TC
F11, 1/2500sec, ISO 500, manual mode
Feisol tripod, Jobu head

[arash_hazeghi]

fantastic interaction Marina, love the pose and details for both complemented by perfectly symmetrical wing position. I'd only make the mid tones warmer a bit

TFS

[christopher galeski]

loverly capture Marina,good POV,sharp with nice detail,colors compliment each other,the fish a nice bonus.

[Karl Egressy]

Amazing interaction shot, Marina.

[Randy Stout]

Marina:

Perfect timing, whites are nicely exposed. I thought you were suppose to present the fish first

Because of the dominance of the males wing position in the image, I might consider cropping a smidge from the right to equalize the space on each side of his wings. Minor point, very much personal taste. I happen to really like symmetry, but it isn't everyones cup of tea!

Cheers

Randy

[Lorant Voros]

Very nice interaction in this mating pose; nice light on the female and great symmetry on the male. If he is lucky he can even get the fish at the end. Well done.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Marina a very well executed shot , does look very balanced from framing POV . You have very good HL and SH .
Great work .

I agree with Arash about reducing the blue component a tad plus i might give the image a bit more brightness as it does look like taken in full sun ?!

For illustration my RP .

TFS Andreas

[David Cowling]

I like the way you have captured the male exactly square on which gives the image great symmetry. Like Randy I love symmetry in images. Beautifully exposed. I might not have noticed the fish unless you had mentioned it because it is also white.

[Diane Miller]

What a gorgeous shot!! Hope we'll get to see many more!

If I had any critique, it might be to compare a version with a tiny bit more canvas at the base.

[steve torna]

Beautiful image. I love the distraction free pastel background and the way the wing primaries of the male become darker distally to almost blend with the background. I appreciate the behavior, the tack sharp minnow and the way the yellow beaks pop. steve

[Robert Kimbrell]

A beautiful moment captured, I did not notice the fish at first, but it sure adds to the story. Beautifully exposed whites. I like the head on view of the male which makes the comp. pleasing to my eye. I also think the background needs a little more brightness.

[David Salem]

Beautiful Marina!! I really like the males wing position and the low perspective you caught them in. Nice job on exposing them, litteally :) I like the aqua blue BG as it highlights them perfectly. The re-post looks a little better and it opens up the face a bit more. Nice work!

[John Robinson]

Missed this one earlier Marina. Central comp certainly works on this one. Very nice indeed. You have such a range of stuffover there.
Cheers
John

[Marina Scarr]

Thanks so much all for all of the comments and critiques. I do like the repost a little more than my own version. Post processing has never been my forte, and I am always pleased to review reposts, critiques and comments.

[Ed Kelly]

Very nice behavioral photo. POV is perfect. Great job with the details in the whites also.

Ed

[Gabriela Plesea]

Superb capture, Marina!

Sorry for late comment, I promise to pop in more often, as well as share some of my own from time to time:)

I think your timing is indeed perfect and I love the pose from the two characters as well as the female looking in your direction; beautifully framed and exposure is spot-on, nice DOF, sharpness, IQ is great, - superb work! I do like Andreas's RP - nice subtle touch my friend, those fine adjustments add to this stunning image:)

Marina, I would love to see more images of those Terns and especially mating behaviour as you describe it, fascinating and quite a "tern-on", LOL .Do you happen to have a sequence of the male luring the female with the fish, and if so - could I ask you to pretty please share it in the Story Sequences Forum?

Kind regards,

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Superb image Marina. I do love the low angle and action.
Smart male. (re: handing over the bounty).

[Doug Brown]

Couldn't ask for better poses; nice eye contact with the female and a straight look at you from the male. Perfect exposure and just the right amount of DOF. Well done!

[annmpacheco]

A beauty of an image and yes the second post opens the image to see the eye contact and the fish offering! way to go