A local sensation ......

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi all been away for a short while for various reasons , one was a short trip to Helgoland . An island of Germany that is lying roughly 60 km from the mainland in the North Sea , the small Island is home and rookery to Gannets , Gulls and some other seabirds .
To my surprise i got asked by other photogs /birders if i have seen the Albatros , the Albatros ????? i was thinking !!! Albatros here on Helgoland ... in Germany ???
Yes there has been reports of the bird , even on TV and local print media , so the lady where i stayed showed me the news paper images . To my surprise i was looking at a Black Browed Albatros from the southern side of the earth , i have seen these guys in big numbers on the Falkland Islands .
On the third afternoon all of a sudden , while shooting Gannets in flight , a bigger bird appeared somewhere in the BG of my viewfinder and i lifted my eyes to look without the camera ......... and this Albatros was actually flying along the cliffs of the island !!!

After flying some rounds he/she finally did land on a premier spot to be watched by a big number of birders /photogs and normal tourists . The bird showed no sign of fear while presenting him/herself to the people .

Canon EOS 1D MK IV
Ef 200-400 IS L with TC engaged at 513 mm
HH

F 6,3 ; Iso 1000 ; 1/800 sec

Processed with DPP 4 and PS CC , FF

Thanks for looking and commenting to my previous thread .All C&C are more than welcome.

Cheers Andreas

[William Dickson]

Fantastic capture Andreas The lighting is fabulous and really brings this image alive. I love the eye and the bill. The 'softness' of the head feathers, very nice. Maybe I would remove the wee bit dirt on the chest Great work and thanks for sharing

Will

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

What gorgeous light! An awesome portrait as well Andreas, really nicely presented for my taste.

We see stacks of these guys when we go out in a boat. They blew me away when I first saw them a couple of years ago off Wollongong.
Lucky at least your bird does not seem to be perturbed by all the birder attention it's getting.

[Lorant Voros]

Beautiful portrait with awesome golden light. Love it.

[Arthur Morris]

Good job with the dramatic sidelight. You might try the WHITEs a bit brighter....

[Jonathan Ashton]

A most striking image demanding attention, beautiful lighting, that's a beauty Andreas well done.

[Dvir Barkay]

Very beautiful, with great pallete of colors with the blues and warm tones. Agree that the whites could use maybe a bit more brightening.

[Shawn Zierman]

This is awesome! Great lighting and technically so strong! What a bird....I feel like eating lots of good taffy candy right now....it has to be the image subliminally telling me to do so.

[Jim Crosswell]

A real beauty Andreas! I like the pose, sharpness, composition and BG. That sweet side lighting really makes the image special.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Andreas, sweet, sweet light here, and love the view of the bill. You have captured a lovely angled pose too. Hope you gave him/her a fish for being so patient.

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Andreas

Stunning capture, for my eye on my monitor would like a bit more detail on cheek and lower neck, seems a bit soft.
Difficult to deal with side light, stunning detail on beak.
The detail is there with 6,3, just bring it out..
Love this special capture!

[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely portrait, Andreas. Thank you for sharing.

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Andreas

I normally do not do RP's anymore, but I thought I have to show the master what I had in mind..still the fine detail in the feathers I can't find..ETTR?
What are your thoughts?

[Robert Kimbrell]

Beautiful capture. the light is very pleasing, and glad it illuminated the eye the way it did. I wish I had one like it.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks a bunch folks for your kind comments , much appreciated .
Understand the guys who talked about the whites and push them a bit more ...... but as this was low light and close to sunset i wanted to avoid higher contrast and keep the original mood .

Andre thanks for your RP , much appreciated , RP does look ok to me , but i would like to stick the soft look of the image as for the same reason with the whites .

Why do you stop making RP´s ?

Thanks again to all of you , cheers Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

It is only when the image is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE that I will stop making RP'S:)...Sometimes I don't post them... other times there's just not enough time, Boetie...The light is everything here - awesome capture, keep chasing that golden light - it so works for me!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Your faithful South African sister,