Coffee Hour Show off - Common loon wing flap

[Randy Stout]

This fellow was imaged 2 weeks ago in Northern Michigan. There was a group of 4-5 non breeding adults hanging out together, and there was a lot of flapping and activity going on.
Their white plumage is so bright that when you expose for that, the blacks are often several stops underexposed, so quite a balancing act on the exposure.

D4 600VR 1/3200s f/7.1 ISO 800 . Shot from the bottom of my little boat "Loonie Too!"

Post: Added canvas to left. Selective sharpening. Small percentage of detail extractor to help tame the whites.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Great exposure of the whites Randy.
Love the pose and the puffed up chest. Don't think I've seen that kind of behaviour before.
TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, I feel you have the exposure spot on with both the whites and the greens on the head. I like the low angle you always achieve from your boat, and a great display of the outspread wings and HA. I can see a version having more of a pano crop with some off the botttom.

[Mike Poole]

The whites look fine to me - not an easy task here. Interesting pose and a nice overall shot

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Randy - Nice job on the difficult exposure. Great pose and the low pov really makes this image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marina Scarr]

Killer behavior you captured. He looks like a puffed up dad on father's dayi! I would agree with Stuart and crop from the bottom and go for more of a pano. The extra space on the bottom seems to detract from this spectacular behavior you've captured.

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent pose and light, good exposure control, nice comp and good ambient.

[gail bisson]

Having just returned from a loon workshop I have a whole new level of respect for this image.
These birds are an exposure nightmare but you got it perfect here Randy!
Love the pose and the water colors.
I like this comp but I could see a tighter pano with a crop from the top ( to get rid of shoreline) and the bottom.
Excellent image!
gail

[Sandy Witvoet]

Thanks for giving me a darn good "Loon Fix" Randy! Whites look good... also shows the power of these birds when they go into "wing flap" mode. Very nicely captured!
(no babies here again this year... came back from a boat-search the other eve, to find one SITTING on the steps to our beach... shocked the heck out of me, as they will only do that if injured or dying. After awhile, she ambled back into the lake, and appears to be ok now.) Looking forward to seeing more Loons from you! TFS!

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the input. I do so many severe pano crops for the loons, that occ. I like to try something else!

But, I will certainly try another version!

Cheers

Randy