The Kiss (Red Phalarope Pair)

[Grace Scalzo]

I'm not a big fan of sterilizing nature images, but had to for this one. Taken in Barrow, Alaska, these birds were in a horribly messy roadside pond, but getting ready to mate. The only thing to do was to press the shutter and then try to make something work in post. Much ugly pond vegetation removed.

Interestingly, it is the female of this species that sports the rich vibrant colors. After she lays the eggs, the male takes over and her role is done. BTW, they did mate after this frame, with their backs toward me. Guess they needed some privacy.

1/2500, f 6.3, iso800
Canon 1dx, 600 f4 + 1.4tc

[Mike Poole]

Lovely tender moment Grace, and your usual high standards for IQ.

Well worth the time spent on the PP, I for one wouldn't have guessed if you hadn't mentioned the removal work

Mike

[Karen Pleasant]

The image is worth the effort you put into it, Grace. Wonderful position of the lovers, looking into each other's eyes! Nice lighting and sharpness. And excellent job on the cleanup.

[dankearl]

You need a nice job and the birds look great.
What an attractive pair!

[William Dickson]

Beautiful image Grace. A lovely moment perfectly captured. You can almost feel them communicate. Great work

Will

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Grace,

Great job on the clean-up. I think it is a very special image - not for the presumed tenderness of the moment - but for the fact that you have both sexes together with great head angles and full side-on - not so easy with these guys - so the comparison of the plumage of the pair is brilliant.

Well done and thanks for sharing.

Gerald

[Lyle Gruby]

Light, birds, poses are stunning. The feather detail is just fantastic. Cleanup looks good to me.

[Karl Egressy]

Beautiful intimate image of the couple, Grace.
Nice clean water, no sign of distraction you mentioned.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Great job on the processing. I love the rich colours you got here. Perfect face-to-face poses, and I love the male's tail touching the water. Very sweet picture.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Fantastic PP work Grace and the birds look quite spectacular.
No other comment needed IMHO.
Well done and TFS!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Incredible light and IQ. Your processing job is really good - I can't tell that it's been done. A beautiful couple!

[Marina Scarr]

Killer image, Grace, and great PP work. Love how the pair is face-to-face. I took this into PS and personally feel that I'd rather see less on the bottom and more on top.

[gail bisson]

You nailed this.
So impressive to get a pair in the same DOF with perfect eye contact.
Gail

[David Salem]

What a great shot of this beautiful pair Grace. The beak to beak pose and the colors and details are awesome. Amazing that the female is the one on the right, I would never have guessed that and it is one of the very few birds that I have seen or heard of to have the male be the more striking colorful one.
Nice work Grace