Roseate Spoonbills

[Russ Norwood]

I photographed these birds two years ago as they bathed along the shore of a small island rookery near St. Amant, Louisiana. I added some vignetting to deemphasize the background clutter and cloned out quite a few specs of floating debris.

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 500mm F4L IS + 1.4TC
1/800 at f/5.6
-1 1/3 EV Compensation
ISO 400

[gail bisson]

The pinks really pop against the green.
I like the wing position of the front spoonbill.
Nice and sharp. Normally, I love 2 birds in a frame but in this case I wish the second bird wasn't there because the pose of the front spoonbill is powerful.
Having said that, it is great that both birds are in focus considering you were at F5.6.
The vignetting has worked well here.
TFS
Gail

[Randy Stout]

Russ:

Good critique from Gail. I have seen a lot of spoonies in Florida, and the pinks seem a bit oversaturated here, but perhaps the Louisiana variants are even pinker.

The angel pose of the front bird is outstanding. I could see the entire image a bit brighter.

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the wing position of the forward Spoonbill, sharpness, composition and dark BG makes the birds stand out well. Nice image Russ.

[Joseph Przybyla]

I like the wing position of the front bird and the composition. Excellent detail and exposure. I agree with Randy regarding the saturation of the pinks and yellows, they appear a little oversaturated on my screen as compared to the spoonies I see regularly in Florida. Thank you for sharing.

[Karen Pleasant]

Agree with the comments already made. Wonderful pose of the bird in front. The image just seems rather under-exposed to me.

[Daniel Cadieux]

That particular "angel" pose is probably my favorite among birds...nice to have one from a spoonbill. The vignetting is subtle and works well. I'd be tempted to lighten the main subject's iris (like the one in the back's is) and I would have liked a looser composition (understanding there may have been distracting elements outside the current framing).

[christopher galeski]

Love the angelic pose on the front bird,and the detail in the feathers magic,like the environment it is in.TFS.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Agree about the second bird. Bummer it was there, had it not have been in the frame, this would've been an incredibly strong image.
It still is, but we cannot simply just focus on the gorgeous bird spreading its wings alone.
Lovely colours and the vignette is so subtle, I simply cannot see it.
Really enjoy wandering through this frame.
Thanks for sharing Russ!

[adrian dancy]

Hi Russ. I am pretty much in agreement with comments above. Vignette works well here.