Skimmer beak

[Lorant Voros]

It is one of my favorite species, the black skimmer. I took this portrait yesterday at the late afternoon after a long and slow approach. Note the cracks on the lower mandible.
Comments are welcome.

1Dx
500mm+ 1.4TC(sigma)
ISO1600
1/1600
f: 10
skimmer pod

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Lóri,
What an incredible portrait.
I totally love it. Cannot say anything else.
Really well done man!
Thanks for sharing

[keith mitchell]

Don't see how you could improve this Lorant,beautiful colour sharpness and detail.

Keith

[William Dickson]

Yes I agree, really lovely with great detail and a lovely BG Great work Lorant.

Will

[Tony Whitehead]

Great job, Lorant. Lovely detail and BG. Well done to get good plumage detail in the black and white plumage and the red of the bill being great against the green BG. Cracks in the bill are an interesting detail.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Although we usually try to get perfect and pristine specimens, I have to admit that the cracked bill really adds to the image. Perhaps an older fella showing scars of tough living on the ocean? Excellent portrait with tons of nice details and perfect exposure. I could see a version with a bit more room above for the upwards head tilt, but man o man what a cool image!

[Ágúst Svavar]

What a beautiful portrait! Amazing details and the background is great too. The cracks on the bill adds alot for the image