Theme: Three days old and on top of the world (at least dad)

[Randy Stout]

This common loon chick was imaged this past June and was three days old. Only one of the two eggs hatched at this site, which unfortunately is not uncommon. The chicks ride part time on the parents back for warmth and protection for ~ the first ten days, and it is amazing to see how quickly they grow during that brief period. After that period, the parents have had enough bus duty, and will dive away from the chick if they manage to clamber on board.

D4 600VR f/9 1/1250s ISO 1000

Post: Slight crop for comp. Cleaned up catchlight in both eyes

Thought it fit the theme!

Cheers

Randy

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Randy - Beautiful image with a definite cute factor. The low pov, details and exp control all are great. Only thing I might do if it is within your ethics is tone down or get rid of the two yellow specular highlights to the left of and above the chick.

TFS,
Rachel

[Shawn Zierman]

Can't improve perfect :) imo anyway....this is really adorable. I like how engaged the chick appears to be with the eye contact your way....the yellow highlights are undoubtedly lilly pad flowers and look perfectly natural to my eye...but I've grown with this species in this setting so....

[Randy Stout]

Shawn:

Yes to the yellow being lilly pad flowers. This site has some of the best backgrounds with reeds and lilly pads, and I often try to include them in the frame for a little color variety. I was out quite a ways from the shore here, and shooting at 850mm , so dof rendered them pretty muted.

I thought the eye contact with the chick was very good, while the parent was busy steaming along.

Cheers, and thanks to both of you for your comments.

Randy

[Bill Dix]

What a sweet shot. No nits from me. Lovely bg, and velvety texture to dad's head. Great eye contact with the chick.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, I never get tired of your Loon images. You really nailed the exposure in this, parents green sheen on the head shows up so well. Good DOF on both parent and chick, and I do like the angled back of the parent, together with the angled pose of the chick. The parent is nice and sharp too. Yep, cant beat a great natural OOF BG.

How far is this location from your home?

[Randy Stout]

Thanks Bill and Stu:

Stu - this location is about 4.5 hrs from my home, so can't just pop in unfort.

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks Randy. Yep, 4.5 hrs is a tad far to pop in. I have 1.75 hrs to Pilanesberg. Thats close enough for a morning shoot, and to get back home for a late lunch. Not that we do that every weekend though.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely and tender image. About as perfect as it gets. Thank you for sharing, Randy.

[David Salem]

One of your better Loon images for sure! The side profile pose looks great and the details on the parent and the overall colors are awesome. Comp looks great too. I might consider selectively sharpening Jr as it looks like he is just a hare soft. Well done

[Randy Stout]

Joe and David:

Thanks for your comments.

David - the chicks are always a challenge to sharpen, as they tend to get rather 'crunchy' if over sharpened. I will revisit this one to see if it will tolerate a bit more.

Cheers

Randy

[Satish Ranadive]

Marvellous image.
Love the frame, Randy Sir.

Regards,
Satish.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Always a pleasure to view images of "your" Loons and this is no exception !!!!
Lovely low POV , great colors and tones . Excellent IQ
Very fine work , Randy

TFS Andreas

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Perfect exposure, nice light (which is probably a must-have for this exposure challenge) and great colors. I really like the eye contact with the chick. Initially I found your comp too centered, both vertically and horizontally. But it did help pull my eye towards the chick.

[William Dickson]

Perfect in everything. A very fine frame Randy. Well done

Will

[Diane Miller]

Beautiful and cute both -- not easy to do! Perfect in my eyes!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Beautifully done Randy.
I love it.
No comment needed, I just enjoy looking at the frame.
You must feel very pleased when you nail one as good as this!
Thanks for sharing

[gail bisson]

This is lovely Randy.
No nits from me!
Gail

[Grace Scalzo]

Another beauty of a loon image from you, Randy. So sweet!

[Sandy Witvoet]

Absolutely perfect, Randy. Would not change a thing.