Spring is in the air

[Isaac Grant]

Figured I would post one more shorebird shot before the end of the month. I have the whole sequence of this round of mating including the "contact" but I really liked the crazy eye and tongue sticking out on this one.

Canon 7d2 and Canon 500f4 ii + 1.4x iii. ISO 400, F8, SS 1/2000. Evaluative metering. Single autofocs point on belly of the male. Photographed while on my belly and camera on tripod with legs fully extended.

Converted in DPP 4. Usual sliders in PS. Noise reduction to background and sharpened with NIK output sharpener.

[Richard Flack]

What an awesome image Isaac, I would be super proud to have this as part of my portfolio. Well done man!

[christopher galeski]

good capture,nice detail,good POV,may be add more room at bottom of frame.TFS

[keith mitchell]

Do like this particularly the male bird,lovely feather detail in the whites,really good capture.

Keith.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Beautifully exposed and great timing. I like your sharpening algorythm.
I am wondering if the contrast is just a notch too high?

[dankearl]

Terrific.... A bit more at the bottom is the only issue, but that is minor.
Very well done.

[annmpacheco]

Super nice frame and the detail in the wing is wonderful. terrific exposure, well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent interaction with great light and details. both OC's look great I wish you had posted it larger

TFS

[Isaac Grant]

Thanks everyone for the comments. The bottom was a bit confusing for me as I preferred it to be a bit tight there than near the sky and stretched wings. This is clearly the major drawback of shooting with a prime as there is no way to frame the shot better as I could do with a zoom. In a situation like this where the action starts I would just pull back a bit and leave room for the outstretched wings. As it was I was happy that I was just far enough away to be able to get the wings in the shot even at 700mm.

Arash, this was the largest that I could post the shot. Was at my size limit if I posted it any larger. I believe this is at 399 at this size.

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks everyone for the comments. The bottom was a bit confusing for me as I preferred it to be a bit tight there than near the sky and stretched wings. This is clearly the major drawback of shooting with a prime as there is no way to frame the shot better as I could do with a zoom. In a situation like this where the action starts I would just pull back a bit and leave room for the outstretched wings. As it was I was happy that I was just far enough away to be able to get the wings in the shot even at 700mm.

Arash, this was the largest that I could post the shot. Was at my size limit if I posted it any larger. I believe this is at 399 at this size.

By larger I mean larger dimensions, you post up to 1200 pixels wide. Use "Save for web" in PS to reduce file size

[Bill Dix]

Late to the party, but let me add my congratulations on a fine capture. You could add a sliver on the bottom if so inclined, but a handsome frame as posted.

[Isaac Grant]

Pretty sure I did this correctly. Here is the shot using save for web at a larger size. Never did it this way so hope I had the settings correct.

[arash_hazeghi]

looks much better Issac

[Lorant Voros]

Fantastic. Both birds have great eye contact and body angle. Love it!. TFS.

[Marina Scarr]

This is probably the best mating AMOY image I have seen thus far, and I am green with envy!!! Just love the vibrant colors, the raised wings, the hint of waves in the BG and the splash at wifey's feet. Your low angle really helped bring this action/behavior to life!

[Isaac Grant]

Wow! Coming from you that really means a great deal. I have a good 30 images from the burst of this mating sequence. This one just seemed to have all the right ingredients. As with most nature photography we are lucky to be in the right place at the right time and certainly I was very lucky that they decided the time was right and were far enough away so that I could fit them in the frame.

[Jonathan Ashton]

That repost looks better to me I can see more detail in the darker plumage - excellent!

[David Salem]

I agree, one of the best I have ever seen of this behavior. Everything looks great, especially in the larger size. Well done