U-Turn

[Kirk Benson]

This is from a recent afternoon session at Bolsa Chica Wetlands. I was fortunate to get a few really nice skimming shots and fish grabs, but this is my favorite image of the day. This Skimmer had made a few passes already and after each pass away from me it would make a u-turn to the left and come right back. Thanks for taking a look. All C&C are greatly encouraged and most appreciated.

D500 ~ 500 f/4 D AF-S (non VR) ~ 1/3200s f/6.3 ISO200 @ 500mm Handheld ~ Cropped to vertical from horizontal frame ~ Processed in PSCC

Kirk

[David Salem]

Great to see you back posting Kirk! This looks fantastic. What a classic BC skimmer pose. Killer job on the exposure which has created lots of nice details in the feathers. Not easy to get in a skimmer. Perfect HA and wing position too. Well done

[arash_hazeghi]

looks great Kirk, nice exposure for both whites and blacks, sharp details too, with a good HA. Sweet Bolsa light too! did you get one with fish too :D ?

[Kirk Benson]

Great to see you back posting Kirk! This looks fantastic. What a classic BC skimmer pose. Killer job on the exposure which has created lots of nice details in the feathers. Not easy to get in a skimmer. Perfect HA and wing position too. Well done

Thanks David, it was a fun afternoon at BC with the diving Terns and Skimmers. I'm really happy with the D500, and although I prefer the RAW files of my D810, the D500's are still quite good. The AF system and 10 FPS are both superior to the D810 and make BIF a joy to shoot. Thanks again for the good words, most appreciated.

Kirk

[Kirk Benson]

looks great Kirk, nice exposure for both whites and blacks, sharp details too, with a good HA. Sweet Bolsa light too! did you get one with fish too :D ?

Many thanks Arash. Yes, the late afternoon light and angle at Bolsa was perfect and the birds were very cooperative... and yes I did get a few fish grabs. :D

Kirk

[Graham Wilkes]

Perfect Skimmer ideally placed in frame, good control of black and white, sharp with nice head position.

Graham.

[Lorant Voros]

I love the bird and this is a great photo of it in flight, sweet light, well exposed with good details in both blacks and whites that isn't easy. Well done.

[Tim Foltz]

Kirk,
Nice banking shot of a skimmer and you nailed the famous blue of BC, good job.

-Tim