One month old and working those wings - common loon chick
This youngster is almost exactly one month old, and is growing nicely. Body size is about 1/2 full grown, but the wings are only about 1/10 adult size, so has some serious growing to do. He has about 2 months from this picture date to start flying, so it will be an amazing period of wing growth.
D4 600VF with TC14 850mm, f/6.3 ISO 800, 1/800s. Camera mounted on pedestal in the bottom of my little boat "LoonieToo"
Post: Crop to level. Selective sharpening. Toned down whites on breast
Sharpening is always a bit of challenge with these guys, as their plumage at this stage can quickly become granular or "crunchy" looking if overdone.
The reflection is not as strong as I would like, but with the low shooting angles I employ, they never are, even with dead calm water.
Very cute pose. Great eye contact and I like the fact that the bill is clear of the wing. I might crop a bit off the bottom and add a bit to the top of the frame if you've got it.
Perfect head angle and wing positions. If you crop from the bottom you will lose the complete reflection so that is a no-go for me.
What would you think of losing the motion blur of the eye highlight--the jagged streak in the middle of the head reflection?
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Artie - When the reflection catchlights are dramatic, I usually do tone them down, this one was muted enough it didn't bother me, but I certainly can remove it.
Randy, a seriously cute loon. It looks like you were under the water to get that low. I use a kayak but can never get as low as that.
The little wing buds are glorious, as is the BG and the FG water. I think the crop works well and if you took a bit off the bottom you would crowd the reflection against the edge. If the reflection was stronger I think it would detract from the subject. My only tiny suggestion would be to tone down the reflected strip around his belly.
Just perfect. Cute, sharp, interesting with the raised wings. Great eye contact. Clicks every box for a perfect baby image. I am quite envious of your loon pics. You've been killing it with them.
Yep. I also like this one a lot, Randy. The pose is really a cute one. At first I am wondering about slightly more room all over, but the more I see, the more I like how intimate this one is.
One month old and working those wings - common loon chick
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