Roseate Spoonbill

[Stuart Edwards]

This shot was take at Circle B in Lakeland last April. I had seen where some spoonbills had been hanging out in the morning but the sun would only be good for the afternoon at that spot. That afternoon ended in rain but i went back 2 days later and had 6 spoonbills land less than 30 feet in front of me in perfect light.
I wish i would have had a zoom lens as i could have gotten a lot of landing shots. one of the few times 400mm is to long lol.
1dx MarkII 400 f5.6L
1/1600 , f5.6 , iso 1600
converted in dpp and selectively sharpened the bird in photoshop.
cropped a little from the top left just so it wasn't centered as much.

[Noel Heustis]

Stuart - This is a really nice frame. I love that wing position, the eye contact, and the (mostly) green bg. Nice clean bg's can be a challenge at Circle B, and I think you've done pretty well here.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Well done, Stuart, love the image. You and I may have walked the same ground on that day in April. Circle B is my go to spot, at least two or three times a week. Thank you for sharing.

[Arthur Morris]

Good thinking and well done. The light and the crop are perfect. My old friend, the 'toy lens." With love, artie

[annmpacheco]

very nice work, detail and i like the position you captured! colors look fabulous!

[Glenn Pure]

Hard to see how you could do better than this Stuart. Really rich colours in the bird that contrast nicely with the background. Superb detail, nice pose and great light!