Prepare for Landing

[Bill Dix]

In our travels around Iceland we came across a number of places where the Arctic Tern action was hot and heavy. I got lots of frames of their amorous behavior, but rather liked the sense of anticipation of this one.

D500, Sigma 150-600C @ 290mm, ISO 800, 1/3200s @ f/8 manual. Cropped from horizontal.

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the upper term with open beak and the feet. The rest of the image doesn’t work for me BG is too busy and the lower tern is blocked by grass while it’s head is turned away from us rescuing the interaction element

TFS

[kevin Hice]

Bill great details and sharpness on the flying Tern ,really shows the interaction. Too bad the one on the nest doesn't show better. I was shooting a common tern on a nest yesterday and gave up because of the background being too busy. TFS

[annmpacheco]

Super action Bill wonderful details on the incoming tern. I don't think there will be a nest that doesnt have habitat obstruction and or other terns nearby. TFS!

[John Mack]

Like the fully raised wings. I kinda like the tern in the grass gives more of a context to what is going on.

[Dorian Anderson]

Exposure and pose on top bird look great, but the rest of the frame is too busy for me, particularly with disinterested second bird in grass. Might warm the frame just a bit since light angle didn't lend color.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Good one, Bill. We did have ample opportunities to capture these amorous advances, and this is an excellent frame, IMO. This is a minor nit, but I might try to soften the background a tad.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all for your comments. I had anticipated that some would not care for the resting bird. On occasion I find I like an image that does not quite fit the BPN mold, and this is one such. I suppose I could have done this instead, but of course that would have defeated the intent.

[arash_hazeghi]

the photoshop blur has made the image unnatural to the eye. between this and the original I'd stick with the original