Black Skimmer with Breakfast

[Doug Brown]

This shot was taken back in 2010, but I never got around to processing it until this morning. It was taken in some sweet Southern California early morning light.

Canon 1D Mark IV, 600mm f/4 (the old HEAVY one weighing 12.5 pounds with hood), f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO 400, manual exposure, hand held (I was a glutton for punishment!!!)

[Jack Backs]

Sweet image. Both bird and fish looking at you. Nice wing position. A lot different backdrop that what you normally see with these birds and I really like it.
Some might quibble about the white balance, but this is probably accurate for the time of day. A tip of the hat for hand holding.

[annmpacheco]

Looks wonderful, nice light, eye really shines, and the fish shows good head and tail views! BG, exposure, all swell Doug.

[Paul Burdett]

I'd be happy with that one Doug! Love the light here, sharpness, and that fish! TFS

[John Mack]

Looks great. Nice view of the breakfast and the skimmer. Sweet light and a killer background.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hey Doug, spot on image... looks just about perfect to me. Wing position, position of the fish, background and light all wonderful. Regarding your old kit... when you handheld that your were a lot younger. Thank you for sharing.

[Dorian Anderson]

Lighting and fish combine to make this a winner. Minimal shadow helps as well. Nice job on this exposure, one of the tougher subjects around.

[arash_hazeghi]

I remember those gold old Bolsa days and this is a classic. I have a similar frame from a couple of years after standing next to you and Jim...too bad the birds are totally gone now and Bolsa is history

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for the comments everyone!