Salvin's albatross

[gail bisson]

Took this on a pelagic trip out of Kaikoura, NZ.
I had booked this pelagic months prior to my trip and was thrilled to see that the weather was perfect for our 6:00AM trip- sunny skies and light winds from the east.
Called the day before as requested to confirm, only to find out the trip was canceled due to only 2 people booking the trip. They rebooked me for the following day and of course it was raining, dark, with high winds and a 2.5 meter swell.
We saw some great birds but the light was crap and I was shooting at ISO 2500 the entire morning. The boat was rocking so much I needed a high SS.
Did not get many keepers that day but I liked this one. Shows the Kaikoura coastline in the BG
The swells were really high so when this wave came along and lifted the albatross up, it gives the impression I was in the water with a really low POV. I was leaning out of the boat with my camera as low as possible.
Canon 1DX 100-400mm at 320
ISO 2500 F 5.6 ( wish I could have been at F 8) SS 1/2000
Crop to 70% FF . Nothing added or cloned.
Processed in LR CC and PS CC. Had to run light noise reduction on the rear end of the bird and more aggressive NR to the rest of BG.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Gail, I like the image. I guess I wish the head was turned more but considering the conditions you describe you did well. Techs look really good as always. Thank you for sharing.

[dankearl]

The POV is amazing.....

[Steve Kaluski]

I very much like the image Gail, and the 'swell' amplifies the rocking motion, I assume you were hanging just slightly over the edge to get the POV. The 100-400 MKII is a cracking lens, razor sharp, and one of my favourites. I'm OK with the DoF, but at ISO 2500 surprised about the noise, unless the image was under exposed and you have had to lift it. Even at a stop under the file should still be very good. Personally I like a bit more range in the head with the whites & mid greys, but there is clipping in the blacks/shadows of the tail feathers.

TFS
Steve

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the POV but I am not a fan of that HA although it is preening as we don't have a good view of either eye. I normally like a calm water but the waves tell a story here
the image has a subtle blue cast on my screen and the head whites look too grey for the pacific Albatross (they are more white here) but this could be local variations.
Agree with Steve, the shaded areas are still noisy. it shouldn't be if the RAW wasn't pushed too much. I find the part of the bird that is OOF a bit distracting



TFS and happy new year

[gail bisson]

I very much like the image Gail, and the 'swell' amplifies the rocking motion, I assume you were hanging just slightly over the edge to get the POV. The 100-400 MKII is a cracking lens, razor sharp, and one of my favourites. I'm OK with the DoF, but at ISO 2500 surprised about the noise, unless the image was under exposed and you have had to lift it. Even at a stop under the file should still be very good. Personally I like a bit more range in the head with the whites & mid greys, but there is clipping in the blacks/shadows of the tail feathers.

TFS
Steve

Hi Steve,
Just checked the original file and I increased exposure by 0.2 globally and lifted shadows +18 in LR CC. Decreased the highlights by -6. I think I selected the rear of bird in PCSS and raised the shadows slightly more. I agree that there is a lot more noise than expected. Not sure why.
Not sure what you mean by "a bit more range in the head". Can you explain? Thanks.

[gail bisson]

Thanks for your critique Arash. The Salvin's albatross is indeed quite grey. That is what makes them so beautiful! I am not sure I have heard of a Pacific Albatross (unless you meant albatrosses that live in the Pacific?)
Will look at the cast on the RAW.
Gail

I like the POV but I am not a fan of that HA although it is preening as we don't have a good view of either eye. I normally like a calm water but the waves tell a story here
the image has a subtle blue cast on my screen and the head whites look too grey for the pacific Albatross (they are more white here) but this could be local variations.
Agree with Steve, the shaded areas are still noisy. it shouldn't be if the RAW wasn't pushed too much. I find the part of the bird that is OOF a bit distracting



TFS and happy new year

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gail,

Just checked the original file and I increased exposure by 0.2 globally and lifted shadows +18 in LR CC.

If that is in PS then that's less than a third of a stop, what was the EV set to, I would think plus, but 0.20 would not increase noise, be good to see the RAW if you care to Dropbox/WeTransfer it.

Decreased the highlights by -6.

Minimal IMHO.

I think I selected the rear of bird in PCSS and raised the shadows slightly more.

It would again highlight noise, but minimal at 2500, but the darks are clipped still in the OP.

Not sure what you mean by "a bit more range in the head". Can you explain? Thanks.

As presented I would like a bit more shades of white to black, subtle indeed, but it might be masked by the cast Arash highlighted.

No sure if this illustrates things well ie the head, as I'm not working from home until next week and restricted to a degree on the MacBook Pro, but...

[John Mack]

Whoa. What a neat frame of this albatross. I like the "swell" and the pose on the bird. Those water drops are a plus as well.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Repost looks nice and in my opinion improvement.

Point of view is really nice and engaging. Head Angle could be better but it works as well.

Thanks for sharing the information.

TFS

[Mike Poole]

Having never seen (and probably never will see) one of these birds in the flesh I can't comment on the specifics of the feather colours. What I can say is you still came out with an excellent frame despite the overcast lighting - I love the bird being up on the crest of the wave, with a clear view of the eye

Mike

[Dorian Anderson]

Yep! I got similarly bad lighting on both of my Kaikoura pelagics in March. Was super frustrating, but there's nothing you can do. Pelagic photography is as hard as it gets.

This is a decent result given the lighting and waves. The water droplets also lend interest. Salvin's Albatross falls into the Mollymawk group and occurs only in the Southern Hemisphere.
There is one North American record from Half Moon Bay California in 2015 or 2016. There is no Pacific Albatross, but Salvin's was formerly considered conspecific with White-Capped, Shy, and
Chatham Island Albatrosses - all strictly Southern Hemisphere species.

[William Dickson]

Love it....The POV makes it so different. Love the facial expression. Good work Gail

Will

[Bill Dix]

I'm feeling a bit queasy. Great dynamic shot. Well captured under tough conditions.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Like the entire image Gail, especially dealing with the swells and overcast weather. Great POV and nice moment of intense grooming.


Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Alex Becker]

I like this one a lot and you've gotten some good critique above. Colors look great especially the water. The splash adds. I had similar conditions in Kaikoura -- not fun! On my most recent pelagic off Stewart Island it was thankfully way calmer. TFS