Pigeon Guillemot

[dankearl]

Taken this morning at Haystack Rock, Oregon coast.
I go a couple times a year at the summer low tide to photo the Murres, Guillemots and Oystercatchers
that nest on Haystack and adjacent stacks.
A day or 2 to get close to them.
Fun little fast birds.
D500, 500pf, f.6, 1/2500, iso450
added some canvas left side,
PP in CIP.

guill5bp.jpg

[Daniel Cadieux]

Looks great overall! Awesome pose, I especially like the bottom wing. Red legs stand out nicely. Good BG. An extra sharpening pass on the face would be good IMO as critical focus seems to be on the legs and tail area. A tough image to pull off with these speedsters!

[dankearl]

Thanks, Dan, I was really happy with this.
These are off shore birds here, no one ever sees them, I get 1 or 2 chances
a year in minus tide while they are nesting to even get a look at them and Murres,
let alone a photo.
It takes commitment and luck and you are shooting in knee deep pacific ocean surf at
daybreak.
Doesn't get much better.

[arash_hazeghi]

love the dynamic pose and the view of the feet, excellent exposure. Agree with Daniel re. applying one very gentle round of smart sharpen on the head only to equalize sharpness. pretty much perfect otherwise and def. a rare birds here in the west coast US

TFS

[Paul Burdett]

Terrific shot Dan. BG compliments the bird's colouring. Love the pose and wing detail. Great to see birds I'd never see down under! TFS

[Dorian Anderson]

You gotta go to Pigeon Point Harbor. There are at least 20 pairs which nest there. They migrate north to Washington and BC in the winter!

love the dynamic pose and the view of the feet, excellent exposure. Agree with Daniel re. applying one very gentle round of smart sharpen on the head only to equalize sharpness. pretty much perfect otherwise and def. a rare birds here in the west coast US

TFS

[Dorian Anderson]

Super dynamic image with perfect eye contact! These guys are really fast so I appreciate the difficulty here. I agree with more head sharpening. Love that we can see the trademark feet. A really strong image.

[gail bisson]

I am late to the party but kudos to you!
Great bird to get a sharp in flight image of.
Yes to a bit more sharpening of head but otherwise 10/10 from me!

[Brian Sump]

Thanks for sharing Dan, have never seen this species. No other comments, however I would love you to post a final edit if you have time with the sharpen additions.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Wow how did I miss this one! What a corker of a shot, super pose and I really like the plumage detail - the primaries on the right wing are excellent.

[John Mack]

Nice all around. Like those red feet.

[Arthur Morris]

Amazing capture. Please tell us a bit more about the situation. Yes to a bit more sharpening on the face. I am not very familiar with this species but my gut is telling me that the blacks should be blacker ...

with love, artie

[dankearl]

Thanks Art, see the Pigeon #2 photo for the details of where and how it was taken.
They are not seen much close to shore at all on the West coast, so not many people see them.
See also the photo of the guillemot pair, they may be a bit light but I think they are exposed well.