American Avocet

[arash_hazeghi]

Another file from a few days ago. This is the post breeding Avocet that is morphing from its peak breeding plumage (orange) into a more muted rust as the mating season for these birds comes to an end. they are most active from late winter to early spring, I didn't get a chance to photograph them this year due to COVID19 restrictions, but caught a few frames towards the tail end of the season. The SONY A9 II coupled with the 600 GM + 2X TC (1200mm) seems an ideal combo for capturing these birds at very close range. The image below is full frame with a bit canvas added to it almost insane tracking up so close with so much focal length.... wings were clipped in the next frame. I had 3-4 passes and made at least 2-3 keepers from every single pass. typically I would get one keeper from every 3-4 passes at most. Images with the 600GM are sharp and clean with no noise visible or NR needed at ISO-1600. really pleasant lens to use, easy to process files. this is the most detailed flight shot of an avocet I have made.


SONY A9 II 600GM + TC 2X ISO-1600 f/8 at 1/4000 sec hand held (with ease!) and processed with C1P

I do wish one of the primaries was not missing...

[dankearl]

This is really nice. Great work keeping in the frame at 1200mm!!
Missing feathers don't bother me, they are wild birds..

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Arash, wonderful image of a Avocet. I another image I commented that the processing did not appear up to your high standards, this one is spot on. Maybe a little rotation clockwise, the bird appears to be flying down. Thank you for sharing.

[Bill Dix]

That is a sweet image. Great flight angle, light, detail. Possibly the best Avocet BIF I can remember seeing. Better for me than the previous one.

[Dorian Anderson]

This is excellent, and you have me thinking very seriously about the Sony for the shorebird and duck work I do. This lighter combo would be killer in the kayak. I'm not in a financial position to do anything at the moment,
but I'll be watching and listening as more people adopt this system moving forward.

[Brian Sump]

Ari, to me certainly better than the last Avocet. Very nice detail throughout.

That said, this one appears to have quite a bit of blues on anterior wing, tail, shoulder and parts of posterior wing. I expect this on the legs but a good bit more than I am used to. Possible it could be a regional thing, but perhaps also a cast?

[arash_hazeghi]

Ari, to me certainly better than the last Avocet. Very nice detail throughout.

That said, this one appears to have quite a bit of blues on anterior wing, tail, shoulder and parts of posterior wing. I expect this on the legs but a good bit more than I am used to. Possible it could be a regional thing, but perhaps also a cast?

Thanks Brian, I do not see any blues at all on my screen in the shoulder or the the tail region you mention, it appears as grey (shaded) which is natural for this bird. I checked the RGB too it's reading about 130,140,140... the tiny shaded spot in the far wing could have some blue which is reflected light from the sky. shaded areas are typically the same color as the light bouncing from sky, water or grass in absence of direct sunlight.


thanks

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Arash, wonderful image of a Avocet. I another image I commented that the processing did not appear up to your high standards, this one is spot on. Maybe a little rotation clockwise, the bird appears to be flying down. Thank you for sharing.

Hi Joe,thanks but this image is processed exactly the same way :) the other one was further into molting so perhaps that creates the illusion

[arash_hazeghi]

This is excellent, and you have me thinking very seriously about the Sony for the shorebird and duck work I do. This lighter combo would be killer in the kayak. I'm not in a financial position to do anything at the moment,
but I'll be watching and listening as more people adopt this system moving forward.

hey Dorian it will be the ultimate combo for kayak because

1) light
2) 2X
3) rear foldout LCD enables waste level shooting for super low angle
4) 20 fps with cross frame tracking to get the fights and interactions without having to keep moving the AF point


good news is that the SONY system ends up being a bit cheaper than both nikon/canon. lens is the same price but the body is cheaper. you also don't need a high mega pixel body, just use the 2X so it is somewhat downsizing in $$$ too

[Brian Sump]

Thanks Brian, I do not see any blues at all on my screen in the shoulder or the the tail region you mention, it appears as grey (shaded) which is natural for this bird. I checked the RGB too it's reading about 130,140,140... the tiny shaded spot in the far wing could have some blue which is reflected light from the sky. shaded areas are typically the same color as the light bouncing from sky, water or grass in absence of direct sunlight.

thanks

Ok. FWIW, the primaries on the anterior wing and underside of the tail are almost the exact same color as the ankles of the bird on my NEC. That similar shade appears also on opposing shoulder. If it looks good on your screen then I'm sure it's good ;)

[arash_hazeghi]

Ok. FWIW, the primaries on the anterior wing and underside of the tail are almost the exact same color as the ankles of the bird on my NEC. That similar shade appears also on opposing shoulder. If it looks good on your screen then I'm sure it's good ;)

hi Brian yes they look perfectly natural to me

best

[John Mack]

Looks great. Love the light and the pose. Killer background as well.

[Volkan Akgul]

hi Arash, this is really good. all your photos are beatifull. congratulations

[Daniel Cadieux]

There is not much you could do to improve on this fantastic frame!