Low Level Foot Waggle

[Randy Stout]

This common loon was captured on a Northern Michigan Lake yesterday. I was tinkering with my shooting angle some more and thought it gave it an interesting perspective.

Z6 500PF f/7.1, ISO 640 , 1/1250s

Post: cropped a bit to level (hard to keep camera level when leaning over side of the boat!). Cleaned up a few spots in water and background.

Advice and comments appreciated.

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

A bit of CW rotation needed, and a dust spot to be removed at left of the head, but I love the low angle, smooth BG, and quirky pose. The feet are HUGE - no wonder they can propel themselves quickly underwater with such ease.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

I had rotated it 3 times already! Depends on what you are looking at for reference. The vertical streaks in the reflection look off, but if you rotate it so that they are at 90 degrees to the frame edge, the bird is clearly tipped way to far. I went back again, gave it .2 degree CW, which seemed good overall. Cleaned up the dust spot and a small spot on the breast as well. Thanks

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Great perspective, and foot-waggle pose. You'll be needing a waterproof camera housing next. Was this also Live View?

[Randy Stout]

Bill: I used the flip out screen on the Z6. Much better focusing than live view on D500 that I used on the previous loon picture. Still need to use a few more tricks like memory lock for focus point on PF500, as it is difficult sometimes for the camera to pick up focus once lost. So little detail in the water at this low perspective that unless you can hold right on the bird all the time the focus tends to wander around looking for some contrast.

Randy

[Robert Kimbrell]

Really enjoying the low angles you have been posting. colors and exposure look great. Love the funny pose.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Very nice point of view. What are your thoughts and opinion on Z6. I am thinking of getting a Nikon Mirrorless Camera. Should I wait for next version or get this one is the dilemma

TFS

[Randy Stout]

Krishna:

Well, overall I like the Z6 a lot. Excellent sensor, very good high ISO performance, nice dynamic range. I love seeing what I am going to get before taking the picture, so I can make adjustments real time, less chimping needed. Ergonomics are OK, very classic Nikon feel.

The focusing is good enough for most things. The settings are different than the DSLR line, but the firm ware updates have helped. It is still not as good as the DSLRs for small, erratic subjects, but does quite well with larger birds in flight.

The Z6s is coming out soon, but I am not convinced it is a big enough improvement to temp me. When the Z8/9 comes out in a year?, I will give it a close look.

Other questions?

Randy

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Thanks Randy for the info. I will try to rent one soon before buying it

[David Roach]

Hi Randy, All has been said so I'll just add, you are da man when it comes to cool (and awesome) loon images. TFS

[Dorian Anderson]

Killer low angle, Randy. Not really a fan of head-on body shots, but the foot really help this one. I might tone the chest whites down a touch, but that's about it.

[Randy Stout]

Killer low angle, Randy. Not really a fan of head-on body shots, but the foot really help this one. I might tone the chest whites down a touch, but that's about it.

Thanks Dorian:

I absolutely agree about the whites. I processed this on the road with my laptop, and the whites didn't appear so hot. Not blown, but close at 252!. Redid it with chest at about 220-225, and looks better.

Randy

[John Mack]

Very neat to see the foot like that. Yes, that is a low angle. The color in the water is lovely.