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Thread: Razorbill Portrait

  1. #1
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    Default Razorbill Portrait

    Photographed on Machias Island off the Maine coast on Saturday. This Razorbill came pretty close to the blind, the image is almost full frame and I liked the BG with rocks and lichen.



    1D3, 500f4, 1.4x, 1/320s, f/11, EC -0.33, ISO 400

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    Outstanding, just that!

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Nice work Axel. Some of the whites are on the bleeding edge, but it looks like you held them. I'd love to see this bird someday.

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    Very nice.

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    This is really lovely Axel. I am very impressed by how you and the equipment have handled so well the high contrast plumage, and in what looks like fairly harsh light. It's interesting that even the human eye with it's wide dynamic range, renders the dark parts of Razorbills jet-black, yet your image shows a brownish component. I've studied Razorbills on Machias and have had a chance to spend days on end there and live in one of the houses. This was in the not too distant days of film but I never produced an image with such great rendering of dark and light as this one.

    BTW, Razorbills can be aged by the grooves in the bill. This one looks to be an adult with two full grooves to the right of the deep one at the base of the bill. I have banded RAZOs and I can tell you that their bill is a significant weapon.
    Last edited by John Chardine; 07-14-2008 at 03:32 PM.

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    Outstanding details. Am at awe...

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    What an interesting bird. Unlike what I've ever seen. Well shot too, sharp, nice whites, and a pleasant bg.

  8. #8
    Fabs Forns
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    I am in love with those birds, quite a fre around here, we got them in flight too!!! Your trip sounds like a good one, our friend from Melbourne, Charlie, went there last year and loved it. Quaint houses around too, huh?
    Great portrait and BG, agree it's certainly a keeper!

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    Cool portrait!

  10. #10
    Dave Phillips
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    beautiful sir, I have stared at this image for at least 30 seconds, almost mesmerized by a strange beauty unlike any I have ever seen.

    well done, thanks for sharing....and thank you John for the education

  11. #11
    Judy Lynn Malloch
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    Love this Axel. Wonderful portrait and a killer BG. The detail and eye contact is excellent.

  12. #12
    Gus Cobos
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    Excellent image and composition Axel.
    A big congrats. This is the first time I see one of these birds...:)

  13. #13
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Chardine View Post
    This is really lovely Axel. I am very impressed by how you and the equipment have handled so well the high contrast plumage, and in what looks like fairly harsh light. It's interesting that even the human eye with it's wide dynamic range, renders the dark parts of Razorbills jet-black, yet your image shows a brownish component. I've studied Razorbills on Machias and have had a chance to spend days on end there and live in one of the houses. This was in the not too distant days of film but I never produced an image with such great rendering of dark and light as this one.

    BTW, Razorbills can be aged by the grooves in the bill. This one looks to be an adult with two full grooves to the right of the deep one at the base of the bill. I have banded RAZOs and I can tell you that their bill is a significant weapon.
    Thanks, John, I didn't know the bill shows the age of the bird so precisely! The bills really look impressive and I'm not surprised you had to be careful.

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    Everything about this image is Great! The detail in the eye is very nice. But, IMO, when I look at the image from short distance, the eye looks closed or not alive. A small eye shine would bring him/her back to life. Dan Brown

  15. #15
    Anita Rakestraw
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    What a cool bird and a beautiful shot! Very interesting information about them, John, I enjoy hearing the educational side to these images, thanks for sharing. Axel, the eye caught my attention, too; looks half closed altho maybe it's just shadow. Would it spoil the image to lighten the eye a bit?

  16. #16
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    Thanks for the comments. The eye is not closed, it is the reflection of a rock in front of the bird.

  17. #17
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    Without a doubt this is the most perfectly exposed Razorbill image I've ever seen. And a darn good portrait too. This birds colors and habitat makes this one of the lost difficult images to get. High marks are in order. This bird has to turn just right, you have to be in the right position and you must be prepared to get it when it comes around. Patience and most of all preparedness is needed. Excellent control of the contrast.

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