Great crested Grebe leaving the nest

[Krijn Trimbos]

Another one from the old files that I didn't get to post-process until recently. Jasper and I spend an incredible spring with these beauties in their ditch. They became our friends allowing us to be close and watch their dayly routine. Here the female is going for fish, shortly after the male jumped on the nest to incubate the eggs while she was gone. I love the way how clumsy these birds look on land :D Taken in late afternoon light.

C & C are very welcome,

Canon EOS 350D 1/400 f7.1 Manual
ISO 200
Canon 100-400 L IS USM
Focal Length 200mm
Handheld

[Juan Aragonés]

Not much to say here Krijn, just that I love this image :-)

[Alfred Forns]

Can't imagine better light !! Love the low angle, pose and setting !!! Just perfect for my taste !!!

[Mike Lentz]

The overall tones in this image are spectacular! So since we are supposed to look for nits... hmmmmm. maybe include the entire nest on the left side? That may mess up the comp however, not sure. I really like this image!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great light, details and pose, angle and BG look good, too.

[Ramon M. Casares]

OUTSTANDING! Great light, pose, Bg, colours, detail and comp! Stunning shot! Congratulaitons!

[Arthur Morris]

Great light and perspective. Wish only that the bird was angled a bit more towards you. Is she standing on part of the nest?

[Krijn Trimbos]

Thanks for the comments everyone, very much apprieciated!!!

Artie she is standing on part of the nest.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks K. That's what I figgered.

[Doug Brown]

Terrific image Krijn! Love the pose, although a look towards us would have been a plus. Stunning BG too.

[Krijn Trimbos]

Terrific image Krijn! Love the pose, although a look towards us would have been a plus. Stunning BG too.

1. First of all I too would have liked a shot with a little more headturn/or body angle and noticed the none perfect one in this photo

2. Unfortunately these birds are so clumsy on land, and I hope this is apparent from the photo, that they have to really really focus to not slip/break one of the eggs/or just fall in the water sideways and even when making sounds they often won't look towards you while getting of the nest. In this view the focussed look not completely towards the viewer actually enhances this shot IMHO, making it more about the clumsyness on land than about the perfect (headturn) clean shot.

Thanks again everyone for all the comments.

Cheers,

Krijn