It's that time of year

[Blake Shadle]

I had a chance to spend some time out on the Hooptie Deux with my dad and Philip Pietri this past Saturday. I needed a little time out int the field for fear my brain turn into moosh. There were plently of great opportunities in the afternoon. The tide and the winds were right.

Shooting Solution
Nikon D300 | Sigma 500mm f/4.5 | Manual Focus
Manual Exposure | 1/1600 @ f/8 | ISO 400 | Mongoose M2.3 on Gitzo 1440 legs

All comments welcome and much appreciated.

Thanks for looking :)

[Don Thompson]

Beautiful. I envy those of you who live in warm weather and subjects such as this.

[Maxis Gamez]

Hey Blake,

Nice low angle and behavior.

Take care!

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Beautiful image Blake. Great low angle and I love the action you captured in this one. Excellent color and detail and good eye contact. Thanks for sharing.

[Grady Weed]

Keep posting these Blake. Nice open beak, it makes it appear it is talking to you. And smooth colors in the water.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Lovely, open bill is a nice plus! COngratualitons!

[Chris van Rooyen]

Great light and posture, these birds are amazingly photogenic. Whites seem a tad hot on my monitor(?)

[Fernando Cerra]

Great pose and action, overall image looks bright in my monitor

[James Shadle]

Great light and posture, these birds are amazingly photogenic. Whites seem a tad hot on my monitor(?)

On my monitor as well.
The composition, sharpness and perspective make this an outstanding example of a Spoonbill portrait.

Dad

[Blake Shadle]

Thanks everyone. The whites hold detail, it was just bright out when I made the image haha. I could bring it down a bit. I'll repost a darker version.