It's Not All Spoonbills...

[Arthur Morris]

It's not all spoonbills on the Hooptie Deux. I did not think much of this bird or this image when I saw the RAW file but after 2 minutes in CS3 it began to sing. Now I love it.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D MIII atop the Gitzo 3530 LS and the Mongoose Mm3.5. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop in late light: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1 (confirmed by histogram check).

Don't be shy. All comments welcome. I am hear to learn too.

[Fabs Forns]

Pinkie at its best :) Wings position is fine since the subject is coming at you, not from the side. Love the placement in the frame, only wish for lighter underwing on his left one. Can't wait to be on-board again.

[Keith Carver]

Love the wing position and the range of whites in the wings and body. A white morph reddish egret?

[Alfred Forns]

Pinky flying and in full breeding plumage !!! Love the feather detail and sharpness !! .. an FJ for certain !!!

[Jasper Doest]

Thanks for not posting a pinkie, as they turned me green of envy ;-)

Although you did well on your fieldtechs and post-processing I have to be honest with you and say that I'm not really fond of the shooting angle. It isn't really doing the bird well IMHO, mainly because the head is merged with the back and the bill which isn't coming out enough. I mean this as a compliment when I say that this photograph is not up to your usual standard. Normally you're able to bring something extra (intimacy, immediacy, a special moment), but this seems "just" a registration.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for not posting a pinkie, as they turned me green of envy ;-) Although you did well on your fieldtechs and post-processing I have to be honest with you and say that I'm not really fond of the shooting angle. It isn't really doing the bird well IMHO, mainly because the head is merged with the back and the bill which isn't coming out enough. I mean this as a compliment when I say that this photograph is not up to your usual standard. Normally you're able to bring something extra (intimacy, immediacy, a special moment), but this seems "just" a registration.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. What can I say? I still like it, perhaps because the bird is pretty close to the height of breeding plumage, perhaps because it is so sharp, and perhaps because I get to see the optimized TIFF full screen.

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

I have to agree with Jasper. And I think your response ponits out one of the limitations of our medium. I have a number of images that I really like full screen, full resolution, but they don't always translate well to our small file size on the site.

The site favors slightly over done, very dramatic pictures, not subtlety.

Just my .02

Randy