Off the Hooptie.....but not a Spoonie

[Roman Kurywczak]

Had to do a lot of beach clean up in this one......I may have gone too far with the blurs and such.....but will re-visit it another day. The OC mated once B4 this time (i missed the mating....just got the dismount).....and didn't know if I would get another crack at it....luckily I did. Not the ideal HA....but since this is the first mating images I've got.....I'll keep it. You know me....full frame vert but cropped ....mostly in front.
Canon 1D Mark lll with the Sigma 300-800mm lens at 800mm for 1/2500 sec at f8 and ISO 800. Manually focused!...all tripod mounted with wimberly head...standing in the water.

[Doug Brown]

I like your self-critique Roman. Nice behavior captured, and great job with exposure and manual focus! I think the beach looks a little overprocessed.

[Marina Scarr]

You captured behavior that isn't often seen with this species. I wonder what the original looks like. It may actually have looked more natural with the beach debris showing the environment in which the OC actually mate. Thank you for sharing. I am confident it was a special moment to witness.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Marina.....good idea. Tiff just converted to J-peg.....no other corrections.
It will be interesting to see what poeple would choose to remove/leave??
sometimes you start with the patching/cloning.....and I forget to stop!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Peter,
Doug saw the 1st post at top.....I just posted the beach part.....I thought Maria had a good idea.....I started there....but kept going....I'm going to re-think that and go back to something closer to yours. Maybe just a few more spots at bottom edge of frame?

[Maxis Gamez]

Hey Roman,

This is cool!! the photoshop work is very noticeable but some re-post works very well.

[Robert Amoruso]

Roman,

I would do just what Peter did. In your original post it does not look natural. Great work capturing the behavior BTW.

[John Blumenkamp]

Hi Roman... I really like the interaction and detail of this one. Great stuff as usual!

I just tried sending a PM that didn't go through for some reason... was just saying I was looking at the NANPA showcase images tonight, and wanted to say a big congrats to you on your two selections. I love 'em both, but really like the star trails at Park Avenue down in Arches... awesome work!

[Kobus Tollig]

Like the first one the most. Great action comp and exposure great shot well done

[Nate Chappell]

Nice exposure and fantastic action of the dismount here Roman, congrats.