One of the things I love about spending time with the one specimen is that I get to observe and (hopefully) capture a multitude of behaviors.
I photographed this Black-winged Stilt having a good shake in Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush on a rainy, spring evening in November last year, after finishing a college exam and skipping as soon as I had finished. I guess my priorities were well in order. :D
Almost a full frame image, 30D, 300mm f/2.8L IS USM and 2x, tripod, ISO800, f/6.3, 1/800th, eval. metering, +1/3, 430EX and beamer.
Does it work without the 'standard' eye contact in your views?
I agree that spending time with one subject is a wonderfull experience Akos, it is true that this can transform in many great and different images :)
I like the atitude you captures, and light was nice, the closed eye adds a lot to the moment captured, the one thing that could've been better IMHO, is the water that couldvé been calmer, maybe a lower angle would've hepled, but still, very nice!
Strange as it may seem Akos, I like the ridging in the water as it seems to add a wildness to the image, too often in our ponds at the wetlands we get little or no wind blown water just lots of algae.
Nise sharpness, great lens combo.
The squint also adds character to the bird and the whole image makes you shiver
I too love our little stilts and find them a great subject, one day I will send you an image of ours taking on large Raptors to protect their young..
Last edited by Christopher C.M. Cooke; 04-26-2009 at 11:51 PM.
You have done exceptionally well considering the conditions, and it has helped with the exposure on the whites too. The closed eye doesnt bother me, as it shows how much they are enjoying the moment. Well captured Akos.
Looks like the stilt is sneezing, very entertaining image! I too like to work one individual for a while for the same reason you state. Oh, and I see that you do have your priorities straight :-) I know the ripples exaggerate the need for CCW rotation, but I do believe the image needs a bit of it. I would also crop a bit at left. Hope you got a bunch more behaviour stuff during your outing...
Akos from a technical point of view, the image is well executed but it is not your best image from an artistic point of view. I have seen a lot of very good images from you and I think that the strongest point in this one is the fact that you are trying to get something different. We have seen lots of stilt images with perfect head turn, eye contact, perfect light and the like and the only way to get an original image of this species is experimenting in the way you did. Experimenting is risky because is a perfect way to get a lot of useless images but, of course, it is the only way to get a different, original, perfect and personal image. I like your approach... way to go! :-)
Shake, rattle and roll
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