Northern Gannet

[Jasper Doest]

When going through the old files I took 4 years ago I was pretty amazed with the work that was still waiting to be processed. How could I have overlooked those images in the past? Probably the experience of this bird flying straight at me was soo overwhelming at that time that the photograph didn’t really work for me. However, 4 years later it easily became one of my favourites. Glad I didn’t bin this! I guess I’ll just have to wait another 4 years until I show you the results of this year’s trip.

Canon EOS10D
Canon EF100-400L USM IS @ 100mm!!!
1/800 @ f/8
ISO200, RAW (just slightly cropped)
Handheld

[Randy Stout]

Jasper:

I like the down the barrel look, cropping works, back bird adds. Nice exposure, sharpness, sky.
My first impression was of a cartoon of a bird bombing run, because of the expression on this birds face.

I think the facial markings make it look like he is wearing goggles.

I do think the sky could stand some NR.

Thanks for posting, and show us some more of your 'old' finds.

Cheers

Randy

[Julie Kenward]

Jasper, I wish my old files looked this good! Love the angle and the crop of this. As Randy said, he has that "down the barrel" look and you caught it well. No doubt you shelved this thinking you missed part of the bird in the frame...how funny is that?

I, too, see a bit of noise in the BG but that's really all I can pick up on, too. The addition of the second bird is really nice...it really gives the effect that you are being bombarded.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I'm glad you processed this image. Cool pose, details, BG and the OOF bird adds to it. Why is the underside so yellow?

[Jasper Doest]

Why is the underside so yellow?

Hi Axel, I noticed that too....this bird is only flying 2 meters above the colony, so I think it is the reflection of the brown rock or something like that?

[Harold Davis]

i love the in-your-face capture of the gannet! awesome!! and the oof bird in the bg actually adds a nice element. like you are watching an old war movie with bombers.

[John Chardine]

This is a very interesting, almost out-of-the-box image Jasper. I like the unconventionality very much! Isn't it exciting to go back and find a gem that you overlooked!

[Stu Bowie]

Super head on shot, well exposed, sharp, and love the colours on their heads. Although no one else has mentioned it, I would lose the OOF bird. The gannet is the star of the show, thus the other guy is overlooked.

[Dick Glover]

My vote is to keep it as it is. The second bird adds interest,makes the sharp bird stand out even more, if that is possible. It also make the Gannet "real" as it could almost look like a CG image it is so sharp and Gannets tend to look somewhat artificial anyway. Super image. Thanks for sharing.
Dick

[Juan Aragonés]

I would not clone out the OOF birds, I think that it adds a lot to the composition adding volume and increasing the feeling of proximity of the main subject. Fantastic sky (superb exposure job) but it needs another round of noise reduction. I do not mind about the croping of the wings because composition works very nicely. Great that you saved this one from the bin ;)

[Krijn Trimbos]

Hi my friend,
You told me about this one. A really really nice shot. Love the full frontal look, composition of the front bird and the heavy clouds in the BG. However, I am a little unsure about the bird in the back. It is not that it is distracting, but I feel like ideally it should have been positioned a little more towards the LR corner especially since it is flying into the frame. The way it is now it seems like there is a little too much room on the right side of the OOF bird, maybe removing a bit more canvas might do the trick. Still a keeper for sure!! Hope to see you soon!

[Nagesh Mula]

I loved this picture very much with the second bird even adding more to this image. Congratulations!!