It Ain't Just Spoonbill II

[Arthur Morris]

An east wind on a clear morning is a BPB, a bird photographer's blessing. With wind and sun together, the birds will be flying and landing right down the lens barrel. This breeding plumage Double-crested Cormorant (they do not have the white head plumes like the western birds of this species do) was photographed on my trip last Thursday with James Shadle aboard the Hooptie.

Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS 1D MIII. Gitzo CF 3530 LSV tripod with Mongoose M3.5 head. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the sky set manually: 1/1000 sec. at f/71.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome and appreciated. I am here to learn too!

later and love, artie

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

This image I believe is very difficult and well done, but not one that I find pleasing. Black is very difficult to expose properly and I think you probably did as well as can be done, but I just don' like it. The black has absorbed most of the light and the definition seems poor. When I consider all the magnificent images you have made, this one falls short of your standards. Sorry I don't like it.

[Arthur Morris]

This image I believe is very difficult and well done, but not one that I find pleasing. Black is very difficult to expose properly and I think you probably did as well as can be done, but I just don' like it. The black has absorbed most of the light and the deffinition seems poor. When I consider all the magnificent images you have made, this one falls short of your standards. Sorry I don't like it.

Hi Wheeler, Thanks for sharing your thoughts; no need to apologize for not liking it. I agree that black birds in the sun can be problematic. I do, however, like this image. You certainly made your dislike of it very clear.

later and love, artie

ps: honest critiques done gently...

pps: While the image may not meet your standards, it does meet mine.

[Mike Tracy]

I was wondering how it would look cropped tight so as to see his facial expression. He just seems to be too small in the frame. Of course I.Q. probably will suffer.

Nicely done on the exposure and pose.

[Jeff Nadler]

Artie, The bird's expression, wing position, and unique capture of a moment in time make it a very pleasing image to see. This was surely not easy to capture. The two minor nits I have are that, on my LCD, anyways, some black areas don;t offer details, and the center placement-which could be changed in a second with a crop. What I value from your post, in my future quest to meter manual more often, is the plus one on the sky info. Thanks.

[John Chardine]

I tried a little tighter crop in PS and I think there is an improvement. I love the image and the orange gular pouch really shows up nicely. All these birds in breeding plumage give us hope up here in Canada's winter that spring is on the way.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks John. It looks good.

later and love, artie

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Lovely bird Arthur but I would LOVE to see a closeup of the face.

[Blake Shadle]

Nice image, Artie. I agree that a tighter crop would improve the image. What I really like about this image is the color of the eyes that you were able to capture, and that killer wing position.