Collared pratincola in flight

[Juan Aragonés]

This is one of my favourite flights from the day I spend with the collared pratincoles. I got a lot of fantastic flights with great eye contact, frame filling size, nice wing pose and I am happy with them but this one... I just love the composition, the nice golden light of the evening in the undersides, the dramatic BG, the empty space and the details on the head of the bird. More than a pratincole, this guy looks like an albatross flying in open sea. I am sure that many of you would prefer a very different kind of flight but I just love this one :-)

Croped a bit at the right and top (about 10%)m selective sharpening on the bird, a touch of saturation and levels adjustment, two RAW conversions.

As always, your comments and suggestions are really apreciated

More flight images in my blog

Nikon D300 AFS Nikkor 500VR handheld ISO400 1/1600s f5 manual exposure

[Desmond Chan]

Nice to see something different !

Personally I would put the bird somewhere else in the photo and may also tone down the white a bit. But the most important thing is you like it as is.

Congrats!!

[Arthur Morris]

Certainly out of the box but I prefer the more traditional ones on your blog, esp. #5 with the wings full down! Kudos for trying something different.

[Fabs Forns]

Very interesting lighting, Juan, I love the pose and a bird I've never seen before. I need to go visit your blog lately, you must have new stuff I'm missing :)

BTW, that cake was awesome ;)

[Randy Stout]

Juan:

A nice variation from the usual, it evokes a mood, sense of flying out of the sunset.

I might be tempted to crop it a bit more as a pano, perhaps up to just above your sig line.

Thanks for sharing.

Randy

[Tony Whitehead]

I like the comp, Juan. A bit more detail in the darks would be nice but I am on an uncalibrated monitor at work so don't trust what I am seeing too much. Images on your blog are great. That 500 is working very well for you.

[Stu Bowie]

I always like these head on images, especially when you can see both eyes. Oodles of space to fly into. Well captured.

[Mital Patel]

hi juan,

first of all a fantastic different unique pose you have captured.
dare to show something plz dont mind

I think using this composition idea may give this a different look and better prominent.

[Juan Aragonés]

Mital your suggestions are always wellcomed and I am very interested to hear what other people think about my images :) I like your suggestion but I think that the composition with the bird placed near the upper right corner works better, perhaps because it is more... out of the box and that is one of the things I like the most in this image ;)

[Mital Patel]

thanks juan for taking it .
btw i had placed the bird in little off center and bottom for the thought of having bird coming from lower angle.
it might give an impression that bird is coming from a different altitude instead top.

if you monitor the image side by side i am sure that will give you that look of altitude change by changing the position.

but either way this is a perfect image ..

[Mark Dumbleton]

Super light on the BIF! Like that you tried something different with the comp, and in a certain sense it does work for me.