Midway #6: Tight Laysan Flight

[Arthur Morris]

This image of a Laysan Albatross was created with the handheld Caanon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops of the white sand in early morning light: 1/1250 at f/5.6.

Flight photography opps on Midway are limitless....

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Arthur Morris]

PS: Should have mentioned two things: 45 Point AI Servo AF. The color of the water is accurate; fine tuning it using the HSL tab in ACR (as taught to me by Alejandro Furman of Chile) really helps.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Artie, I like it a lot. colors are great and exposure too. DOF just right. One question though. Why the bird lower in the frame instead of up? Is it because you wanted the horizon and sky to act as a frame? Or perhaps there are some distractions below that you dont want to include?

[Bill Jobes]

Love it, Artie!
The left-side framing is just perfect.
As is the beautiful hue of those Pacific waters.
The last time I saw them, I was on a troop ship on a very slow crossing, more years ago than I care to remember! :D

[Stu Bowie]

Good sharp detail and colours on the albatross's head, and just love that torquoise sea.

[Arthur Morris]

Artie, I like it a lot. colors are great and exposure too. DOF just right. One question though. Why the bird lower in the frame instead of up? Is it because you wanted the horizon and sky to act as a frame? Or perhaps there are some distractions below that you dont want to include?

There was some gray stuff below.... And I rarely leave more room below a bird than above, unless I have a very good reason to do so.

[Arthur Morris]

Love it, Artie! The left-side framing is just perfect. As is the beautiful hue of those Pacific waters. The last time I saw them, I was on a troop ship on a very slow crossing, more years ago than I care to remember! :D

I got very emotional during the history tour thinking of my Dad. He was severely wounded on Okinawa, lost his right arm there, and spent 19 months in the hospital (where I was conceived!) :)

[Keith Bauer]

I like this image nice and tight. Water color is great. I would like it even more if the top edge of the frame was not the lighter white of the horizon. It really pulls my eye up there.

[Grace Scalzo]

Such lovely colors and a nice bird too. :)

[Morkel Erasmus]

love this shot Artie! great clarity, creative comp and stunning colour. interesting to hear about your dad...

[Markus Jais]

A beautiful flight shot with great light and fantastic colors, both in the bird's plumage and the BG.
I like the composition with the body of the bird being slightly left of the center of the image.

Markus

[Myer Bornstein]

As always you have Artie

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Really love this one Artie. The soft lighting on his face and the determined look as well as the direct eye contact really makes this one for me.

[Mike Tracy]

I like this guy and his focused happy look. I am all for unconventional crops and this one works. Wish you could have gotten the same detail on the leading edge of his left wing that you captured on his right. The forehead looks a tad bright in spots. The color of the water reminds me of French Polynesia.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Mike. There are even a few hot pixels in my master file so I will go back and start from scratch. The color of the water here is insane. I have found that working on the Aquas, Blues, and Greens on the HSL tab during ACR conversion can get them looking the way that I remember them.

[Arthur Morris]

I like this image nice and tight. Water color is great. I would like it even more if the top edge of the frame was not the lighter white of the horizon. It really pulls my eye up there.

I had mixed feelings on the strip at the top. The next frame had all water but the bird was too centered. I could create an all water BKGR with this one but I sort of like the strip :):)

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for stopping by and for your kind words. Do check out lots more Midway stuff on the blog: www.birdsasart-Blog.com :)