Common Loon Female With Chick ~ Head On

[Jim Fenton]

Had a great weekend creating loon images out of the Kayak up in NH this weekend...it sure is different working from a moving platform and even when there is no wind, the slightest motion of the boat plays havoc with the angles you set up without you even realizing you're still moving. It was my first time in the kayak as the day I bought it in July of 2009, I tore my biceps tendon and couldn't use it till now.

BTW....the spots on the adults head are minute water drops as this female had just come up from a foraging dive.

There will be a lot of loon images posted by me since I didn't shoot anything else the past week.

I worked with both the Nikon 70-300 AFS~VR and the 300f4 AFS both with and without TC's. This image was with the 70-300VR.

Nikon D300s, 70-300 AFS VR, ISO 500, 1/500, F8, NearUniWB, CW metering, -1.3 EV

[Randy Stout]

Jim:

Very nice. Loons are great fun to work, since they have so many different behaviours.
I love the jewel like water beads. I have lots of loon images, and even when I know they have just surfaced, they don't often show this beading. Must be something particular about the position of the feathers, surface tension of the water, etc.

Pano crop suits this image well. Chick looks to be about 10 days old. Do you have any firm dates for when it hatched?

The red eyes look great here, she is really checking you out.

I am surprised you didn't have the 600 out in the kayak:D

Actually, I generally shoot with a similar rig in the kayak, as I can't hold the longer setups still enough, plus the expense issue for when you get wet!

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Fenton]

Randy...

A) The 600 is going nowhere near the kayak pal. It wiould have been of no use anyway. Of the 3 pairs I shot on this secluded lake (never saw another boat or person...nada), two of them would come literally within 10 feet of the boat as if I wasn't even there.>>>as long as I didn't move. Amazingly, on several occasions the female would swim closer and make this wonderful, low "cooing" sound. At one point one of the males was chasing perch and went right under the kayak, coming up about 5 feet from me and letting out a haunting loon cry that scared the crap out of me as I hadn't realized he'd surfaced that close.

B) Chick is 8 days of age...you were close!

[Randy Stout]

Jim:
You are really lucky to have been able to get so close. In Michigan, they are quite shy unless they have grown up on that particular lake and are used to people. My cottage has lots of loons on the lake, but I have never been able to get within decent photo range, despite patient approaches.

The low call they make is usually called a 'hoot'. Common form of communication between adults and to the chicks. The chicks themselves make this almost inaudible wheezy sound.

Look forward to more!

Cheers

Randy

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the head-on look, angle and inclusion of the chick. Interesting pattern of the whites on the head. Maybe a bit NR on the BG?

[Danny J Brown]

Hey Jim: Glad to hear you finally made it into the kayak and you are getting some nice images. I love the little baby and the eyes on the parent are crazy looking, as always. I just bought a Wilderness Commander 12 Hybrid a month ago and I'm looking forward to spending some time in it with my little 300/4 which has been pretty lonely the past year or so.

DB

[arash_hazeghi]

very cool pose and low angle Jim. well done

[allanrube]

I like the head on shot. The water beads add a lot drawing attention to the head and making the shot different. The perfect shot would have been filling the head in the frame - that would really have been a one of a kind.

[Hendri Venter]

I find the head-on look very interesting. Good low angle capture. Well done!

[Grace Scalzo]

Normally, the chick would draw my attention, but in this image the water droplet pattern and head on eyes are captivating. I like this alot, Jim. (I tried some kayak photography this past weekend and it introduces an entirely new set of difficulties!) So I respect this image even more.....

[Keith Carver]

Normally I don't like the head-on poses for loons, but due to the two staring eyes and the water droplets, I really do like this one. Nice pano crop, also you picked up the multiple reflections in the FG.

As for platform, if I'm shooting from my 18' Lund boat, I take my 500 mm lens (with 7D) and tripod, no problem. But for a shorter lens (300 mm or 280 mm), a kayak or canoe works fairly well. The problem is maneuvering the boat or kayak or canoe into position, which you did very well here.

Lovely image, thanks, Jim.

[Fabs Forns]

This is supercool, to have all those drops in the head, it makes a beautiful pattern! It even matches the black and white plumage, way to go, and the frontal view with eye contact is superb.
Chick the icing on the cake!