I took this up in Northern Wisconsin on the Lac du Flambeau Ojbiwe Reservation last week. I'll submit an eagle shot later. Best times to shoot are morning and evenings when the water is calm, but it makes for difficult lighting.
I was hoping to get some nice backlighting, but when it came up with something in its mouth to feed to its young, I snapped this from my kayak on the water. Not enough room in a sea kayak for a tripod.
This is with my Canon 7D and 100-400mm lens. Settings were f/9.0, 1/640, ISO 1250, 400mm. I shoot raw and save a small jpg for immediate viewing at home. This is just from the .jpg image.
Nice colors, food a plus, the side lighting has given some definition to the head, and lit the eye well.
The bird is angling away, and generally an image is more engaging if the subject is at least parallel, if not coming towards us a bit. This is esp. true for the head.
The cropping is very tight, and it would be more effective with more room in front. Is this a full frame image?
The whites are somewhat overexposed, esp. on the back. This is always a challenge for loons because of their blacks and whites. The softer the light, the easier it is to deal with.
Hope to see more, and thanks for posting. Please take the time to comment on other folks images as well.
Cheers
Randy
PS: There are lots of loons posted on the avian board if you want to get some more ideas.
Thank you, Randy. I have found that the best loon shots are with the "red eye."
This photograph is actually full frame, but I agree--wish I had more around the loon. . . You're right, lighting is very difficult with loons. I have some coming toward me as well, but I will post them late.
Hi Sandra, Welcome to the forum!Very good comments by Randy which covered most everything. My only addition is for my taste I would also like to see more room on the bottom than on the top even though the water's reflection is quite nice.
I always wonder about splitting the image in half, would you suggest most of the non-bird space be water then? I love the rippling effects of the water, but clear enough to see the bird. . . .
Hi,most of the non bird space is water. I was referring to the positioning of the bird within the frame. Less space on top of the bird and more space on the bottom is what I meant.
Hi Sandra - welcome to BPN - do not hesitate to jump right in and leave comments on other peoples images - no better or faster way to improve your own skills. All we ask is that you say what it is you like or dont like about the image.
Couple of issues here - covered above - Arties book is a good place to start if you are new to Avian Photography.
Looking forward to seeing more :)
Hi Sandra Agree with comments !!! Can add you don't need to shoot a small jpeg also ... along with the raw there is an embedded jpeg for faster viewing !!!
You have a nice camera/lens for those shots, just make sure to place the af point right on the birds head area !!!! Looking forward to the next one !!!
"Can add you don't need to shoot a small jpeg also ... along with the raw there is an embedded jpeg for faster viewing"
Alfred, how do you view the embedded jpeg? I shoot RAW with a 1D Mark IV and only seem to have the RAW image after loading onto the computer. Is there a special instruction needed to load the jpeg as well as the RAW file when loading onto the computer for quick viewing?
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