Eurasian spoonbills, Hongshankou Reservoir, Inner Mongolia, China, earlier this month. This is my favorite shot of the spoonbills at rest.
Background: Good calculations and good luck added up to a pleasing image. At 1615, with the sun still bright, I began my approach of the spoonbills from about 400 m away. I thought that with luck I could slowly approach them and be in a good position for sunset at about 1830. By 1815, around the time I took this shot, the light was about as good as it was going to be, and I was as close as I was going to get: I was "pushing" the spoonbills backward at any approach closer than 90 m. Finally, the birds separated out into something like five distinct individuals.
To get the sun directly behind me, I had to wade into shin-deep, muddy water (or was it watery mud?). I was crawling through that stuff, pushing my tripod along. I'll long remember the combination of exhilaration at the brilliant light and dramatic scenery; the tingle that went up my spine as some nearby greylag geese flew away honking; the discomfort from the stooping, the crawling, and the wetness; the fear that my equipment was going to fall into the water; the worry that the spoonbills would fly away before I got a winning shot; and the constant, constant struggle to expose those white birds correctly.
By the time I got out of there, I was covered with mud and chilly in the cool evening air. The ride back to the hotel should have taken 40 minutes, but an accident ahead of us on the highway created an hour-long traffic jam. When I finally arrived at the hotel, the attendant told us there was no water. The Swamp Thing finally made it to a new hotel. Birding in China is NOT like birding in developed countries. Birds are more fearful, roads are more hazardous, accommodation is more iffy.
Here are the specs. I realize that there is more than one way to crop this photo.
Device: Nikon D300
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 850mm
VR: OFF
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/1000s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: -0.7EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 320
I like your composition Graig nice separation among them excellent detail and the colors are beautiful I also like your low angle of capture. Well Done!
Lovely light, great BG and exposure spot on. I agree with Gary the taking a bit off the bottom and maybe the top would be the way I would go. One slight niggle also is the one bird facing the camera - pity they were not all facing the same way. So I would recommend going back and trying again as the shot was so easy to get ;).
very nice result of some hard and determined work mate. :) I'd lose about half the top section. But that's how I'd present it. We are all different. Very good work! :)
Nice capture and description -- I would love to get a look at these guys. Looks a bit crooked to me and I might be tempted to straighten the shoreline a bit
Wonderful capture of these spoonies. Your lite is awesome, and FG and BG are beautiful. Love how there is a soft reflection. I don't think the bird looking at your hurts the picture. I think maybe it adds interest. It's difficult to know without seeing it both ways.
I do think the pano crop might be another alternative to this crop. You may try taking a bit off the bottom and top and give it a whirl.
Spoonbills in Council
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