5000th post. On the First Day of Christmas, My True Love Said to Me!

[Randy Stout]

I thought this image of the two trumpeters interacting on a snowy day was fitting for my 5000th post, and very seasonal too. It has been great fun to be a part of BPN, and I want to extend holiday greetings to our worldwide community.

D700 600mm @ f/6.3 1/800s ISO 800 Manual Gitzo/Wimberley Fill with better beamer

Post: CS5 selective sharpening , curves. Removed another swan left upper corner

Advice and comments always appreciated

Cheers

Randy

[Sid Garige]

Killer image and great achievement Randy. Perfect exposure, great details and pose.
A+ Job.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Congrats on 5K and what a great image. We all appreciate the immense help you always provide. Happy holidays to you too.

Terrific moment, poses, whites, angles....superb stuff.

[Brendan Dozier]

Really nice. What a great interaction! Congratulations on post 5000. Are they standing on ice?
Did you consider cropping out or lightening that little dark part of reflection at bottom?

[Joel Eade]

Hi Randy,

Gorgeous, Christmas Card image.....big congrats on 5000 posts !!!

Merry Christmas to You and Yours,

Joel

[stuart wanuck]

lovely image as usual

[Joe Senzatimore]

One fine image. Love how you handled the exposure. Looks spot on. Happy Holidays to you as well.

[denise ippolito]

Congrats on the 5K and the swans are truly beautiful! Happy Holidays Randy to you and your family!!:)

[Harshad Barve]

Congrats and killer image to celebrate
TFS

[Grace Scalzo]

Lovely image, Randy. Congrats on 5000. I've learned alot from your images and critiques and I thank you for them.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Superb image with perfect exposure and comp. Congrats on the milestone and happy holidays to you Randy.
Perhaps a very slight crop or a clone job to remove the dark reflection (?) at the bottom edge.
Thanks for all your contributions.

[Mark Young]

Awesome image. The interaction between the 2 birds has been captured wonderfully.

[Marina Scarr]

Congrats on the 5000th and all your hard work, Randy. Love this image. It's fun to just imagine what these two could possibly be discussing!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!

Marina

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the comments on the image, but more importantly the thanks for my efforts to help BPN become the wonderful learning experience it is. I have learned so much from the interactions, and I would like to think it has made me a better photographer as well.

Lets keep the community growing and flourishing!

Cheers

Randy

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Perfect exposure, great details and pose.

[Tony Whitehead]

Congratulations, Randy. Great image to mark the milestone - very seasonal. All the best to you and yours for the holiday season.

[Doug Brown]

Congratulations on your 5,000th post Randy! Your thoughtful critiques are always appreciated by BPN participants. Happy holidays!

[Craig Brelsford]

Randy, in my six months here, you've been posting good shots week after week. I can't think of any that I've liked more than this one. Your angle is low, the exposure is good, and the swans, while close, aren't touching. A fitting Christmas image and a fine choice for your milestone. Congratulations and thanks for being one of my (and probably many others') most active and helpful correspondents.

[Paul Lagasi]

Way to go Randy...I've enjoyed your comments and suggestions, on to the next 5000. Lovely swan image, well captured

[Chris Martinez]

Congratulations! In the short time I've been a member you've provided me with so much positive and constructive feedback. I have truly grown to love this community of helpful friendly bird lovers:D

This is a beautiful intimate moment you've captured. Very special indeed.

[John Wright]

Simply a superb shot!

[Stu Bowie]

Randy, congrats on your 5000th, and may you go on to further heights. Your feedback and comments are always appreciated. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Good interaction between the two swans, and both sharp and well exposed.

[Hendri Venter]

Many congrats on your 5k post Randy and your choice of image to celebrate it with is a stunner.

Happy holidays to you and your family too.

[Peter Farrell]

Stunning image showing a great interaction between the two swans.
Congratulations on your 5000th post and thanks for your efforts as a moderator on BPN.
Peter

[Kiran Poonacha]

Totally loved it, Grand Image to bring in the 5000 Bhai, congrats...

[Randy Stout]

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate the input and comments.

Cheers

Randy

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Randy, congrats on the 5K. Wonderful image, love the interaction between these two swans. All the best to you and your family at the holidays and the New Year!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hey Randy, congrats on your milestone post! Keep up the great work...and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

P.S. Superb image, neat interaction! I agree about doing something about the small dark patch at bottom for a cleaner edge ;-)

[Kris Mortensen]

Killer shot!! Absolutely LOVE it...wish it was mine!! Congrats on 5000, I just broke 100!!!

[Christopher Marek]

I always love the white on white compositions. Very Very artistic.

[Danny J Brown]

Thanks for all of you great comments and instruction, Randy. Looking forward to your next 5000 shots. Nice interaction shot of the trumpeters here and so perfectly exposed in a great comp. Take care.

DB

[Bojan Krasovec]

Congrats on 5000, Randy, I will follow...
Great image, nice whites, Im wondering what they are talking about.

Bojan

[Michael Bertelsen]

Way to go Randy,

5000 is a bunch, I think I'm up to 5.:o
Nice image too.

Michael Bertelsen

[Randy Stout]

Hi Randy,

Gorgeous, Christmas Card image.....big congrats on 5000 posts !!!

Merry Christmas to You and Yours,

Joel

Joel:

Funny you mentioned the Christmas card thing, as I did in fact use the image on the front of our family Christmas card. Must be that great minds thing going on:p

Cheers

Randy

[Arno Ellmer]

Congrats on an admirable milestone achieved,Randy ! With a superb image to go with it ! Thank you for all assistance and feedback over the past year.
A joyous festive season to you and your family.

[Arthur Morris]

Sweet image. Love the light and the bird on our right. If the bird on our left had its wings fully raised this would have been a good BBC entry.

Congrats on your milestone. As the one who championed you as an Avian Mod you have done me proud. Thanks a stack and here's to the next 5,000.

I greatly appreciate the time and care that you put into each always honest but gentle post :)

[Ron Caswell]

Randy, I dropped in to check on your posts and see how KBS was doing so far this winter. I have not been able to make it there but one time and hope to go this coming week. Your image is killer and I like that the ice was not covered in snow. Merry Christmas to you and your family and hope to see you there soon. Ron

[Nate Chappell]

A wonderful interaction shot Randy, congrats!

[Bryan Hix]

Congrats on the 5000th and cheers on an awesome image!