Barnegat, about an hour before sunset a few weeks ago. Sun was still a little harsh, and crop a little large; but I liked the way the signature long tail showed in this frame.
D90 | 500f4 | ISO 800 | 1/3200s @ f.7.1 | -1.0 EV
Barnegat, about an hour before sunset a few weeks ago. Sun was still a little harsh, and crop a little large; but I liked the way the signature long tail showed in this frame.
D90 | 500f4 | ISO 800 | 1/3200s @ f.7.1 | -1.0 EV
Good job with this guy, and I love the water drop action on and around the tail. Good exposure and colours. The image could use a bit of a crop at bottom IMO, and I wish the catchlight didn't cover all of the black pupil.
Bill:
Good critique from Daniel.
I generally feel that birds with lighter/brighter eyes don't need the catchlight as much to give the eye life, and if it were mine, I would remove the catchlight so the pupil can show through a bit more. It will be small because of the lighting, but I think it would present better without the catchlight.
Cheers
Randy
Light looks good to me Bill! Really like the tail position and the water droplets.
Hey Bill magnificent action captured with that tail and water droplets. Nice light and exposure on the bird. Would agree with a crop from the bottom.
Thank you all for the helpful comments. Daniel and Randy, the catchlight did bother me, but it didn't even occur to me to remove it. Here's a repost where I removed it quickly from the web-sized jpeg file; I could do better on the master file with more pixels to work with. It does have the effect of making him look less shell-shocked. Thanks for the suggestion.
Bill, terrific work as always. Loved those water droplet trails. Also liked the wave splashing on the body. Yes, real nice view of the long tail.
The tail is just stellar. Nice job.
How's the footing on the jetty? Are the hunters gone yet? (Season closes Jan. 25, but it's been cold so I thought that maybe ice might keep them in.)
Thanks Paul. This was taken two weeks ago (Tues, Jan 4th), and the footing was fine except way out at the end of the jetty. I was there late in the day (spur of the moment decision to go, and I arrived really too late to get much light on the Harlequins or Purples.) Don't know if it was the time of day or the cold, but I didn't see any hunters or hear any gunshots, although others have reported hunting activity since then.