March Theme: Straight down the barrel - An angry Gannet

[Richard Pittam]

From a trip to Bempton cliffs, RSPB, East Yorkshire, England, a couple of year's ago.
Canon 1D Mk3, 300mm f2.8 is + 2x mkII tele, 1/1000sec@ f8, ISI 160, handheld, Aperture priority, -0.7eV, subject distance 13.8metres, approx. 75% crop from original frame. mid-day RHS shadow, but could not be avoided.

A stop and stare moment.

Cheers.
Richard

[Randy Stout]

Richard:

Fits the theme well. Like the roughed up feathers on neck. Sharp and well exposed.

Is flash allowed at this location? Could help tame some of the shadows for you.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Richard, these guys have lovely detail and colours around the head and beak, and you have nailed this head on shot nicely. Pity about the light angle, but overall, you have done well.

[Richard Pittam]

Flash is generally frowned-upon in the UK, especially at prime sites/honeypots. To be honest, because of this, I have not used my flash extender much and consequently have little experience with it. I think for 2011 I will try and use it more, maybe not at these busy sites, but when i'm off the beaten track. thanks for the comments.

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Richard. I think you handled the light really well here, and I agree with Randy that flash could have helped to fill (but hopefully not eliminate entirely) the shadowed area. Of course, as you pointed out, you'll have to judge whether flash is appropriate.

I think this image still works -- nice eye contact!

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Marina Scarr]

You did very well with this capture. I love the vertical format. You placed the bird well in the frame. He has a lot of character and the ruffled feathers really add something.