Discovered 3 Great Crested Grebes nests tonight and got a few pictures of some of them during their courtship activities...
greetings,
Jeroen Stel
Canon Eos 1D Mark IV
Shutter speed: 1/200 sec
Aperture: F 5
Exposure mode: AV
Exposure compensation: + 2/3
Flash:no
Flash exposure compensation: -
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: AI Focus
ISO: 500
Lens: Canon 600mm F4
Focal length:780 mm
AF mode: Auto Focus
On beanbag at waterfront
Levels/Curves/USM/Contrast/Saturation/Noise Ninja/Home stewed Sharpening-mix/ Adobe Photoshop CS5
Excellent shooting angle, action, eye of female. The backlighting really makes the flying water stand out, but would have preferred a little more frontal lighting to brighten up the front of the birds, esp. the males head.
Busy environment for my taste. Is this the actual nest site, or just close?
Man, I actually love this lighting (and direction) and don't even mind the busy setting! Great mood. This one breaks many "rules"...but very effectively IMO. The only things I'd do is darken the very lightest area in the water beneath the female's face, and reduce the blue cast on the birds. Love the mating behaviour, and the water splashing.
Thanks for your comments on this shot.
This is the actual nesting site and unfortunately it has a very busy BG as it is build against a fallen tree wich hangs over the water.
I am always in doubt with shots like this one as i do prefer a mmore quite and soft BG but with this type of behaviour you can not always choose the setting.
One other nest i found has a better BG so let's keep fingers crossed i will be able to get similar shots down there today or later on.