intent

[John Chardine]

I'm at Bonaventure Island, Québec working on my gannets, but make time every day for a few photos! This one is of an adult in the final stages of landing on the colony. Landing is a precarious activity with many associated threats such as the sea of gannets below, and many sharp sticks (I have seen a few impaled in previous years). Gannets are able to move their eyes forward to produce binocular vision for depth perception and they do this when landing. Light was harsh and in these conditions a flash with a beamer can save the day by filling in the deep shadows and reducing the overall contrast.

I cropped a little, upped the saturation (in LAB), and sharpened. Hope you like it. Comments welcome. More gannets to come!

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens: EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 200 mm
Program: Manual
ISO 400, 1/1250s, f/8
Exp. comp.: 0.0
Flash: on, Flash exp. comp.: 0.0

[annmpacheco]

Ww John what a good shot indeed! I like the "yellow" lining on the feet. Also, not sure what the bird is carrying besides the stick? Well maybe wearing something impressive! Are you on the island or in a boat? I am planning a trip next month. TFS

[John Chardine]

Hi Ann- That's a bit of seaweed in the corner of the mouth, which they use to line their nests. I was on the island. PM me and let me know when you plan to be there. I have more trips through the summer. The feet are actually lined with a light green, almost lime green.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

John,

Nice techs, f8 and fast shutter produce nice results. I personally like the crop and nice use of flash to reduce shadows.

At 200mm, how close can you get before the stress point - really like this one.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi John, thanks for sharing this great action shot! Good choices all around for aperture, ss, and light assistance. Really nice and I look forward to more!

[dankearl]

Freaky looking eyes and really nice sharpness on the head and feet.
Nice pose as well. Nice to see this species, a very cool bird.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

John,

Greetings. Interesting action shot... I like the eye and head detail. There seems to be some artifact around the wing tips - CA? motion blur accentuated pp?

Thanks for posting this interesting shot.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[John Chardine]

Hi Michael- It's motion blur at the wing-tips.

Thanks for all the comments!

[Troy Lim]

love the shot!