Loon family

[Keith Carver]

This chick was three days old on June 27, 2011 (Damariscotta Lake, Maine) and was being constantly fed by the loon parents. Parent loons seek to grow the chick as quickly as possible, primarily to enhance its chances of survival. At the time of this posting, the juvenile is now one half the length of the adults. It will be 80% adult size by the third week of August.

In this intimate family portrait at sundown I wanted to show the chick in relation to parents and being protected from predators (e.g. snapping turtles) by riding on the back. HA of the loon at right is not optimum but it's a completely natural family pose so I like it as is.

Techs: Canon 1DM3, 500 mm, ISO 400, f/13, 1/640 sec.

Post: minor crop

C&C appreciated!

[Randy Stout]

Keith:

I must have 5,000 loon pictures, and I don't think I have a single one where both parents and the chick had good headangles and were all in focus at the same time. Because they aren't sitting on a nest or limb and can move around freely, they are always changing their positions, a real challenge to capture! Of course, that is one of the reasons I keep trying!

Good angle on the chick, I think it is funny when they ride backwards. I have found that the smaller they are, the more likely they are to be on the tail/rump area, and they crawl further forward as they get bigger.

I find it difficult to make the images with mixed blue and green water to work effectively, because the many areas of contrast tend to pull the eye away from the subject. You might be able to mitigate this effect to some extent by cropping from top and bottom a bit, a true panno crop.

Thanks for sharing.

Were you shooting from a boat, kayak or shore?

Cheers

Randy

[Keith Carver]

Keith:

I must have 5,000 loon pictures, and I don't think I have a single one where both parents and the chick had good headangles and were all in focus at the same time. Because they aren't sitting on a nest or limb and can move around freely, they are always changing their positions, a real challenge to capture! Of course, that is one of the reasons I keep trying!

Good angle on the chick, I think it is funny when they ride backwards. I have found that the smaller they are, the more likely they are to be on the tail/rump area, and they crawl further forward as they get bigger.

I find it difficult to make the images with mixed blue and green water to work effectively, because the many areas of contrast tend to pull the eye away from the subject. You might be able to mitigate this effect to some extent by cropping from top and bottom a bit, a true panno crop.

Thanks for sharing.

Were you shooting from a boat, kayak or shore?

Cheers

Randy

Randy -

Thanks for the pano crop suggestion, which I'm attaching as a repost. Good idea! I think it helps lessen the distraction of the blue-green water. Would love to have shot this in diffuse light. I was shooting from a boat about 50 ft away. The loons were completely unconcerned about my presence and in fact would swim toward the boat and I would back away. As you know, you can tell quickly if they are stressed by your presence. But this was a magical moment for me.

[Stu Bowie]

Keith, just love youngster facing the opposite way, and it sounds like you got yourself a rare image with a full family present. Comp wise, in your repost, I feel you have taken a little too much off the top.

[gail bisson]

I love this family moment. Picture tells a story which I love to see. I am not loving the repost as it is too much cropping for my taste.I like the pano idea though. Baby wins extra points for cuteness!
Gail

[Keith Carver]

Randy, Stuart, Gail - Thanks for the comments especially on the crop. The attached re-repost is a less drastic pano crop, and hopefully this one isn't too tight. I appreciate your help.

[Grady Weed]

Keith, I live in Maine year round, sometimes its good and sometimes bad. Our Loons had no babies, the water levels were too high and most nests were drowned out. I just got on the ponds this year, the first in 3 years. I shot for 2 1/2 hours yesterday.

I mention this to let you know I have imaged loons for the 22 years we have been here, we moved from Brandon Florida, near James Shadle. A Loon family portrait is hard to come by. You did well here. HA on the right loon is not a problem for me. As you say they do not stop moving and turning for too long, especially with babies on their back.

I was wondering what time of day it was, where was the sun in relation to your position. You might do better on the water issues to wait for them to go closer to shore in the darker greener waters, usually less contrasts there. however as is, pretty decent.

[Keith Carver]

Keith, I live in Maine year round, sometimes its good and sometimes bad. Our Loons had no babies, the water levels were too high and most nests were drowned out. I just got on the ponds this year, the first in 3 years. I shot for 2 1/2 hours yesterday.

I mention this to let you know I have imaged loons for the 22 years we have been here, we moved from Brandon Florida, near James Shadle. A Loon family portrait is hard to come by. You did well here. HA on the right loon is not a problem for me. As you say they do not stop moving and turning for too long, especially with babies on their back.

I was wondering what time of day it was, where was the sun in relation to your position. You might do better on the water issues to wait for them to go closer to shore in the darker greener waters, usually less contrasts there. however as is, pretty decent.

Grady, on June 27 I was shooting these about 6:30 pm, looking east toward the loons, with the sun behind me. Nice golden light, but I would have much preferred some high overcast or diffuse light or even better yet with a little fog on the water. As you know, there is about a two-week window of opportunity after hatch to photograph these chicks in their "cute" phase, and by the time you factor in good lighting conditions, it boils down to a very few chances to catch the loon family together. Most of my photos from this sequence were of the chick being fed by one of the adults, and although they are very good photos, they are also iconic and have been published many times. I wanted an image of just the "three of us" in restful pose, which this is. Thanks for your comments.