I was also on the Hooptie Deux for the spoonbill battle shown in Susan's image. The one I'm posting here has a clipped wing, but it's my favorite nonetheless -- I have a sequence of nine, none of the others clipped, up at http://www.pbase.com/tgrey/roseatespoonbill_fight . (I think one of them is funny, and the last two are kind of sad.) Besides any thoughts on this one, if anyone happens to look at the sequence and prefers one of the others, I'd be interested in hearing that too.ID Mk3 and 400 DO.
The "Birds of North America" article on Roseate Spoonbill says this about their fights: "Sham Battles occur between flock members: 2 birds fly at each other, 'furiously beating wings,' perhaps rising a meter off the ground; look like 'fighting cocks, but no damage done.'" The quotes are from the 1942 monograph on this species by R. P. Allen. This scrap didn't look all that sham.
Great timing and the sharpness looks good. You did a great job on the exposure, white birds against mangroves in bright light is a recipt for disaster in auto modes.
Would not recommend increasing contrast at all. The image already has too much contrast. I would recommend darkening the blacks and /or maybe an S-curve with a quick mask or layer mask to protect the highlights. This will help with the slightly hazy or washed appearance.
I love the frozen action in this one - even with the clipped wing! Great capture. A darker background (darkening the blacks as per RO'T's suggestion) might make them pop a bit more, but I personally like the context provided by the mangroves in the background.
Tom, I think we both were on them at the same time. I like yours for the head angles. I like mine for the contrast and saturation. Didn't we have a great 3 days on James' boat!
More Battling Spoonbills
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