Willet flight

[Kerry Perkins]

Another image from Bolsa Chica. Captured just after dawn. These birds are a bit of a challenge to capture in flight, so I was pretty happy to get this one! Bolsa Chica really keeps you on your toes. Right Wendell?

Comments appreciated, as always.

7D, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/1600 ISO 400 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, hand-held no flash

[Jeff Cashdollar]

He almost got by you but the image is well framed. Love the full wing spread,..just look at the beautiful feather pattern, striking. Exposure techs are spot on and the panning technique is strong - nice picture Kerry.

[wendell westfall]

Kerry, yeah I love that place. And willets are not uncommon, BUT photographing one like this is uncommon (at least for me). They appear and disappear pretty quickly. Great job!

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Jeff, I knew you would be online. You are so right, he almost got by me but I think I got him at the last possible nanosecond. I cropped a lot from the left half of the image to get the bird out of the center. Thanks for your kind words as always.

[John Chardine]

Nice one Kerry. I still haven't managed to get this species in the viewfinder yet- not in the digital era anyway. Beautiful sharpness and great light. Love the wing position showing the white patterning.

[Andrew Merwin]

Well done Kerry. I really like the raised wings & the sense of speed that I get from the image.

[Gerald Kelberg]

Well caught; lovely detail in the under wing. Very much like the framing of the bird.

[Joel Eade]

well done to catch this one, I don't see many shots of these in flight.

I know the bird looks level but looking at the background does it need a little clockwise rotation?

[Paul Guris]

Very nice. I love the water/land background. It makes the shot more interesting.