No, I took this photo not on the Arctic breeding grounds, but just north of Shanghai in Yangkou, Jiangsu. These red-necked stints, their rusty-red summer plumage fading but still visible, were scrapping not over breeding territory, but feeding territory. Daniel Pettersson and I were half-floating on our air mattress in one of the many brackish pools just inland from the East China Sea. Keeping low and gliding smoothly, we were soon paid little attention to by the numerous shorebirds in the area.
Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal Length: 600 mm
Aperture: F/5
Shutter Speed: 1/4000
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: None
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 640
Metering Mode: Center-Weight
Subject Distance: 15.0 m
Photoshoppery: The usual spot removal, sharpening, noise-reducing, and cropping; nothing out of the ordinary here.
Other notes: For this shot, I had the camera resting on the mattress. My head, arms, and upper torso were on the mattress. My legs were dangling over the side and my feet were planted in the mud. Daniel Pettersson says that he invented the mattress technique, and though he may not have been the only photographer in history to have used the technique, I am certain that he made his discovery independently. I adopted Daniel’s method in Yangkou.
Interesting tech. to get close! I would try it with the loons, but they are in deeper water, so not such a good idea
I was initially thinking it would need a crop from the right, but the extra space gives the sense that he ran in some distance to do the interaction. Might try a crop however, and see how it effects the feel.
I wish the left hand bird was turned more towards the other to strengthen the interaction.
Love the pano presentation here Craig, as well as the action. It does seem a tad underexposed - looks like it was shot in gloomy conditions...the D3s files should be able to handle some lightening without introducing much noise
Craig, good to see different poses from each of the birds, and both are nice and sharp. Good thinking creating a pano crop, but would try one with a touch more space top and bottom.
Scrappy Stints
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