Spoonbill

Stu Bowie · Jul 22, 2010

Canon EOS 50D
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
ƒ/6.3
400mm
1/2000s
ISO 800
Flash not fired
Sat, 10 July 2010 7:51 AM
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows

I dont have many spoonbill images in my files, so I was happy to get this on my last visit to the Pilanesberg nature reserve two weekends ago. The BG is an OOF mountain.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 400mm
1/2000
F/6.3
ISO 800

Exp Comp +0.67
Hand Held

Harshad Barve · Jul 22, 2010

Tack sharp image Stuartbhai , lovely wing pose , HA and BG
TFS

Randy Stout · Jul 22, 2010

Stuart:

Whenever I see one of these, it always makes me think someone stuck a US. spoonbills head on a sandhill crane.
Nice techs, comp,like the shadow.
The BG is nice, but I might be tempted to try a version with slightly lower brightness, to help the bird pop more. It is nice as is, just an option.

Cheers

Randy

Gerrie van Vuuren · Jul 22, 2010

Sharp with great detail, colours, pose & composition. Well done Stu!

Aidan Briggs · Jul 22, 2010

Great light, BG, and wing position. Well done Stuart!!

Doug Brown · Jul 22, 2010

I thought it was a Sandhill Crane when I looked at the thumbnail! The bird looks great. I'd like to see a repost with Randy's BG suggestion.

Stu Bowie · Jul 22, 2010

Canon EOS 50D
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
ƒ/6.3
400mm
1/2000s
ISO 800
Flash not fired
Sat, 10 July 2010 7:51 AM
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows

Thanks a stack for all your feedback guys. Unfortunately, we dont have Sandhill Cranes in this part of the world. Here is my repost with the BG toned down as per Randy's suggestion.

Randy Stout · Jul 22, 2010

Stuart:

To my eye, this is an improvement, more separation between bird and BG.

Cheers

Randy

Hendri Venter · Jul 22, 2010

Your repost rocks mate. The bird is nicely separated from a killer Mankwe BG. They've got small eyes but you still managed to get a nice glint.

Nicki Gwynn Jones · Jul 22, 2010

Repost rocks!! Another vote for the sandhill crane

Best,
Nicki

Nico Steenberg · Jul 22, 2010

Awesome comp and bg. Bird is well exposed with great detail in the whites. Well done Stu !

Colin Knight · Jul 22, 2010

Wonderful catch. That eye contact is spectacular!

arash_hazeghi · Jul 22, 2010

excellent details, wing position and BG well done

Axel Hildebrandt · Jul 22, 2010

Wing position, sharpness and BG look very good and the repost is an improvement. I might lighten the shadow on the far wing. Is this bird dirty? I thought they were white.

Michael Stern · Jul 22, 2010

Love everything about this image!
Mike

Tony Whitehead · Jul 23, 2010

Good job, Stu. Lovely and sharp with great BG. Wonder about nudging the bird marginally higher in the frame.

Stu Bowie · Jul 23, 2010

Thanks a stack for all the comments and feedback. Much appreciated.

Judy Lynn Malloch · Jul 23, 2010

Beautiful flight image and the detail is awesome as well the flight pose and BG. A real winner Stuart !!!!

Gal Shon · Jul 23, 2010

So beautiful,
Light and eye contact are superb. well done.

Stu Bowie · Jul 24, 2010

Judy, Gal, thank you so much.

Spoonbill

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