Sometimes you grin and bear it and do what you’ve gotta do.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Last spring, soon after I took this shot and a few others of a male Long-billed Curlew in flight, I posted several of them to my blog. Even though I like it I didn’t include this one because I didn’t have enough room in the frame for a composition that works for me. Yesterday, while looking for something else, I stumbled across it again and decided I liked it well enough to add the necessary canvas and allow it see the light of day.
In some of the other photos of him he was calling to another nearby curlew but I like this flight posture better than most of the others I got. He’s sharp, his head and long bill stand out well, I had good light on most of the bird and I like the background, in part because it includes at least some early spring greenery. I get tired of all the browns and tans in my backgrounds without even a hint of green.
Even with the added canvas I’m slightly less fond of the composition but for me it works well enough.
Ron
Dear General Nit Picker,
The birds form in flight is beautifully elegant and the patterns on the wings are remarkable. I kept zooming in and out to look. I also think that the shadow on the wing further from us makes the head pop nicely. One other thing, from looking at your flight photos I’ve become fascinated by bird’s feet. They remind me of the pointed toes of expert divers. Of course, it’s an efficient way of minimizing air drag, but when I look at it, I still wonder how they can bother with that detail with all the effort, all the work and coordination that goes into flying. Thank you for another beautiful image.
You are at least a captain and more probably a general of nit pickers. Wear the title General Nit Picker with pride. I am so very glad that you added a little canvas to this shot and shared its dynamism. I also suspect that I and others would have loved it without the tweaking.
Well, the higher the rank, the higher the pay, EC. So I’ll try to look at the bright side. Thanks, including for the promotion.
Love tbe shot. Great wing position and clear markings. Background is fine for me though I could have done with the green.
Now “analytical” not “picky”. Hmmm!
Seems I may have heard that phrase
somewhere from someone else, before now. 🤔🙄😉
Thanks, Granny Pat. “Picky” seems to be the term of choice for my readers when describing me…
I loved it!
Good. Thanks, Len.
I notice how powerful his wing stroke looks. See the arc in his back? I wonder if that is all muscle, the curve his spine makes, or possibly both.
Marcia, I noticed his arched back too. It almost looks hunchbacked, but not in a negative way.
Beautiful! 🙂 Glad you decided to add the canvas and post it! Wonderful, sharp, detail of the Curlew throughout!
Thank you, Judy.
SO sharp! Zoomed into this photo to really enjoy the colors and patterns of his feathers and wings. See what you mean about some green in the background. The green adds a lot to this photo of tans and browns.
“Zoomed into this photo to really enjoy the colors and patterns”
Kathleen, I wish you could see what I see when I zoom on on the high res version of an image. The difference is amazing.
Fablous flight shot!!
Charlotte Norton
Thanks, Charlotte.
If that is not a 10 it is a 9.95 🙂 Excellent shot and agree with your description. Beautiful in every way.
Envious because I don’t think I have ever seen one even though we get almost all the shore birds here during migration.
Everett, I’ll take a 9.95 and be happy with it.
I actually found a single curlew along the AI causeway this morning. It’s been a while.
Boy, you really are picky about your photos. I think this shot is really beautiful. The feather pattern, from the tip of the wing right on back to the tail, is stunningly sharp and almost hypnotic.
A lot of these shorebirds do not look very aerodynamic, with those long bills, when they are upright and foraging for food. When they take flight, their rapid wingbeats make it impossible to fully appreciate just how they transform into such a beautiful biomechanical flying machine. But this photo reveals what what cannot easily be seen in real time; the transformation.
Amazing!
“Boy, you really are picky about your photos.”
I like to think I’m more analytical than picky… 🙂
Good point about how different shorebirds look when they’re in flight, as compared to when they’re not. Thanks, Michael.
Great shot Ron – love the detail in the wings, and the background works well.
Thanks, Burrdoo.
The patterns in the open fan of the wings is so handsome! One
rarely gets a glimpse of them–also the “roll” of the finer patterns
down the neck and back-reminds me of foamy surf. Beautiful !
Thanks, Kris. Glad you like it.