Arctic Tern

Gallery: AvianPosted July 30, 2009957 views38 comments

D300, 300mm f/4 + 1.7x tc, handheld
ISO 400, f/6.7, 1/2500 sec
Photo taken June 28, 2009 in Iceland
Cropped to about 45% of full frame. Usual adjustments in Lightroom 2 and PS3. I wish I could have been closer to the area where the terns were feeding, but ...
Comments and suggestions most welcome.

Comments

38 comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on July 30, 2009 at 11:22 PM

Very nice! Is that an iceberg or glacier in the background? whatever it is it makes a great backdrop.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on July 30, 2009 at 11:35 PM

What a show David. Love the extension on the tern's wings and tail. Great light and magnificent atmosphere. Just superb for my tastes.

Pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on July 30, 2009 at 11:52 PM

Wonderful image - I like the blue-green/grey tones and the red bill as a highlight, good pose with the tern too. Amazing background.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Conway on July 30, 2009 at 11:54 PM

Wonderful light and as mentioned the BG is magical.

Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 31, 2009 at 12:11 AM

Wild image, David. I love the pose. What's going on with the sky? It doesn't look real. I don't h]think I've ever seen that phenomenon before.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by usha peddamatham on July 31, 2009 at 12:17 AM

It is a very dreamy comp. Do you think a little cropping on the right would help the comp ?

Registered on June 25, 2009, 82 Posts, 389 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on July 31, 2009 at 12:21 AM

Robert asked: Is that an iceberg or glacier in the background?
The photo was taken at the Jokulsaarion Glacier Lagoon area. The glacier calves into the lagoon and icebergs of different sizes can be seen aground or floating around before melting. We were in this area for 3 days, but had decent light at the Lagoon for only a few hours because of dense fog.
Thanks for the comments.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Colin Smale on July 31, 2009 at 4:03 AM

I absolutely love this shot, ok, another tern but a tern in a decent scene, an incredible scene, a fantastic backdrop and that's the secret of this pic IMHO.
Wing positions have helped a lot but I like this shot enough to dare to suggest you clone out that lump of ice bottom left, it is so distracting, lose it and gain a balance I feel ?
I hope you stayed awhile with this as a backdrop and got a few more shots David.

Registered on November 10, 2003, 48 Posts, 1158 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on July 31, 2009 at 6:09 AM

Unique shot David - really like the red bill against all the icey blues.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Erich Stevens on July 31, 2009 at 8:58 AM

The image is very interesting with the glacier BG and cold hues. It's well exposed, too. However, it's too bad the bird was not flying toward you. No eye visible, unfortunately. It is a beautiful scene, though. No doubt about that.

Registered on May 29, 2009, 0 Posts, 27 Comments

Comment posted by Satie Sharma on July 31, 2009 at 9:10 AM

Fantastic shot, David. I think the icy background makes the shot unique.

Registered on November 11, 2003, 189 Posts, 5335 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 31, 2009 at 9:13 AM

David

This is quite simply one of the most beautiful tern images I have seen, the background is spectacular and there is an almost mystical mood to the entire image.

I truly wish I had this image in my files. It is stunning.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Douglas Graham on July 31, 2009 at 11:30 AM

Like everyone else has stated this is really nice David.

Registered on May 14, 2009, 123 Posts, 522 Comments

Comment posted by David Williams on July 31, 2009 at 12:32 PM

Kind of surreal shot, David.......and I like it a lot!

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on July 31, 2009 at 3:59 PM

I love this! A wonderful moody image with a great sense of place.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Whum on July 31, 2009 at 4:04 PM

Very nice. Looks like a painting.

Registered on June 6, 2007, 131 Posts, 696 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on July 31, 2009 at 4:23 PM

Looks like frozen hydrology in the BG. Nicely done, David. Seems like you had a fun trip.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on July 31, 2009 at 5:19 PM

What a beautiful image, David. Incredible bg and great subject and comp. Like to see this printed large.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Schneider on July 31, 2009 at 6:51 PM

Magical!

Registered on February 9, 2008, 84 Posts, 138 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on July 31, 2009 at 8:39 PM

Simply stunning David. I wouldn't change a thing - not one iota! Lia put my feelings about this image best and I couldn't improve on what she said.

If I had been on the same Iceland trip, this shot alone would have made it all worth it.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen on July 31, 2009 at 8:39 PM

Wow. An arctic tern flying around near icebergs in frigid water....what an opportunity! You took advantage of it quite nicely. I like the in-flight pose, wing positioning and tail feather extension.

Registered on November 11, 2007, 42 Posts, 803 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Jones on August 1, 2009 at 7:14 PM

Stunning composition!! beautiful image

Registered on January 31, 2009, 67 Posts, 316 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 2, 2009 at 2:26 PM

What a cool shot David, the background is spectacular, this has a surreal feel to it.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on August 3, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Awesome image David!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Sandra Hendrikse on August 3, 2009 at 7:42 AM

Wonderful image. Well done.

Registered on January 23, 2008, 48 Posts, 769 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Mason on August 3, 2009 at 6:46 PM

Most unusual and stunningly beautiful image!

Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on August 3, 2009 at 7:01 PM

Dave,

Huge congrats on getting this EP!! I knew this image was extraordinary the first time I saw it.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Benjamin Glatt on August 4, 2009 at 12:26 AM

Wow. This looks like a painting.

Registered on July 15, 2007, 171 Posts, 3566 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on August 4, 2009 at 1:17 AM

Superb work, David. An amazing capture in surreal surroundings. Congratulations.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on August 4, 2009 at 2:12 AM

Super image! Dynamic and interesting on so many levels, and technically great too. Very nice work David!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Jones on August 4, 2009 at 8:45 AM

Stunning, a peice of art!!! well done,just stunning

Registered on January 31, 2009, 67 Posts, 316 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on August 4, 2009 at 1:58 PM

WOW! Spactacular image David, I absolutely love it for its uniqueness!

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Minish on August 5, 2009 at 1:22 AM

Terns are the most graceful and striking birds in flight that I know of and this shot is gorgeous! I think it wouldn't hurt at all to lose a little bit of the right side for a more classic thirds composition. Also, if you were to darken it just a bit and then bump the contrast just a bit I think it would really bring out the texture in the ice and the tern's feathers. Great opportunity and a superb shot, David.

Registered on February 4, 2006, 625 Posts, 3583 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on August 6, 2009 at 11:00 AM

David: I'm not a bird guy but this is good beyond genre. Congrats on the EP. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on August 8, 2009 at 12:38 AM

In the thumbnail the upper left corner looks like an eye! I don't know if you have noticed this, but it is totally awsome.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on August 10, 2009 at 5:36 PM

Magical! Congrats.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Avi Hirschfield on August 16, 2009 at 4:26 PM

David this is like a painting absolutely fantastic

Registered on November 1, 2003, 518 Posts, 2114 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Roane on August 26, 2009 at 11:26 AM

Incredible image. Well done, David

Registered on December 12, 2008, 213 Posts, 2226 Comments