Pied-billed Grebe

Gallery: AvianPosted March 30, 2010162 views17 comments

Podilymbus podiceps

I haven't had a lot of free time to edit many of my recent images so I thought I was share one from December taken at a pond near where I live before it froze over.

D200, sitting on the ground, Gitzo CF tripod & black widow head positioned low, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 250, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light. Adjusted exposure in RAW by -0.10, cropped to 75% of original image, copyright added, selectively masked the grebe and smart sharpened both versions. Larger version provided for evaluation of sharpness & details.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your comments and critiques and the time that you spend making them. Thank you for looking.

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Tom Lusk on March 30, 2010 at 4:51 PM

Beautiful! I love the water droplets, the colors - and everything else about this shot.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 312 Posts, 600 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Moore on March 30, 2010 at 7:32 PM

Sharpness and detail --super.
Other parts pretty darn nice too.
Enjoyed it very much!

Dan

Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 30, 2010 at 7:39 PM

Can't get this close with 600mm of focal length around here - let alone 400. Nice and simple

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Joe Paratore on March 30, 2010 at 8:55 PM

Very nice.... Mia . You really captured the essance of this little guy., and that is
he looks so calm and peaceful.just a lazy day on the pond. Love the feel of the water also.Nice texture.
Well done!!

Registered on January 31, 2007, 40 Posts, 160 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 30, 2010 at 10:01 PM

Well done. Must have caught it just as it came up. By the time I get to them, the water has sheeted on their backs.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 30, 2010 at 10:52 PM

Beautiful water, Mia. The dof looks perfect to my eye. The water drops on the Grebe really help convey the crispness of the image.

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 30, 2010 at 11:12 PM

he sure looks calm, Mia--it's a nice pose, beautiful water, super detail, and the water drops are perfect. I like how the little tail dips down to the water too. comp is just right--I wouldn't change a thing.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on March 31, 2010 at 2:05 AM

Excellent, Mia. The water drops and wet feathers are exactly right, without being oversharpened. The ripples from surfacing break up the water without being a distraction. And, even though the bird is the only thing in the frame, you've somehow conveyed how tiny these birds are compared to their cousins. I like it.

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 31, 2010 at 2:57 AM

Very nice greeb shot - I especially like the detail revealed in the droplets and the plumage in general. Lovely water colour and rings.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 31, 2010 at 6:53 AM

Wonderful detail in the larger image Mia - classic grebe shot

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by May Haga on March 31, 2010 at 2:10 PM

Excellent presentation Mia. Love the water droplets on its back.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Gilham on March 31, 2010 at 9:14 PM

Very nice Mia, love the calmness of this photo. Your focus and exposure are spot on again, as usual. Great catchlight.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 77 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on April 1, 2010 at 10:41 AM

I love the simplicity of this image Mia. I find this species difficult to expose when they're wet especially and this looks perfect. It's nice to see the relatively low angle here - as you know, we can seldom get that with these birds. I really like the water color and your IQ is excellent. A very strong image.

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

Comment posted by Roy Bailey on April 1, 2010 at 2:54 PM

Wet birds can often apear less sharp but the detail is there. Nice amount of reflection and nice relaxed feel to this image, very nice

Registered on November 16, 2008, 24 Posts, 486 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 1, 2010 at 3:53 PM

A typically fine post - up to your usual standards.

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on April 1, 2010 at 7:55 PM

It seems to me to be a very calm, peaceful shot, Mia. This bird doesn't disturb the water very much. The image provides an excellent view of the bird, as is usual with your images.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Avi Hirschfield on April 4, 2010 at 7:53 AM

Mia I think that all has been said about this shot and I can only agree that its excellent and I enjoy looking at it its very peacefull

AVI

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