Fly Fly Away

Gallery: AvianPosted June 13, 2010157 views18 comments

I'm headed to El Salvador and Guatemala tomorrow for a week so I won't be posting but I'll be getting a fine collection of new feathered friends. This is likely the last "domestic" bird for a while and is one of the best Common Tern shots from my latest Tern Island excursion.

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC HH kneeling
f/8
1/1600s
ISO 640
-.3 EC

Cropped to 75%, Sharpened bird, Noise reduction on Sky

- Luke

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on June 13, 2010 at 12:43 PM

Perfect wing and tail spread to my eyes, sweet Luke!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on June 13, 2010 at 12:51 PM

I like the spread of the wings & tail Luke, sharpness looks good on the tail, feet & chest, might give a little more sharpening to the darks in the head area and reduce the contrast there slightly to show more details in the darks too.

I like the comp you used and the nice eye contact too.

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

Comment posted by Marie Mitchell on June 13, 2010 at 12:51 PM

Look at that detail! Gorgous!

Registered on May 13, 2010, 3 Posts, 117 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on June 13, 2010 at 1:00 PM

Nice wing and tail spread; god light in the eye.

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

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on June 13, 2010 at 1:06 PM

Great tern shot! One of your very best in a line of great shots!

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on June 13, 2010 at 1:15 PM

gorgeous pose and comp, Luke. this looks really nice. I like how well the eye stands out. Good suggestions from Mia, the light on the face looks like it was rather difficult.

good luck on your trip--hope you see lots of good birds!

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on June 13, 2010 at 1:59 PM

Very nice: quite a lovely spread pose, Luke!

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

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on June 13, 2010 at 2:37 PM

Beautiful, Luke. Love the wingspread, eye contact, and detail.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Ronnie Gaubert on June 13, 2010 at 4:14 PM

Hi Luke,
Feather details look OK at this size but in the large image I see a loss of detail in the shadows of the underwing due to noise from ISO-640. I like the spread feathers in the tale. I'm not a big fan of belly shots of birds in flight but that is a personal thing. Good luck with your trip down south.
Thanks for posting,
Ronnie G.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 810 Posts, 3495 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 13, 2010 at 5:17 PM

Awesome spread Luke. Nice and sharp too

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on June 13, 2010 at 7:44 PM

Really like the wing and tail spread with all those spikey feather tips Luke. Nice job getting the catch light and I also like the interesting wing tip shadows on the belly. I hope you have a great trip and return with many fine photos and wonderful memories.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on June 13, 2010 at 7:48 PM

Plenty sharp and the lighting is interesting to me here with some shadows but not harsh enough to lose the details. Have a great trip to Latin America

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

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on June 14, 2010 at 1:23 AM

Good detail and colors Luke. I like the separation of the primaries and tail feathers. I hope you have a wonderful trip and get lots of keepers.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on June 14, 2010 at 2:01 AM

Excellent flight shot.

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

Comment posted by David Chauvin on June 14, 2010 at 4:57 AM

You did a good job on the exposure with what looks like some pretty tough lighting for a black and white bird. The fanned tail is a nice touch.

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on June 14, 2010 at 6:38 AM

Nic eone Luke - like the tail spread in particular

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on June 15, 2010 at 1:34 AM

Wonderful flight shot, Luke. Really nice, rich colors.

Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on June 15, 2010 at 4:24 PM

Nice flight shot Luke, I like how the bird stands out behind that blue sky, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments