Limpkin

Gallery: AvianPosted November 20, 2011119 views5 comments

These one-of-a-kind birds (they are the lone entry in their monotypic family) can only be found in the US in freshwater habitats of Florida where their preferred meal of apple snails can be found. I've been fortunate to find them readily the last two times I've visited Florida and they tolerate amazingly close approach (there are many times where you don't seen them only to realize they are on a branch a few feet from your head). This particular bird was photographed at River Bend Park from a kayak.

Nikon D300s 18-200mm VR HH from kayak @ 195mm
f/8
1/400s
ISO 500

Cropped to 75% for compositional purposes, sharpened using smart sharpen in CS5 on 27" iMac

- Luke

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on November 20, 2011 at 10:40 AM

I like the BIH aspects of the image and the light on the face really makes it stand out. A very interesting subject and sharpness looks good. Slightly tight on the right for my tastes.

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

Comment posted by Bill Maile on November 20, 2011 at 1:05 PM

Neat bird, nice detail Luke, wish the shadow didn't come across the bill but that's minor.

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

Comment posted by Angela McCain on November 20, 2011 at 3:33 PM

He does demonstrate an excellent job on the camo. Some shadows and highlights from the habitat, but they fell just right. An excellent find.

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on November 20, 2011 at 4:04 PM

The thumbnail doesn't do this justice. A nice find. I agree about the tightness in the lower right. I'd tone down some of the brighter areas just a bit.

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

Comment posted by Tom Wilson on November 20, 2011 at 8:35 PM

This is a really nice shot. The light is really hard but you made it work very well. Great habitat photo and a great photo from a kayak with a small hand-held zoom lens!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 573 Posts, 2211 Comments