Sanderling

Gallery: AvianPosted May 30, 2013147 views16 comments

I spent a lot of time this spring crawling around Bolivar Flats just up the coast from Galveston, TX. This is a shot from a couple of weeks ago on a day that the Sargassum was very heavy on the beach. I positioned myself on a just barely emergent sandbar with some fresh Sargassum and a number of birds poking around.

1DX, 600, 2X, 1/800, f8.0, ISO 1000

Ground pod with a Wimberley head

C&C welcome

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on May 30, 2013 at 10:11 PM

Outstanding Randy,
The detail, lighting and DOF are admirable to say the very least and the way the water blends into the BG is simply amazing.
My Compliments Sir . . .

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 30, 2013 at 11:48 PM

Excellent, Randy. Great angle and the bird and Sargassum are both nice and sharp. Well done.

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on May 31, 2013 at 2:35 AM

Randy,
Definitely worth getting damp for

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on May 31, 2013 at 8:05 AM

Nice one Randy - really like the setting and the nice low angle

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 31, 2013 at 8:24 AM

Very nice Randy, I especially like the excellent POV & BG transition from the water up

Have a great weekend

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on May 31, 2013 at 9:05 AM

This is excellent! Beautiful soft light and colors, and nice low pov. To my eye this needs just a very minor (one degree) cw rotation to even out the water line. Very, very nice! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on May 31, 2013 at 9:59 AM

Gorgeous shot!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on May 31, 2013 at 10:13 AM

Hello Randy, wonderful shot with great colors and excellent POV. The Sargassum (never knew what that was until now

) adds so much to the shot ! Well seen ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on May 31, 2013 at 10:17 AM

Nice setting on this one Randy. I noticed you shot this with a 600 plus a 2x tc. Was this the new 600 and the 2x tc III? If so, the sharpness of that combo looks excellent. My older 500 and the 2x tc II, was not a very sharp combination. The 2x really took away (while the 1.4 was always great).
Anyhow, love the low angle on this as well.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Bacon on May 31, 2013 at 10:23 AM

Thanks folks for the kind words, yes Kurt, this was shot with the new 600II lens and the 2xIII - I am very pleased with the results of this combo. The 1Dx frirmware upgrade that allowed for autofocus at f8, really made a big difference in my work. Now if I could get more than just the center focus point with this combo I would be a happy camper - it can get a little dicey trying to aquire focus and re-compose from the center point with some of these fast moving shorebirds (I use rear button focus).

Registered on November 24, 2008, 56 Posts, 492 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on May 31, 2013 at 11:29 AM

Beautiful image Randy. I really like the inclusion of the vegetation. Our migrating shorebirds because of the high water line have been very scarce this year.
May

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on May 31, 2013 at 6:45 PM

Very nice image. Excellent detail, nice exposure, good low viewpoint, interesting setting.

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

Comment posted by Buck Ward on May 31, 2013 at 9:42 PM

Getting low sure does pay off. Your technique makes the difference.

Registered on December 8, 2003, 96 Posts, 1917 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on May 31, 2013 at 10:39 PM

The sanderling plus clump of brown algae works very well in your composition. Well done

..........................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on June 1, 2013 at 7:11 AM

Your time crawling around the flats was rewarded nicely. This is one of the better images I've seen posted here recently. Congratulations!!

Registered on May 12, 2004, 191 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on June 2, 2013 at 7:18 PM

Now, there's a dream shot!

Love it-- "crawling around" in wet sand sure paid off! I'll have to get dirty next time!

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments