Saddle-Billed Stork + Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted August 7, 2014112 views14 comments

During one of our recent drives in Kruger National Park, we stopped at a watering hole to quickly photograph a wooly-necked stork. Then we began to notice that this location was about to get very busy. We soon had impala, giraffes, turtles, waxbills, a hammerkop and a kingfisher taking advantage of this valuable source of water. To top it all off, one of my favorite African birds arrived. This female Saddle-billed stork parachuted in on the other side of the pond. Over the next hour or so, she proceeded to wade about, catching frogs in the muck.

Canon 1DX
Canon 500mm f/4 IS + 1.4x TC
ISO 400
1/2000th
f/7.1

Max

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on August 7, 2014 at 10:02 AM

Very interesting image. Not sure I have ever seen a saddle billed photo with wings outstretched before. The larger image is a must see! Great color and details. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on August 7, 2014 at 12:04 PM

Great capture. I love those outstreatched wings. The upper background seems to have some squiggly stuff going on. What is that?

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on August 7, 2014 at 12:33 PM

Thanks guys. It was my first time seeing one in flight, much less with wings spread. An exciting moment.

Jerry, the background is simply dirt and scrubby grass. Because this photo was taken around midday, it's possible you're seeing the effects of some slight heat distortion.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 7, 2014 at 4:07 PM

An exotic, for sure. A unique pose and catch.

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

Comment posted by David Haynes on August 7, 2014 at 9:09 PM

Looks like a gunshot to the chest. :) Detail in the whites and blacks is really, really nice. Very colorful head. I have never seen this bird before. Thanks for sharing. Very exotic. Too bad about the missing and or broken feathers.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 7, 2014 at 9:51 PM

Excellent job on the exposure and a great pose, Max. There's some digital jitter in the bg, particularly in the upper half that I find disturbing to my eye. It seems particularly intense around the head making me wonder if it's sharpening gone awry. In any case, I'd be tempted to blur that part of the bg a bit.

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on August 7, 2014 at 10:08 PM

Excellent shot, I like the crop which accentuates the wing span. Nice work!

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on August 7, 2014 at 11:50 PM

Wonderful capture, Max. The whites and blacks are excellent. In the larger image, there's some kind of odd moire pattern effect in the upper background. I don't think it's the heat...

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on August 8, 2014 at 2:49 AM

Max,
I have seen thousands of these but never in such an amazing pose

I would definitely consider smoothing the background especially at the top, I believe the red breast is actually a bare patch of skin which becomes more red in the mating season.

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on August 8, 2014 at 11:04 AM

Guys, the feedback is appreciated. The phenomenon with the upper half of the background is interesting. I went back and reworked the image, applying sharpening only to the bird and some of the non-grass foreground.

You can check out an updated 1200px version here.

Note that it's definitely improved a bit (it's less pixelated), but you can still see some of the weird texture, which makes me think the effect was present when the shot was taken and only accentuated by the processing. Perhaps some sort of a semi-bokeh, causing the OOF grassy area to look a bit wonky?

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Josiah Launstein on August 8, 2014 at 3:46 PM

WHOA, that is so cool! The sharpness is amazing and I like how you can see every single feather on her wings. I love the wings spread out like this!

Her legs look so thin for how big she is! That red spot on her chest is crazy, but the colours on her face make you keep looking there. Really awesome picture!

Registered on January 26, 2013, 52 Posts, 126 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 10, 2014 at 6:30 AM

LOVE the outstretched wings in this Max. The colors op off the page and the exposure is spot on. Nice work!
BTW...I have had the same thing happen a few times. It always seems to be caused with weedy or grassy brown or green BG when the are too far to be sharp based on your DOF and too close to be really blurred. Again, only seen it with grasses, weeds or anything that has a lot of details or is really busy. I have heard it referred to as nervous bokeh. Not sure how to resolve other then changing position in the field or opening the AP more. Hard one to solve for certain.

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on August 10, 2014 at 7:21 AM

Interesting, Kurt. Glad I'm not the only one. I appreciate the response!

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 13, 2014 at 5:01 PM

Spectacular wing display here Max, a bummer about the bg which looks a little better in your repost. I would describe the phenomenon as partially the result of heat haze.

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