Common Loon - understated attire

Posted by Wayne Nicholas on Sun Feb 15, 2004 11:15 pm

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Common Loon (Gavia immer)

This is not the best Loon image you'll see posted here, but then I shot this today in Galveston, TX; just south of Houston. I like the early morning light I was lucky enough to get on this non-breeding adult. I realize the cheek patch is a tad hot, but I sacrificed that to get the detail in the eye and the plumage on the back. It was nuts, first going along the bank one way until it dove and, then, walking back the other direction when it pops up 90-100ft away. Luckily, I only did this for about 45 minutes before I could click off a few shots. As always, all comments welcome and thanks for looking.

Canon 1D & 500mm IS w/2x TC on Wimberley Head
Metering: Manual 1/250 @ f/8
ISO: 200
No flash

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by Greg Downing on Sun Feb 15, 2004 11:43 pm

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Very nice! The light is wonderful. I might crop a tiny bit off the top.

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by Alan Murphy on Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:05 am

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Great shot Wayne, I guess it's stopped raining in Houston?

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by Wayne Nicholas on Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:08 am

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Alan Murphy wrote:Great shot Wayne, I guess it's stopped raining in Houston?

Yeah, nothing but sunshine and 20mph winds.

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by Heather Forcier on Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:14 am

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Nice catch of a beautiful bird. Are the highlights gone, and if so, did you try a linear conversion to recover highlights? You may want to check this out:

http://www.naturescapes.net/092003/gd0903.htm

You might be able to tone down the hot spots a little and maybe recover some detail, just something to try if you want to. I don't see it as terribly distracting, anyway.

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by Wayne Nicholas on Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:19 am

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Heather Forcier wrote:Nice catch of a beautiful bird. Are the highlights gone, and if so, did you try a linear conversion to recover highlights? You may want to check this out:

http://www.naturescapes.net/092003/gd0903.htm

You might be able to tone down the hot spots a little and maybe recover some detail, just something to try if you want to. I don't see it as terribly distracting, anyway.

I agree with you, Heather. The details aren't gone, just a little warm and begging for a comment. This is pretty much the way I saw it; I am very happy with it, myself.

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by Heather Forcier on Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:38 am

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It certainly looks like there is detail there, but I'm looking at it from an LCD monitor which is why I asked. No worries, I like it, and certainly would be happy to have a photo like this myself! (Can you get that bird to stick around until April, do you think?)

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by Wayne Nicholas on Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:44 am

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Heather Forcier wrote:It certainly looks like there is detail there, but I'm looking at it from an LCD monitor which is why I asked. No worries, I like it, and certainly would be happy to have a photo like this myself! (Can you get that bird to stick around until April, do you think?)

How much fish can you send me????????????

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by Sandy Mossberg on Mon Feb 16, 2004 8:36 am

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Nice shot, Wayne. I see detail in most of the light areas.

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by ebkw on Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:34 am

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Nice shot, Wayne! And for Heather, I'm hoping they will be up here by mid-April and in their finest plumage

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by AlexC on Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:55 am

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All has been said, still a nice capture, Congrats !!!

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