Two Skimmers anouncing my arrival on NSN ;)


Posted by Matthew Whitley on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:08 pm

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Black Skimmers West Haven, CT

I apologize to those of you that have seen this image on "the other site" or Photomigrations in the last couple of days, but I really wanted to share it with all of you. I have been bouncing all over the net since "the incident" and was giddy to hear about the new site via Artie's email this AM, so here I am! It's great to see all of your images again!

I shot these two guys two days ago on a local beach. Black skimmers are somewhat of a novelty in CT, but this year at least four pairs have nested with our local tern colony (much to the terns' dismay). I've been shooting them all season, but yesterday chose to concentrate on flight shots. As Jim Zipp depicted in a post of the same colony a few weeks ago, they exhibit a behavior where two birds fly up very high in a ragtag spiral and proceed to fight. Afterword, they dive bomb down in an erratic pattern. These birds were just coming out of a dive and weren't too happy with each other. I hope that you like this one!
Matthew

P.S. I hope the title doesn't sound pretentious... I'm joking of course. ;)
[b] [color=GREEN][u]MATTHEW K.WHITLEY[/u][/color]
[/b][b]NSN 0071[/b]


Last edited by Matthew Whitley on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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by Wil Hershberger on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:17 pm
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What a gorgeous shot. Wonderful blue sky, nice separation and sharp with just a hint of motion blur. What more could you ask for.
Welcome Matthew. It is really great to find so many old friends flying in from all over :)
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by Jim Urbach on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:18 pm
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Matthew,

Glad to see you found this site just as I did. To capture both these skimmers with open beaks, great wing action and so sharply is just great.

Jim
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by Sandy Mossberg on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:23 pm
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Beautiful shot, Matthew. The sky is ideal, and the open mouths are a bonus. Great to see you over here.
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by Alan Melle on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:38 pm
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Great image. Many of us have seen your images and know that there should be a whole flock of skimmers announcing your arrival at NSN. Great to have you here!
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by E.J. Peiker on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:40 pm
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And they are calling "I am here" very loud :D Very nice shot!
 

by Anthony Medici on Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:41 pm
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Great action and great image. Good to see you too. :D
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by AlexC on Fri Aug 22, 2003 6:47 pm
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You know I love this one!!! Lovely interaction between the birds!!Congrats!!!! 8)
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by Heather Forcier on Fri Aug 22, 2003 7:45 pm
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Fantastic shot with both the birds included!

So good to see you here. :D
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by Alan Murphy on Fri Aug 22, 2003 7:46 pm
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Killer photo Matthew,

Welcome,

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by Bill Whala on Fri Aug 22, 2003 8:09 pm
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Killer action. I love how you got both birds in focus.

Great work!!
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by Mike Wilson on Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:40 pm
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They're saying, "We're home! Let's see some good pics and have some fun." Really great to see you here Matthew.
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by Jim Probst on Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:48 pm
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Matthew,

The action is terrific and so are the poses! Great work!
 

by Greg Downing on Sat Aug 23, 2003 6:57 am
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Man, this is awesome! Great too see you here!
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by KK Hui on Sat Aug 23, 2003 9:44 am
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I was amazed when I first saw this and I still am. The diagonal pose of the two birds really sets it apart ...
Good work, Matthew! :D

Best
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by Juan A. Pons on Sat Aug 23, 2003 12:34 pm
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Amazing action! Great exposure... not much else to say... WOW
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by Rich S on Sun Aug 24, 2003 7:26 am
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Smashing capture and composition. Congratulations.

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by Robert Ludwick on Sun Aug 24, 2003 9:52 am
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Matthew,

It does look like they are annoucing your arrival. I would be happy to get one skimmer as sharp as this, but two is great.

Bob
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by matt kuchta on Sun Aug 24, 2003 11:08 am
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I like the symmetry in the open beaks and the juxtaposition of the wings. Well placed within the frame, too.
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by Juli Wilcox on Sun Aug 24, 2003 12:28 pm
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Matt, this is a very colorful and dynamic image that I like a lot!
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