Cormorant nearing splashdown


Posted by Bruce Sherman on Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:03 pm

All times are UTC-05:00

Reply to topic  
 First unread post  | 15 posts | 
Image
I am about 90% sure that this is a Neotropic Cormorant, but I have been wrong before (many times - just ask my wife). I got this guy a week or so ago at Port Aransas, TX. I have shot these guys many times before, and this is without a doubt my best (IMHO). They really are tough to get the correct exposure on.

EOS 1D with 600 and 1.4X TC, incident metering +1/3 (ISO 200, 1/500, f10), fill flash with BB -2 stops. This is cropped slightly from the right and from the top. All the usual stuff in PS.

Thanks for looking. All comments welcome.

User avatar
Posted by:
Bruce Sherman
Forum Contributor
Location: Rockport, TX
Posts: 4421
Joined: 21 Aug 2003

   

by RichardMittleman/Gon2Foto on Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:30 pm
User avatar
RichardMittleman/Gon2Foto
Forum Contributor
Posts: 6503
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Location: pasadena, ca.
Nice timing. I never heard of a neotropic cormorant(but I have now). It looks like a dc cormorant, but I've discovered that they do look a lot alike. I'll leave it to others to make a guess at the correct i.d.
http://www.gon2foto.net (current site)   
The grandeur of nature is God's glory.
 

by BrianS on Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:30 pm
BrianS
Lifetime Member
Posts: 3462
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
Location: Ashburn, VA
Member #:00196
Can't help ID -- but Near Perfect as far as I can tell. Good exposure, blur of water and stop for detail. Awesome.
[b]Brian Spangler[/b]
[url=http://brianspangler.naturescapes.net][b][u]http://brianspangler.naturescapes.net[/u][/b][/url]
[url=http://www.naturescapes.net/membership.htm][b][u]NSN 0196[/u][/b][/url]
 

by AlexC on Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:11 pm
User avatar
AlexC
Forum Contributor
Posts: 5948
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Member #:00024
It's a cormorant alright!!! :wink:
They are tail draggers when it comes to landing, the first thing that touches the water is the tail feathers, followed by their feet!!
Great timing and a great exposure to boot, love the catchlight!!!
Congrats!! 8)
[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
[b]NSN-0024[/b]
"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ
 

by LHays on Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:29 pm
User avatar
LHays
Lifetime Member
Posts: 12363
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Location: Northern Kentucky
Member #:00040
Bruce
You sure did a great job capturing this moment.....perfect timing. Excellent!!!
Lana Hays
NSN 0040
[url]http://www.lanahays.com/[/url]
 

by Bill Whala on Tue Dec 02, 2003 9:31 pm
User avatar
Bill Whala
Forum Contributor
Posts: 5979
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Location: Littleton, Colorado
Bruce,

That tail must have just touched the water. I'm not seeing a single ripple. Great timing. Wonderful image!!
Bill Whala

"Aves of similar plumage tend to converge with one another"
 

by Greg Downing on Wed Dec 03, 2003 12:02 am
User avatar
Greg Downing
Publisher
Posts: 19318
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Maryland
Member #:00001
Nice one Bruce. I concur with the ID as I can see a hint of the white "V" at the base of the bill which would not be present on a DC cormorant. Of course size would be the biggest give-away with the Neotropic bird being about 25% smaller overall. Very nice.
Greg Downing
Publisher, NatureScapes.Net
[url=http://www.gdphotography.com/]Visit my website for images, workshops and newsletters![/url]
 

by Alan Murphy on Wed Dec 03, 2003 8:26 am
User avatar
Alan Murphy
Lifetime Member
Posts: 27330
Joined: 20 Aug 2003
Location: Houston, Texas
Member #:00014
You certainly froze this bird in mid air. Great shot Bruce.
Alan Murphy
NSN 0014
www.alanmurphyphotography.com
 

by Bill Tucker on Wed Dec 03, 2003 8:46 am
User avatar
Bill Tucker
Regional Moderator
Posts: 1175
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Location: SW Florida
Member #:01204
Excellent shot. I might try to bring out some more detail from under the wing area.

Bill
 

by Bruce DiVaccaro on Wed Dec 03, 2003 9:21 am
User avatar
Bruce DiVaccaro
Forum Contributor
Posts: 18925
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Location: Sheffield Village, Ohio
Bruce,

Excellent shot. Your timing couldn't have been better. Nice job with the exposure.
Bruce DiVaccaro
Sheffield Village, Ohio
NSN 135
 

by E.J. Peiker on Wed Dec 03, 2003 9:30 am
User avatar
E.J. Peiker
Senior Technical Editor
Posts: 86761
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Arizona
Member #:00002
Nice action and great timing to get this shot! An all dark bird needs a lot more flash to get out the details than -2. Going to 0 to -2/3 would bring out much more feather detail.
 

by Harvey Edelman on Wed Dec 03, 2003 10:03 am
Harvey Edelman
Forum Contributor
Posts: 5863
Joined: 22 Aug 2003
Location: Florida
8) 8) 8) 8) (no typos this way) :D
Harvey Edelman
0145
http://www.harveyedelman.com
 

by Alan Melle on Wed Dec 03, 2003 10:58 am
User avatar
Alan Melle
Lifetime Member
Posts: 8438
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Location: A windy valley in central Arizona
Member #:00041
Great catch of the action! I agree with E.J. about more fill flash opening up detail in the blacks.
Alan Melle
NSN0041
 

by Sandy Mossberg on Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:33 pm
User avatar
Sandy Mossberg
Lifetime Member
Posts: 5802
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Location: Boynton Beach, FL USA
A beauty, Bruce. Wonderful action. I have a feeling you could get more shadow detail in PS.
Sandy Mossberg
Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
[url=http://www.sandymossberg.com][b]SandyMossberg.com[/b][/url]
NSN 0015
 

by Richard Ditch on Wed Dec 03, 2003 5:36 pm
Richard Ditch
Forum Contributor
Posts: 104
Joined: 22 Aug 2003
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Neotropic Cormorant numbers have increased in AZ noticably over the 9.5 years I've been here, but I still struggle in telling them apart from the more common Double-crested. The size difference is only helpful (for me) when both species are side-by-sde, and even then I have a hard time noting the alledgedly longer proportioned tail of the Neotropic.

I don't think the amount of white showing at the rear of the bill is enough for Neotropic here, nor does the orange bill look sharply angled at the back as it should for Neotropic.

What's more, there's a lot of pale feathers showing in the upper cehst and on the top of the wings - something I don't associate with Neotropic. But this does fit first year Double-crested, which I think this bird is.
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by:  
15 posts | 

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group