We’ve had quite the visitor to NE Virginia. This loon showed up in a neighborhood lake after a storm and seems to have taken up residence. I don’t really blame him or her because the lake has plenty of food and a nice fountain. Luckily, the loon doesn’t appear to be injured or in distress, and it has a nice following of photographers.
Curious what people think of this one. This lake is surrounded by trees, and at dawn, the sun lights up that thin strip of water behind the bird. Is that light strip above the bird too distracting from the bird? Any other critiques?
In post, I just straightened the photo, brought up the darks a bit, sharpened the bird, and reduced noise on the BG.
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Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D850
700mm
1/200
f/5.6
ISO 1250
Although it is a bit dark, I think it works well. The bright area: If cropped to eliminate it, it does cause me to focus on the loon but it appears even darker. Maybe crop very top green and remaining bright area might appear to be foggy area? Just sort of thinking out loud.
Really nice find and catch Lyle. I’ve never seen one in breeding plumage in person. Nice details in the dark areas of the bird - well done. The top breast of the bird appears hot - thinking toning that area down if possible would be a plus. I believe my preference would be to crop out the bright area at the top of the image - draws my eye and doesn’t add anything for me. Nice frame.
A beautiful image of a beautiful bird, Lyle. I always like to see some more than just the bird/flower etc., so I don’t mind the bright strip of water. Yes, it does distract a bit from the bird, but for me that doesn’t make it a less attractive image.
Congrats on seeing such a gorgeous bird. I live on water in Wisconsin and hear and see them often, but even so they are stunning and I always stop to look and listen. I think overall this good and reasonably sharp, but the blacks seem a little deep here. Especially around the eye. They have iridescence on some of their black feathers and that’s something you can try to bring out if you’ve caught it. You also might try warming the white balance a little to enrich the colors. I hope it sticks around for you to encounter again. They are eerie and gorgeous and interesting to watch, especially when they stop fishing to have a major preening session.
I like the composition the way it is, Lyle, but that bright band is definitely an eye magnet for me. I think I’d try replacing it with the green or toning down somehow. Allen mentioned the breast and I agree. Nice to have one of these handy. We’re supposed to have a dozen or so lakes with pairs in Washington and I’ve been planning on getting to one of them during breeding season for a couple of years, but Covid messed up my plans.
I think this looks a lot better when seen large. The detail is quite nice. I think you have a little bit of the blue cast on the feathers just above the water. And although the right area at the top of the frame could be darkened, when seen large, the loon holds my attention better.
Love to see these in their breeding plumage, but it is a major trip for me. Years gone by and a trip to Alaska saw quite a few floating and haunting the Kenai lakes. A nice fortunate circumstance to get to shoot this one in Virginia. I would keep the light strip and just try to tone it down a wee bit and crop the green border above it. It might lessen its impact but the sharpness and detail in the Loon overcomes it for me.
