Shot this loon several years ago in Maine while my wife and I were out in a canoe looking for moose. The loon swam over to inspect us and seemed fine with our presence for a while but soon swam away in a hurry. This was probably the best look I got at it.
This is full frame other than straightening it little. I worked on the loon and BG separately. I ran curves adjustments on both and then dodged the darks in the loon a bit. I also burned the coastline in the BG and desaturated the blue channel. Finally, I sharpened the bird slightly and reduced noise on the BG.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D3s
700mm, handheld
1/3200
f/7.1
ISO 640
I have no idea how I’d improve this. Bravo. Maybe if there’s a shot of the bird with more space to move into ahead of it…it would add some energy, but it’s a seriously good portrait of one of my favorite birds.
A gorgeous bird with a very interesting reflection. I agree with darkening the shoreline even more. I could even go with some crop from the top. If it were me, I’d blend out the reflection with a subtle gradient toward the bottom of the frame. It’s interesting but it pulls my eye away from the bird.
Is it possible to pull any tonal detail from the whites?
Gorgeous image, of a wonderful species. I love the light on the diver and the colors. I echo the comment on the bank (?) and personally may be temped to make an extreme panorama out of it and cut from the top. But that would the only thing I can think of, and would (as a figure of speech that is) kill for such an image ! Congrats, Hans
A gorgeous image of the loon, Lyle. I had this species on my list for last year, but some crazy pandemic messed with my plans. I love the presentation of the loon, but the colorful band above it keeps pulling my eye.
