This was taken at Bosque del Apache a couple years ago. Snow Geese became one of my favorite birds after seeing hundreds and hundreds of them. I saw this in the midst of the larger original image so I did a severe crop, losing a lot of resolution. But for me the playfulness of the scene helps make up for loss of image quality. Next time I hope to spot these kinds of intimate wildlife scenes while in the field.
Mostly LR processing, including removing some water droplets on the main bird and secondary birds in the foreground, and brightening the main bird to emphasize the light coming through its extended wings. There is a lot of noise, so a trip through Topaz Denoise AI for a tad of noise dampening (low light setting).
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Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D500 with 200-500 f/5.6 lens.
500mm, 1/1600 sec, f/9, ISO 1000
This looks to me like a really nice composition of a great moment. I really like the curve of the wing over the head of the subject, and I really like the black and white rendering. It’s effective without being harsh, to my eyes. I find that when I try to convert it’s either meh or harsh.
Hi Mark. So many separate vignettes in this image… the spread of the wings that showcases the main bird’s head and the interaction between the birds. The tonal range also is striking and the spray of water caused by action in the scene. Love it!
Forgot to mention the excellent tonal range in your conversion.
Apart from the other good things, I love the composition here, especially how the head and bill of the main bird is mirrored by the wing feathers beyond.
Everyone (I’m having trouble tagging everyone thru my phone app),
Thank you for taking a look and commenting. I’m glad you like this little view into this bird world!
