Western Grebe

Great capture Richard. Living here in the NE, we don't see these. I've always admired them. Tack sharp focus on the eye, and great BG. Nice soft, and simple. I like the wake as well. Reminds me of my loon shots. Way to go!!

Excellent, Richard. Not nits from me.

Very nice. Eye is sharp and lovely. Like the water action. Detail in feathers well done.

Richard this image has great detail and your exposure was spot on!! I too like the wake in the water. Well done!

Terrific exposure on this Grebe Richard. I love the eye, head angle, detail and direction of the light in this. Beautifully done! I don't think I have ever had a chance to get this close to any Grebe....so congratulations on that

Razor sharp and very nice lighting. My first impression (before reading your post) was that it was tight in the frame for my preference and I still wish for some breathing room. But still it's an excellent photograph as presented.

Great light, excellent depth of field and the perfect head turn. Beautiful.

Another classy image from you Rich. Besides the pose of the bird and the excellent IQ I really like the glassy water and the resulting contrast from the wake. Does seem slightly tight to me though.

Nice job on the exposure and great eye contact. Would like to see a little more room around the grebe.

Richards, gorgeous!
Not the tiniest nit from me!
I notice you have the TC 2.0 on the 300 - this is tack sharp. When I try this combination, it is NOT tack sharp. My 300 + the 1.7 is great.
Any ideas why? (Other than the fact that you are 1000x more skilled than I...)
Maybe that i'm hand-holding ? But still, the VR should overcome that..

Sandy r

The light really illuminates the eye on this photo

- Luke

Very nice in every way..I especially like the singular wake that surrounds the bird as it moves through the still waters

I notice you have the TC 2.0 on the 300 - this is tack sharp. When I try this combination, it is NOT tack sharp. My 300 + the 1.7 is great.
Any ideas why? (Other than the fact that you are 1000x more skilled than I...)
Maybe that i'm hand-holding ? But still, the VR should overcome that..

- Sandy

I've relied on this lens combp since I bought both the 300/2.8 and the 2x together in 1998, and I rarely drop down to the 300 plus 1.4x, and even less often to just the bare 300. Probably every shot in my Gallery was taken with the 300 and 2x. I once convinced my friend Tom Webster that I'd epoxied the converter and lens together!

The 2x does reduce the overall sharpness, but the 300 alone is such an awesome lens that the results are still publication quality.

I shoot with a Gitzo 1325tripod at all times with this, and I use a Sidekick on a RRS ball head. I think that's a big help in maintaining quality. I usually keep the head/sidekick unlocked so I can follow the active birds; I hang on to the camera and provide a lot of dampening that way. I shoot in short bursts whenever possible to give more chance of getting a sharp image.

I can't say about hand holding and the benefits of VR - this is too heavy for an old guy like me, and none of my lenses has VR.

The best results come from working with closer subjects. I think part of the negative reputation for the 2x comes from unreasonable expectations - people think the added optical power will overcome distance, but I think that just gives more problems with atmospheric issues, magnified small camera movements, and focus that isn't quite on target.

Excellent, Rich. We have some thousands here in our local lake...many with newborns. Great sharpness and exposure control, which isn't always easy with these birds.

I don't mind the tight crop Richard, a real beauty!

Hi Richard, I like seeing tighter comps sometimes as it really brings forward the details. This photo is a great example of that. It is so incredibly sharp and the eye just jumps off the screen. The still waters really add to that feel as nothing pulls your eye away.

I think its beautiful.

Peter

You've just squeezed him in Richard - like the detail and the bow wave against the glassy smooth water

cheers
Rob

wonderful light, detail, exposure. it is tighter than I'd prefer, but the tradeoff is the great detail you have.

Excellent detail on this grebe, the larger version was a pleasure to view.

Very nice pose and wonderful colours!

Congrats

D&L

Very nice, although a bit tight, as you already noted. The detail is outstanding. I always seem to blow out the eye in this species.

No problem with the tight crop - excellent!

Excellent shot!!! Regards Antino