Bathing Beauty

Gallery: AvianPosted March 21, 2011249 views19 comments

South Texas, Santa Clara Ranch, man-made water ponds for native wildlife preservation, from blind.

D300
300mm
Subject dist: 5.96m
1/800 sec, f/4.5
Mode: Av
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 640
White balance: Auto
Flash: Off

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 21, 2011 at 1:34 PM

Awesomw Photo Sandy!!! Excellent action and low angle. I really like the water drip in front of him.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Frye on March 21, 2011 at 2:02 PM

Great shot -- I like the water droplets and the low angle

Registered on February 3, 2007, 387 Posts, 1136 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 21, 2011 at 2:04 PM

Nice action. I like the reflection and the water drops.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 21, 2011 at 3:05 PM

Very nice getting this action shot Sandy. I like the low perspective on this, looks like you were in the water with the bird! Way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 21, 2011 at 7:24 PM

I really like this Sandy. Very good shapness with this action at 1/800. Colors look good and I like the low angle and reflection.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on March 21, 2011 at 7:39 PM

Excellent action, and the low angle makes the shot. First rate, Sandy!

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on March 21, 2011 at 7:59 PM

Excellent capture!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on March 21, 2011 at 9:10 PM

Precious and perfect!

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 22, 2011 at 12:10 AM

Awww, splendid shot Sandy, the richness in colour, the full reflection, and those wonderfully frozen droplets of water, I like this one very much :^)

Kind regards,

Ashley

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on March 22, 2011 at 12:52 AM

Sandy,
Another nice one from Texas. Low angle, water drops flying, and alook that says, "quick, get the picture." Love the reflection, and the soft, muted light. You really had a great trip!

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 22, 2011 at 5:52 AM

Nice one Sandy - really like the low angle and the flying drops of water

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on March 22, 2011 at 10:29 AM

Great low angle and reflection. Nice action with the water drops. Sweet behavior capture, too.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on March 22, 2011 at 10:40 AM

Very, very cool ! Great dynamic shot, great reflection.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 22, 2011 at 10:42 AM

Well done

The reflection is just what you needed for balance and the splashing water adds a nice accent.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Graham Brown on March 22, 2011 at 3:48 PM

Such a beautiful bird well captured. Although there is obvious water movement you've still captured a lovely reflection. I've got quite a few images of birds having a bath but they all look the same, the bird looks a complete mess but here the head is still intact, nicely done. Graham

Registered on November 20, 2007, 275 Posts, 1365 Comments

Comment posted by Lindy Martin on March 22, 2011 at 10:39 PM

Great shot Sandy, I knew it was one of your's before I scrolled down! Awesome on the colour and details. Absolutely spectacular with the reflection!

Cheers,
Lindy

Registered on March 10, 2009, 60 Posts, 169 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on March 23, 2011 at 11:48 PM

Very nice. I like the water drops and the rich color. Eye stands out well. Looks like you had a good trip.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on March 25, 2011 at 2:11 PM

Wow! The water drops flying everywhere looks awesome! His feathers look really cool when they are wet. I also like that reflection of him in the water!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 25, 2011 at 2:58 PM

A couple people have emailed to ask how I caught the cardinal in a still moment, with the water still flying.
BURSTS!! and PATIENCE!!
Birds usually spend 5-10 seconds at a time splashing water, then stop for 1-2 seconds to look around and be sure a predator is not coming. They repeat this cycle for a couple minutes at a time.
If you do repeated bursts, (you need a high-speed CF card that writes fast) you may get lucky and catch them when the head is still and the water still flying.
I probably took 80-90 pics in serial burst mode with this bird.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments