Small Fry

Gallery: AvianPosted April 13, 201176 views10 comments

This was taken early in the morning which was sunny just before it became overcast.

Two Snowys were fishing next to the raised trail at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Ca. They were very busy and I could not figure out why. It looked like they were not catching a thing. When I was going through my images, I liked this one. While parts of the whites are burnt, I still like it. I was lucky in composition because I could focus on the face of the Snowy and give it room on the left.

I looked close and noticed a very small fish was heading for the tummy. Hence the title. Now I know why they fish so much; other images showed them being very successful in catching tiny fish. A little later this Snowy caught a very much larger fish and it took him forever to swallow it. I guess they like finger; I mean bill food better.
This is full frame ( love my new 500mm).

Comments are appreciated.

04-11-11 7:15 a.m.
Canon 7D
EF 500 4.0L
Exp Comp – 1.0
F/6.3
1/3200
ISO 400
Tripod

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on April 13, 2011 at 10:22 PM

I like this image a lot Harry, particularly for the full reflection and the way you've caught the subject's eye multiple times in the ripples :^)

Although I guess it wasn't possible for you to get into a better position, I can't help thinking a lower angle of view would have made this picture all the more pleasing to look at.

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

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on April 14, 2011 at 1:21 AM

Well done Harry on this one ..did it drop the fish ..or was it about to pounce on one ..the whites are well managed ..

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 14, 2011 at 7:08 AM

Yep, Harry, I see the fish. I too have seen these bird catch very small fish like this. They just catch one after another. It must take a lot of these small fish to fill up a bird like this. Anyway. I can see detail in the brightest whites on my calibrated monitor, so your exposure, given all the shadows you were dealing with, is really pretty good. You could easily burn down the very brights areas and bring them in line even more if you wanted to. You don't state how much of a crop this is, but if it is not a lot already I might crop in a bit closer if this were mine. Nice as posted.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on April 14, 2011 at 8:42 AM

Ashley, the fish is very small, look towards the roof of the mouth just before the throat.

Ron, this is full frame

Thanks for the comments.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on April 14, 2011 at 1:44 PM

Harry, this is great! Good comp full frame, you can't do better than that. And so clear, such good light, and I most definitely see the tiny fish.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on April 14, 2011 at 2:24 PM

Hi Harry,

Wonderful feeding action plus getting the tiny minnow in view too. Nice exposure of the whites (I don't see any burnt) while even getting details in the shadowed part of the egret. Love the water colors and lighting. I might take some off the bottom for more of a landscape format rather than square but that is merely my personal tastes. Nice work getting this full frame.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 14, 2011 at 2:45 PM

Great action. Hard to believe they spend much time with these little tiny fish - maybe they are especially tasty!
The exposure doesn't look bad at all - nice perspective, detail, and comp.
Sandy

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on April 14, 2011 at 7:56 PM

It looks like you are having fun with your new camera Harry. Sweet action here, I don't know if a lower angle was possible but I think that would have made this even better.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on April 14, 2011 at 8:00 PM

The small fish is what makes these Snowys so active. They're always putting on a show. Good catch for the bird and the photographer as well. Nice one, Harry.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on April 15, 2011 at 3:09 PM

I like the dynamic pose you captured, Harry. The open beak, fish and the ripples provide a sense of moment to this image. Exposure techs look good. I agree with Ron on cropping this image further if you have the option.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments