Whispering Wings

Gallery: AvianPosted June 26, 2012110 views6 comments

This beautiful Artic Tern was the first image (a portent of the great trip ahead of me!) I captured during my Nome Alaska trip. It was hovering over a small pond off of the North Council Rd. just east of town.
I snapped of some quick shots before I settled down :); and while the eye is not seen the neck feathers are very sharp.

Beanbag on car window-
Canon 7D, EF500mm f/4L IS USM  
at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400 
Feedback is welcome

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Raymond Klassen on June 26, 2012 at 10:53 PM

Great first shot for the trip! I really like the high key presentation. Very artistic I think. Overall very nice even if the eye isn't visible.

Registered on November 30, 2008, 114 Posts, 790 Comments

Comment posted by Jimmy Baker on June 26, 2012 at 11:54 PM

I think it's very artistic as well. I really like the pattern created by the wing feathers and the way the tail feathers fade to white. Nice capture

Registered on May 3, 2012, 23 Posts, 64 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on June 27, 2012 at 1:35 AM

An interesting shot that points out what's wonderful and what's horrible about Arctic Terns. Their beautiful flight, arching back and grace makes them incredibly photogenic; the star white and deep black are terribly difficult to expose.

I hope you enjoy Nome and its surrounds. Wonderful birding, and places like the mouth of the Nome River are some of the best places to photograph birds I've ever been.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on June 27, 2012 at 3:17 PM

Hi Marty,
It's great to see you posting here on NPN. Beautiful high key shot. You could try lightening the eye in PS by zooming in tight on it, selecting it with the lasso tool and doing a selective levels adjustment to it. Looking forward to seeing more from Nome

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on June 28, 2012 at 3:13 AM

Welcome to NPN!!! This certainly was a wonderful way to start a first adventure to the arctic region. Very artistic catch, I really like the wing and tail positions. I do find myself wishing for more brightness in the shadowed part of the tern though. Sweet One Marty