This image was taken with an old (no mirror lockup) borrowed Pentax 6x7 with a 165mm lens and Tmax400. I was shooting out of a canoe with my Nikon N70 and the birds were pretty much ignoring me. Then I pulled out the Pentax and fired off a shot. It got their attention. I wouldn't say the Pentax is a good wildlife outfit, but if you want the subject to look at you, charge you, or fly off, this big loud sucker may be the right camera for the shot.

-- Larry Korhnak (lvk@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu), March 29, 1999

Answers

Larry, Love the shapes, sharpness and exposure. My only quirp is the branch going off the the left. I think the white background keeps things simple though others might not like it. And last, I like that the viewer dosn't know what is in the nest--leaves your wondering...

-- Tait Stangl (taits@usa.net), March 29, 1999.

Tait's captured my opinion on this. That bottom branch becoming an apparent problem. But if you crop the right a little and the top, so that those other branches intersect the frame, then the bottom left branch doesn't have any more special significance.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), March 29, 1999.

That left branch keeps it all balanced! Maybe a little nitpicking thick in comparison to the bird, but necessary anyway. The image overall is 'clean and refreshing' -which is a compliment.

-- Albin Hunia (hunia@dlg.agro.nl), March 30, 1999.

Larry,

The stark crispness of this shot is incredibly striking to me. I'm not generally a fan of b&w for wildlife - it seems to me it would almost always be improved by inclusion of color. Not here. The posture of the flying bird is particularly compelling. Great shot.

Peter

-- Peter May (peter.may@stetson.edu), March 30, 1999.

An excellent shot, and from a canoe no less. I like Paul's suggestion about minor cropping to cause the branches at the top and right to intersect the frame. Well done!

-- Garry Schaefer (schaefer@pangea.ca), March 30, 1999.

Awesome! The fact that you got the shot with a medium-format camera with a 165 mm lens just blows me away. Is it cropped heavily from the original?

-- Mark Erickson (maericks@netcom.com), March 30, 1999.

This is pretty much full frame. The shot was taken at a reservoir where the water level is half way up the nesting tree.

-- Larry Korhnak (lvk@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu), March 30, 1999.

"Good God Larry." Those were my exact words when the image loaded. Bravo. 'Nuf said.

-- Joe Cheatwood (cheatwoo@ufl.edu), March 31, 1999.

Larry: Your most elegant work in this forum so far. Congratulationas.

-- Bahman Farzad (bahman_farzad@spotmetering.com), March 31, 1999.