Explosive blast off - Common loon

[Randy Stout]

This common loon was imaged yesterday.  Rare to catch him on the very first move of take off.  They are rather unpredictable about when they take off.  One second he was grooming , the next blasting off.

D500 600VR  1/1250s  f/7.1  ISO 500

Taken from my little boat, Loonie Too!

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[armando_m]

woah , great timing !

in my office monitor - uncalibrated - seem that perhaps a bit more contrast would be nice

[tommiejeep]

Randy, cool shot.  1/1250 is probably at the minimum.  I really like the definition in the shadow of the front wing on the rear wing.  Looks fine on my monitor (calibrated) and whites are more blown on my uncalibrated "working" monitor.  Just for feedback.

tom

[gryphon1911]

I like the shot.  Well done.

[Bent Hjarbo]

Super shot, nothing to complain about 

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone:

The shutter speed does give just a bit of blur on the fastest moving parts (wing tips) and I often will shoot in that range to give a sense of motion.

The whites are generally in the low 240 range, but where there are reflections off the water, you will get hotter areas.  If I lower the whites too much, they tend to get a bit dull and gray, which I don't like.  I have used luminosity masks at times, but still a fine balance.

Thanks so much!

Randy

[Asle F]

Often with this type of pictures, the bird is almost crashing into the border of the frame. I like that you haven't done it that way, but left some space in front the bird.

[pluton]

Looks fine on my 15" Macbook Pro Retina display.

[Peter Connan]

Great capture Randy!

[Bill De Jager]

The shutter speed does give just a bit of blur on the fastest moving parts (wing tips) and I often will shoot in that range to give a sense of motion.

Outstanding!  Also, just the right amount of blur to give a sense of motion.

[David Paterson]

Outstanding!  Also, just the right amount of blur to give a sense of motion.

+1 , great shot.