Gossamer Grace
Uploaded: June 06, 2003 23:39:35
Arctic Terns are beautiful birds in flight and this one was backlit by the bright overcast sky as it hovered for a moment over my head.
Murry Grigsby June 06, 2003
I hope that's all he did when he was over your head, Gary. Perfect timing, very nice composition and I really love the translucent wings. Very graceful image!! #38670Oksana Oksamit May 26, 2019
Just wonderful shot, Gary! #110358Leanne M.E. Boyd May 26, 2019
A wonderful image. I admire how you birders do this. #110363Joy Brown May 26, 2019
Awesome image, Gary! #110400Colette M. Metcalf May 26, 2019
Great capture Gary! #110409Shirley L. Carpenter May 26, 2019
What a beautiful image Gary......I love this one....... #110460June Marie Sobrito May 26, 2019
Beautiful! Great detail and motion! #110476Judith G. Secco May 26, 2019
Wow, what a fantastic catch here, Gary. Wonderful shot.Patricia Marroquin May 26, 2019
Excellent capture, Gary! I didn't see any of these; they're gorgeous. #110495Gary W. Lake May 26, 2019
Gary, as much as I love the beautiful images of Alaska you post I think this is the best shot I've seen you post since I've been hanging out here. I think you have a winner with this one! Great capture & composition. Just enough blur to show motion and yet outstanding detail too. I love this shot. #110513Mark Oxley May 26, 2019
Hi Gary, I totally agree with all thats been said!! The composition, timing, exposure and choice of shutter speed are all spot on. Not easy to achieve in the split second you get to bag an image as good as this!! #110537William C. Raco May 26, 2019
Fantastic!
bill #110553
Connie L. Carpenter May 26, 2019
Wonderful work, Gary... dynamite image. #110855Gary H. Minish May 26, 2019
I'm very glad you all enjoyed the beauty of this bird as much as I did!I wish that I could take credit for a calibrated eye, split second reactions and precision settings....but unfortunately it was a much messier process than that. These birds were upset that I was too near their nesting area so they were making passes at me at high speed and occasionally hovering for a split second. I tried to track them in the viewfinder and with the LCD display but both were impossible and all I ended up with was bits of tail & wing or blank sky. What I did get was blurry because the camera couldn't focus fast enough. I finally ended up setting the aperature at 8.0 to get as much depth as I could and spot metered on the sky to set the aperature. Then I pre-focused on the ground because that's about how close they were coming, and just lined them up over the top of the barrel like skeet shooting when they dive bombed me. I ended up getting quite a few in focus and in frame this way. This is the one I liked best and the composition took place during the crop from a slightly larger frame than what you see here. #110889
Tracy L. Kolisnyk May 26, 2019
What an amazing shot Gary! Sounds like a messy situation but you got a great result in the end. :) #111189Murry Grigsby May 26, 2019
Very resourceful and good tip on the pre-focus, Gary. #111198Leanne M.E. Boyd May 26, 2019
Your hard work and patience won, cause this shot is fantastic. #111204Gary H. Minish May 26, 2019
Thanks Tracy, I appreciate your comment :-)I also just noticed that I made a typo in my explanation: I set the aperature at 8.0 then spot metered on the sky to set the 'shutter speed'.
Thanks Murry! It's something I learned from my homesteading childhood. If you don't have the right tool or skills you simply figure out a way to do it with what you have :-)
Leanne; Thank you very much! Between the picture itself and all these great comments on it, the rewards are well worth the struggle!
#111210
Cathy M. Gromball May 26, 2019
So beautiful and graceful! Wonderful shot, Gary!Cathy :) #111569
Gary H. Minish May 26, 2019
Thanks Cathy! I love to watch them when they're not attacking me. They're amazing flyers! #112104Karen Seargeant May 26, 2019
AWESOME CAPTURE! #112783Gary H. Minish May 26, 2019
Why thank you, Karen!! #114975Oksana Oksamit July 07, 2003
Many congrats, Gary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #134836Patricia Marroquin July 07, 2003
Congratulations, Gary! #134875Gary W. Lake July 07, 2003
Congrats Gary! I stand by my prediction - this one's a winner! #134918Kathleen Clemons July 07, 2003
WOW, Gary- indeed awesome! Congratulations! #135072Leanne M.E. Boyd July 07, 2003
Awesome image, Gary - Congratulations!!! #135183Murry Grigsby July 07, 2003
Congrats again, Gary!! #135240Wolfgang Dolak July 07, 2003
Oh boy - miles to go down here! Lol!Mette Vendelboe Allison July 07, 2003
Very well timed, Gary! Congrats! #135634Jean Papo July 07, 2003
Beautiful photo, Gary! Many congrats! #135698Elizabeth A. Zibas July 07, 2003
Congrats Gary. Lovely work. I love the catch of the wings in flight. Just wonderful. #136186Tracy L. Kolisnyk July 07, 2003
Another huge Congrats Gary!! Well deserved! #136266LJ Corliss July 07, 2003
Congrats to you :) #136561Ron Goldman July 07, 2003
Congratulations Gary!!!! #136885Dolores Neilson July 08, 2003
This has just the perfect amount of blur!! What a wonderful avian shot, Gary! WEll deserved! #137208Tony Gough July 08, 2003
Great composition, beautiful, graceful, well executed and best of all, you survived to tell the story. Congratulations. #137403Lem Metro July 08, 2003
Good luck in the finals, Gary. Well deserved accolades! #138110Cheryl Meisel July 10, 2003
OH my goshhhhhhhhhhh Garyyyy this is awesome!!!!!! I love everything about this not just a bird with wing spread here. WOW WOW! Beautiful! Big congrats and GOOD LUCK with this one! Cheryl #139355Gary H. Minish July 10, 2003
All the enthusiastic support and kind wishes that you have all honored me with, just cements the lesson that patience and perserverence (my wife calls it stubborness :-) pays off! The couple hundred failed attempts and not quite good enough shots are minor consequences when you finally get that one you were looking for :-) Thank you, thank you, thank you! #139444Jeff Galbraith July 14, 2003
Congratulations on making the finals Gary--what a shot. #142347Damian P. Gadal August 15, 2003
Well done! Your efforts paid off Gary - Congrats! #168489Gary H. Minish August 15, 2003
Thank you, Damian! #168687Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.
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