Gavia Immer Loony Pics

[CanDo]

Hi,

I finally got one of those very rare chances to spend a lot of time with the animals I like to photograph, and I'm liking the results. I was out on the lake all day every day for three days in a row before they began to trust me, and before I began to get pictures. By the end of it all, they were popping up from under the water just a couple of feet away. Seeing a loon swimming underwater (especially since I was in a Kayak) is just awesome - they're incredibly hydrodynamic.

For those of you who like a bit more action and dynamic composition (Evolute?):

The two loons are facing off in a territory/mate dispute.

Another angle. I don't like the crop job on this one, but it will do for now:

They were snaking on these fish all day long. Fortunately, the parents would carry them around for a bit and be tossing them under water to teach the baby how to dive and catch them itself, so I managed to get a shot...

Closeup:

The loon swimming and the action shots are best viewed at a higher resolution:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/2244244593_e5742553a0_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2029/2244230195_1e0055ce2c_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2410/2244482069_6eb0d01a56_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2352/2245023798_5d14f9e2fa_o.jpg

I came upon these fellows up in western Maine. Criticism very welcome!

~CanDo

 

[CanDo]

One more thing:

As the sun was going down I played my Conch shell horn from the shore to anyone who happened to be out. The loons, though way out of sight at this point, responded

 

[Evolute]

Good stuff, CanDo.

___________________________________

To be clear, I have no issue with static shots. I take lots of static shots. For examples:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/337064709_19d44c8b12_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/274804548_67e5a7153e_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1132/549779488_cc84ca09a1_o.jpg

See?

 

[CanDo]

Well, that was pretty painless.

In my opinion, the sleeping sealions is your best photo. How close can you or did you get to them for that? The photo makes it feel like you're inches away.

 

[hollowdweller]

Love the spotted(?) plumage!:thumbup:

 

[rebeltf]

Neat looking bird , sorta has digital camo built right onto him.

 

[tarmix101]

Beautiful birds. Thanks for sharing the pics. :thumbup:

 

[GEC]

Beautiful birds. Thanks for sharing the pics. :thumbup:

Took the word right out of my mouth. Beautiful!:thumbup:

 

[Evolute]

Well, that was pretty painless.

As weightlifters like to say, "No pain, no gain".

I hope you realize that giving criticism means I respect what you're doing enough to try to help you succeed. If you were not worth wasting my time on, then I wouldn't. I bothered to tell you stuff in the other thread because you have promise and because you earned it.

In my opinion, the sleeping sealions is your best photo.

Thank you. Keep in mind that I have a backlog of ~15,000 pictures that I need to get online.

I am fond of that one. I do think I have others online of comparable quality, such as:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/101/275041175_fe42c56d36_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/103/274761164_d93b6532b8_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/274378817_38bc96a377_o.jpg

And so on.

How close can you or did you get to them for that? The photo makes it feel like you're inches away.

I would guesstimate that I was 15-20 feet away.