<< Previous Next >>

A good catch * for Maurizio


A good catch * for Maurizio
Photo Information
Copyright: Valerie Schnepp (valy67) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1880 W: 59 N: 2915] (8733)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-06-29
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon 350D, Canon EF 55-200mm 4.5-5.6 II USM
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: One week in Camargue
Date Submitted: 2009-07-17 0:57
Viewed: 784
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 54
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The pictures I had posted so far were from my first week of holidays, in the mountains. This is from my second weak, when we went even further down, to the Mediterranean Sea. I would like to dedicate it to another Italian Friend, Maurizio. Each time I look at his pictures, I am amazed by the beauty and the quality of all his shots.

Here for you, Maurizio - after having admired your bird pictures for so long, I could find, at last, a picture of which I am not ashamed in comparison ! :-)

The pictures represents a Common Tern *Sterna hirundo*, a very common bird in the region where we spent our second week of holiday - a region which is called Camargue, and if you don't know and want some description, I invite you to have a look at my Travelogue, you will find all the infos about Camargue there.

As for thez bird, I have captured it during the visit of an ornithological park. It is not a zoo, it is rather a well-preserved area where birds can eat and nest and live in peace. They are completely free, they come and go as they want, and for me this is MUCH more interesting than just a zoo where the animals are in a cage. A path has been made in the protected area, for people to walk on and to admire the bird, always far away not to disturb them, but close enough that we could see them very nicely. It was a great visit, with lots and lots of photo opportunities. But it was also a difficult visit. Before this day, I didn't know what the word "hot" meant - in the north of France (where I live), even in the hottest parts of summer, it is nothing compared to what we had this day. I thought I would melt, and even with long trousers and T-shirt, I could feel the sun burning my skin. It was quite a painful experience. I came home with one certainty : mediterranean regions are not for me. Never again will I complain about the rain and clouds and grey days of my hometown ! :-)



Some words about this species, now :

The Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) is a seabird of the family Sternidae. It is a medium-sized tern, 34-37 cm long with a 70-80 cm wingspan.

Like all Sterna terns, the Common Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, from either the sea or freshwater lakes and large rivers. I have watched them doing this, it's quite impressive, and as you can see on the picture, they were often very successful - most of them came out with a fish each time they were diving.

This species breeds in colonies on coasts and islands and often inland on suitable freshwater lakes. This latter practice is assisted by the provision of floating "tern rafts" to give a safe breeding area. It lays two to four eggs. Like many white terns, it is very defensive of its nest and young and will attack humans and other large predators, but rarely hits the intruder, usually swerving off at the last moment. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.

In Camargue where I took the picture, they were nesting on the island on a lake, there were dozens and dozens of them. They were flying around, sitting on the island, taking care of the babies, fishing... It was very noisy, and such a great show to watch, also. When they came up with a fish, they often looked for a place where to eat it in peace, without the others trying to steal it, so they went on rocks on the border of the lake - this is where I have captured this one. It was blazing hot, my hand was slippery, the light was terribly harsh, but I did my best and I'm quite proud of the result.
Miss_Piggy, parasbhalla, nasokoun, maurydv, albert, boreocypriensis, Luis52, thor68, siggi, nglen, jlinaresp, jcoowanitwong, CeltickRanger, tuslaw, goldyrs, JORAPAVI, Noisette, rkailas, uleko, amanengone has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekNature members may write critiques.
Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To rkailas: Compositionvaly67 2 07-21 21:58
To Belgerdy: Halovaly67 2 07-18 00:20
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1978 W: 6 N: 5527] (19673)
  • [2009-07-17 1:54]

Salut Valerie,un moment decisif pour la capture et une photo tres bien ensoleille' avec les meilleurs details et coulers...c'est un reve pour moi,j'attend toujours d'en faire une comme ca..ehehe...bonne journee',Luciano

Hola Valérie,

Splendid shot and a rare moment to capture! Sharpness and colors are the jewels of this picture. Well done!

Thanks and regards,
Paras

Hallo Valerie
I think the holiday did you wonders. Your photos that you have been posting since you have come back have me green with jealousy. They are all very beautiful, including this one for Maurizio. You have captured this Commom Tern with its supper or breakfast with great clarity and detail. The colours of the beak and the detail of the tail feathers is brought out beautifully. If this was mine, I would also been proud of myself. Thanks for sharing. Best regards.
Anna

hi Valerie
so much beautiful moment,very fine presentation with good attribution of colours, close up composition and BG,wonderful shot
TFS and thanks for sharing
Nasos

  • Great 
  • foozi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1339 W: 0 N: 2582] (9107)
  • [2009-07-17 3:25]

Hi Valerie,
what a spledid depiction of this exciting bird. the colours are really excellent especially the red beak. The catch is well taken to indicate beautiful moment treasured.
nice grey background giving this photo a brilliant composition.

regards,
Foozi

Ciao valerie,
je suis orgueilleux de ta inattendue et très appréciée dédicace.
Une merveilleuse prise de Hirondelle de mer avec la proie serrée dans son bec, je n'ai jamais prise une photo de cette espèce aussi fantastique que la tienne. Une composition très très jolie.
Merci et félicitations
Je te souhaite un bon week-end
Amicalement
Maurizio

Bonjour Valérie
Belle capture de ce beau Sterne bien détaché sur un fond uni
Bravo
Sorry pour le coup de soleil, en lisant ta note je vois qu'il n'y a pas d'espoir de te voir un jour a La Réunion !!!
Albert

cool shot,
There's abit of a halo from post processing around the black on the tern head, It would be nice to remove this by cloning or more carefull post processing

otherwise great pose and moment, well done

Ciao Valerie, lovely bird in nice action against a beautiful blurry BG, great natural colors, excellent sharpness and fine details, very well done, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

Hi MF Val,
An outstanding capture of this pretty beauty with its fish prey in mouth:) i can hear it:) she is saying "this one is delicious" i think:)
Perfectly capturen in both photographical quality and also moment. Nice POV with neat clarity, details and delightful composition.
TFS and cheers,
Bayram

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1110 W: 5 N: 3457] (12761)
  • [2009-07-17 10:14]

Hola Valerie.
Hermosa la foto. Muchos detalles que admirar en la imagen. La pose, los colores del ave y por supuesto la comida en su pico color rojo hacen de esta presentacion de primera clase.

Mauricio debe estar feliz por este regalo.
Saludos
Luis52.

Salut Valérie!
Effectivement une excellente capture pour l'oiseau et pour toi! J'aime beaucoup le contraste entre la sterne et l'arrière plan aux tons ocre. Le timing est parfait! Amicalement,
Catherine

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1380 W: 56 N: 4759] (16364)
  • [2009-07-17 10:42]

Hello Valerie,
fantastic frozen moment! really nicely lit, and great pose. The fish is a great bonus to the already nice shot.Best regards Siggi

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2916 W: 34 N: 8651] (32250)
  • [2009-07-17 10:43]

Hi Valerie. This is a nice dedication to Maurizio i am sure he will love it. You have taken this Common turn with fine detail and warm colours in the feathers. The bird stands out well from the plain coloured BG. well done TFs.
Nick..

Have a good weekend

  • Great 
  • thor68 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 792 W: 138 N: 1312] (5642)
  • [2009-07-17 11:36]

this really deserves a big "wow!"! :-) superb capture (and catch of course) of the pretty tern with its catch of the day.
sharpness, exposure, colors and details are perfect, love the pose and the great blurred brown background which fits very
well to the white of the plumage. excellent job & best wishes, thor.

Hi Valerie,

Excellent photo, very good. I like the light you've achieved in the whole show very well the details of the bird. The pose is very curious and shows very well the structure.

Beautiful background blur perfectly.

It is a very worked well!

happy WE!

Jesús

hello Valerie
great composition with good light and nice BG>
great colours and sharpness
greeting lou

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3067 W: 231 N: 6166] (21070)
  • [2009-07-17 12:47]

Hello Valerie,
Amazing shot of this common tern.
The details on the feathers are fantastic.
That red beak really anchors the image, and draws attention to the juicy catch.
Excellent timing on your part. : )
Great composition.
TFS. : )

  • Great 
  • cako Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 545 W: 0 N: 735] (3213)
  • [2009-07-17 15:51]

exellent image
very good detail and composition

Hi Valerie,
You had a wonderful trip. You did take many fine pictures to share with us. This picture "A good catch * for Maurizio" is no exception. Congratulations.
JC

bonjour Valérie

une excellente photo de ce sterne avec sa capture,
excellent POV, belle luminosité, excellent focus
netteté et détails, le catch-light rend la photo
encore meilleur, j'aime le regard perçant de l'oiseau,

TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • tuslaw Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 511 W: 20 N: 1392] (4861)
  • [2009-07-17 20:39]

Super catch Valerie!!
The bird is beautiful and the detail is tac sharp, but capturing it with a minnow in it's beak is priceless!! TFS.
Ron

A splendid shot my friend Valérie,
I love the timing, apart from the details of this beautiful composition!
Bravo!
Goldy

Hola Valerie,
Fantástica captura en un momento muy oportuno con gran definición y composición, preciosa luz y color, saludos
José Ramón

Salut Val
encore une excellente photo de tes Vacances, cette sterne est superbement bien deaillée, très belle pose sur ce rocher avec son poisson dans son bec
le BG uni met l'oiseau bien en valeur
bravo pour cette belle prise
Jacqueline

Hi Valerie

I really like this protrait of the tern. The light and BG are particularly commendable, but perhaps a little space on the right would have made the composition more appealing.

TFS
Ravi

Hi Valerie,

Lovely capture of this Tern. Very clear and and sharp picture. Also nice to see the tiny fish in its beak. Very well composed with awesome BG. well done

TFS,
Kedar

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2999 W: 162 N: 984] (2877)
  • [2009-07-24 23:12]

Hello Valerie,
I love this capture of the COmmon Tern with a newly caught fish in its beak. An exxcellent close view showing great details with nice focus on the eye. Lovely colours and a fine background too.
TFS and regards, Ulla

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF