Soft Landing

Now that is what I call "full flaps" ;-).  Well timed and the exposure is right on to get detail in the black feathers... Mike

Yah, at this point he's literally 'floating on air'.  My two hours of patient waiting was rewarded here.  Though there were plenty of birds flying about rarely would they approach close enough for my 200mm kit lens to be able to take advantage.  Thanks for responding.  Best, Len.

I like this take...great timing and especially for the point of view which made the red patches visible. The out-of-focus trunk is a distraction, but nothing could be done about it since it is there and you can't expect an ideal scene. however, perhaps the right needs a tighter crop, as there's not much to see there. so, imho, does the top, to balance the fact that the reflection of the bird is cropped. compliments -koushik

Thanks for joining in.  All good points.  I suppose there is a photoshop solution for the lower left corner though a purist would reject that idea, and a tighter crop on the right would also be OK though, it could be argued, some of the context would be lost.  Thanks to your suggestion I now see a square crop, excluding the stump on the right, which would work well too.  What would we do without each other's advice to optimize the impact of our images?  :-)  Best, Len 

Hi Len,

  Great action shot with perfect timing on your part.  Take care, Patsy

Thanks for the validation.  One of my favourites from that day's shooting.  Best, Len.