Gloria Grandolini
August 2026 - Snake-Necking
About the Image(s)
These are 2 Flightless Cormorants most probably engaging in a courtship behavior called snake-necking.
Since they lost the ability to fly, their courtship rituals rely on intertwining and arching their necks.
They are listed in the vulnerable species list and the population appears to be maximum 2000.
They are endemic to the Isabela - where I took this shot, and Fernandina Islands in the Galapagos.
Shot from the Zodiac handheld with a Canon R5
1/400 sec at f/11 ISO 500
97 mm (RF 24-105 f 2.8 L IS USM)
Cropped, denoised and adjusted exposure in Lightroom classic
10 comments posted
Gloria, your intention is good, but there is too much going on and overlapping of the birds, having three of them. The one in the foreground seems to be sitting on a nest and perhaps there is a chick in front of it. The second bird is just looking away, and the third is preening. The presence of the crab adds interest to the image. The background is a bit overexposed. Posted: 08/04/2026 15:24:04
Thank you Isaac for the feedback. I see you point. Great learning. I think I will follow Doug´s advice. Posted: 08/12/2026 21:31:05
I think the situation was a bit too much for the camera with current technology. Not enough dynamic range to capture the highlights and shadows details. Also just too much information in the image. Maybe you could crop into just the birds heads with the blurred bushes in the background and with ACR get some detail. It might work ... give it a try. I worked on it only having this jpg copy and spent just a couple of minutes. I think I over sharpened it. Posted: 08/05/2026 18:46:51
Doug, very grateful for excellent suggestion. Posted: 08/12/2026 21:31:30
Gloria, Your image does a great job of showing the birds in their environment and telling the story of their interaction. You could consider masking the background and darkening it slightly to help the birds stand out more. I would also create a mask for the birds and selectively bring out some of the highlights and details in their feathers. However, if your goal is to emphasize and tell the story of their courtship behavior, I really like Doug's approach to the post-processing. Posted: 08/10/2026 16:28:21
Thanks Sarita I agree on Doug´s approach Posted: 08/12/2026 21:32:26
Gloria my suggestion is to to crop the image to 16:9 and adjust theeposure on the bright rocks and the darker shades of the birds. I did a quick adjustment on my ipad in snapseed as a guide Posted: 08/12/2026 16:14:35
Thank you! I had not thought about that option. Posted: 08/12/2026 21:33:08
Interesting bird, I hadn't heard of flightless cormorants. I think that cropping and adjust the exposure will help. Great story. Posted: 08/12/2026 19:21:33
Thanks Ruth Posted: 08/12/2026 21:33:31