Tom Buckard
January 2025 - Common Gallinule Family
About the Image(s)
This image of a Common Gallinule family was taken at Sweetwater Wetlands in Gainesville, Florida.
Shot with a Nikon D300, Speed 1/250th of a sec, Focal Length 175mm, ISO-200, F5.6, Lens was an Nikkor 80-400.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
13 comments posted
What goofy looking chicks. Remind me of Coot babies...not surprising as Coots are a close cousin. I like the position of the adult interacting with the little guys. Maybe a bit of dodging under the adult's chin to separate it from the body and a bit near bill? Just to get a little definition in the black areas. Posted: 01/05/2025 21:14:10
Leslie, thank you for your comment and I will try and get a little more separation. The chicks really are strong looking. My real fear was that this area is loaded with gators. I hope they made it. Posted: 01/06/2025 01:30:54
Good overhead shot of the family group. The separation of the right hand chick might be dealt with by doing a square crop which would leave the other two anxious to be fed. It would unfortunately leave the third one at the mercy of the croc. In UK we call the bird a Moorhen, which I understand USA used to do at one time? Posted: 01/06/2025 11:41:44
Mike, some still call them Moorhens. Tried the square crop and like it also. Posted: 01/06/2025 13:58:22
Tom, I had to research this bird having never seen one. I like the various colors of orange, yellow, shades of browns and gray and that each bird is in focus. I like the eye contact and intimacy depicted in this scene between the mother and chicks. Both crops work for me, but your original crop adds more interest to the story which I prefer. This is a very nice nature shot. Posted: 01/09/2025 09:51:20
Jim, thank you for your comments. I would have loved to get some shots of the Gallinule family at a much lower angle but in this area you have to keep a steady eye out for alligators. I like the rule of odd numbers but I like the primary image best also. Posted: 01/09/2025 13:28:02
Very nice shot. Great depth to get all three sharp. Posted: 01/13/2025 00:31:41
Thank you Michael, wish I had taken more of the very young chicks. I think they are very unusual. Posted: 01/13/2025 16:24:57
I've never seen CG chicks. Nice capture, looks like mother let you get fairly close @ 175mm.. I prefer the square crop but just by a hair. Stay away from them 'gators. Posted: 01/14/2025 01:44:34
Thank you for your comments Ron. I was actually concealed on a small walkway and not sure they even saw me. Love the birding aspect of photography but not those gators. Posted: 01/14/2025 13:37:07
Tom, Mike has an interesting comment about the right hand chick. Another suggestion would be to use Photoshop's Content Aware Move to place the third chick beside its siblings, closer to the parent bird's foot. Posted: 01/14/2025 15:41:11
Don, what an ingenious idea! I tried it and like it. In some competitions I could use it but PSA rule competitions I could not. Very clever idea! Posted: 01/15/2025 01:31:36
Glad you like it. Posted: 01/15/2025 15:20:38