Adrian Binney, PPSA, LRPS  

Frigate Bird and Flying Fish by Adrian Binney, PPSA, LRPS

September 2023 - Frigate Bird and Flying Fish

September 2023 - Adrian Binney, PPSA, LRPS

Original

About the Image(s)

This was taken in January when roughly mid Atlantic between Africa and Brazil. On the day there were many flying fish (which were virtually impossible to capture well as they flew away from the ship they all regard as a large predator) and these attracted female fright birds (the males seem to keep closer to land - perhaps they are lazy!).

So the opportunity was frigate bad with fish in mouth. I did not find this easy!

This one was taken (with by Olympus gear) using the long 150-400 lens with settings: 158mm zoom (so 316mm FF) 1/2500 f4.5 ISO 1,000 after exposure comp at 1/3 stop. I was shooting relatively wide to give me a chance of ‘finding’ the bird as I only had seconds to capture shots before the opportunity was lost.

PP locally on the bird/fish in Lightroom, finished with Topaz Photo A1.

This round’s discussion is now closed!
6 comments posted

Dr Isaac Vaisman   Dr Isaac Vaisman
Adrian, it is very interesting to watch the flying fish taking off the ocean surface. Obviously, this Frigate bird ws faster than the fish and got the treat. Great capture. The image is sharp.   Posted: 09/07/2023 18:22:13
Bruce Benson   Bruce Benson
Adrian, interesting catch to this image that you don't see every day. Lighting looks very challenging with little contrast between subjects and background. Thanks for sharing this one. Bruce   Posted: 09/08/2023 14:33:05
 
Adrian, by including quite a bit of water, it helps the bird and his dinner stand out. I, too, especially value images that I had to work to capture! This is a very nice bit of bird life.   Posted: 09/08/2023 15:34:11
Barbara Gore   Barbara Gore
(Groups 36 & 47)
Fascinating point of view which makes this image interesting. My eye goes right to the bill and the fish. Great capture.   Posted: 09/11/2023 08:02:31
Maria Mazo   Maria Mazo
Hi Adrian,
You managed to capture this image in great detail. I like how the flying fish stands out and the fact that you can see its predator catching it. The background places them in context, and maybe the image could benefit from a bit more contrast. Otherwise, it's a nice capture.

  Posted: 09/16/2023 00:10:38
 
Adrian, What a great catch! Your composition and post processing effectively enhance the image. I agree with the other comments about the contrast but other than that, it is a truly delightful image.   Posted: 09/22/2023 09:48:37