Common Loon Pair 2

Image # 1D2_06937

Raymond Pond, ME (Sebago Lake region)

Canon 100-400L/f4.5-5.6 IS @ 330mm

ISO 400, f/8, 1/800 second

Manual Exposure

Handheld

This half hour of shooting was one of the most enjoyable times I've ever had shooting.  It was a bit of a challenge trying to keep my camera and lens dry, paddling around to get a good shooting angle, keep the sun behind me, work around the waves and kayak movement, etc.  But it was just so thrilling, as these loons allowed me to get quite close to them.  And maybe it was just my imagination, but they seemed to be somewhat curious about me as well.  They certainly could have swam or flown off in a heartbeat if they wanted to get away from me, but for a good half-hour, they just swam around, diving occasionally, and let me interact with them.  And they each reared up from time to time, flapping their wings, as the one on the left is about to do here.