Courtship Dance
These Clark's Grebes were performing their beautiful courtship dance on Lake Mead.
These Clark's Grebes were performing their beautiful courtship dance on Lake Mead.
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SONY ILCE-7M3
Aperture f/13 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/1600 Focal Length 12000/10 
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Jan, 2021Views
343
Likes
Awards
Top Shot Award 22
Creative Winter Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
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Behind The Lens
Location
Lake Mead National Recreation Area outside of Las Vegas, NV, USATime
About an hour after sunrise. Shooting on the lake is always best around sunrise / sunset before / after the sun is too high and causes glare on the water.Lighting
From my vantage point, I was lucky to have the sun over my right shoulder. This caused great lighting on the birds as they performed their dance.Equipment
Sony A7III, f/13, ISO 1600, Sony 300-600 zoom lens with 2x converter. Hand Held. Natural light.Inspiration
I went to this particular location after learning that white pelicans reside in the area. Pelicans in the desert were too resisting to ignore! This area is a little bit of an inlet from the main lake and provides great shelter for the birds. Plenty of pelicans, grebes, ducks, and falcons in the area. These Clark's Grebes, along with about 20 cousins, were busy fishing for breakfast. As I was trying to capture feeding behavior, I heard a splashing noise in the distance. I looked up and saw this courting dance. I have never seen this behavior before and was thrilled to experience it. I didn't leave until I had a good capture.Editing
I cropped to find a composition I liked. Color correction and added some vibrance to the birds. Darkened the background to help separate the birds.In my camera bag
Sony camera body, tripod, remote trigger, Tamron 17-28 lens, Sony 200-600 lens, 2x converter, filters (polarizing, ND, graduated), extra batteries and memory cards.Feedback
Spend some time just watching and observing. After awhile, you'll pick up on animal behavior. This was probably the 5th "dance" I witnessed before getting a shot I was happy with. The key to this shot was anticipating when the dance would begin. There were multiple pairs in the water...which one do you choose to focus on?!!? I noticed the birds would bob their heads up and down in sync prior to starting the "run." This clued me in to which bird pair to focus on and get ready. Patience is key!
