Black Skimmer

This shot was my favorite of the many skimmer images I captured on Long Island during my August visit. Even though I went to graduate school at NYU and lived less than an hour from this legendary spot, I was a pure birder who hadn't discovered photography at that stage. I saw a lot of incredible skimmer shots from this location after adopting photography, and I was salivating to create some of my own by this first visit. I was hella stoked with this full topside-bank, and I think the split background appropriately suggests the beach dunes where this species nests.

Nickerson Beach, Nassau County, New York, 8/8/19
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX Mark II
1/3200 at f/5.6, ISO 640