Common Merganser

[Robert Holguin]

Hello everyone.
A couple of months back there was a bunch of these at a nearby lake. I had never seen one in person an was very excited to try an photograph them.
I quickly found out that they are very, very skittish ducks. I crawled under some brush and set my gear on top of laying tree. Even then I had to be
very still and quite. It was a fun experience, but managed few keepers.
My only time to shoot this ducks was during my lunch time so light was not all that great. Never managed a good shot of male. I had many exposure
problems. Maybe next year.
C&C welcomed and encouraged.
Nikon 300s l Nikon 300 2.8 w/ 1.7 tc l ISO 500 l F8 l 1/1600 l Multi Segment l Manual l Gear on tree log.

[Frank Schauf]

Nice composition and excellent exposure control and sharpness.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Beautiful bird Robert and your patients and effort did pay off, TFS.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Ah, those wary Common Mergansers!! You did very well here, and you got a very appealing image...I love the raised crest, lowish angle, and pano crop. Perfect head angle. Very well done...patience rewarded indeed.

[Karl Egressy]

Love the HA, hairdo, eye contact and details, Robert.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Robert, the light doesnt look bad at all, and your lying low has created created a lovely perspective. Love the 'hairdo' , and I do like the colours on both the Merganser, and water. Well captured.

I wish I could photograph during my lunch, thats if I manage one. :w3

[gail bisson]

Hi Robert,
This is lovely. The light isn't too bad.
You have a nice composition and head turn and catchlight.
I like the little bit of foot visible in the water.
Next year, you will have to shoot them during breakfast to get that perfect light!!:S3:
Gail

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the low angle, sharpness, raised crest, exposure and composition. Excellent image Robert!

[David Salem]

Very nice image overall Robert. Nice shooting angle, pose,detail and comp. Good job for a lunch break.

[Satish Ranadive]

Robert:
Excellent image of beautiful duck.This is wonderful image,you don't have to wait for next year.
Love the pose with lovely eye,very nice colors,superb hair do,nice exposure and composition.You have handled the light very well.

Regards,
Satish.