Hooded Merganser Hen - standing proud

[Randy Stout]

This pretty young lady was captured yesterday morning due to courtesy of Roy Van Loo, who has a good location for working wood ducks, but we were blessed with some unexpected visitors!

D4 600VR TC14 f/6.3 1/1250s ISO 1000 Taken from my sled blind, sitting on the edge of the pond.

Post: 15% crop for comp, selective sharpening, a bit of clone stamp for background.

The background is courtesy of old leaves on the forest floor.

Cheers

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Great pose, light and detail on this Merganser hen. The beautiful swirls in the water are an added bonus. I assume the second catchlight is natural, reflected from the water; but I might have been tempted to remove it.

[Karl Egressy]

Beautiful image, Randy. I just looked at my recent shots but after seeing yours I might not even start developing one.
Love the hairdo, pose and the nice background.

[Norm Dulak]

The title could not be more fitting, Randy. And you captured her in all her glory. Great pose, exposure, composition and background, making for a most pleasing image.

[Diane Miller]

Great composition and detail on a lovely subject!

[christopher galeski]

nice image,like the pose,nice image quality,like the BG.

[Daniel Cadieux]

She looks great! Neat "perch", and the water is very painterly with those faint lines in them. I'd consider burning the brighter area behind the bill, but all else looks super. Great mix of colours.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, thats a super proud pose from your lady Merganser, and the plumage shows up good sharp details. Killer BG, and I would maybe remove the lower catchlight ( always subjective with water below the subject :w3 )

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the sharpness, details, hairdo, composition and the water really adds to the image. Excellent image Randy!

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Daniel, I will tidy up the reflections a bit at the base of the bill.

Cheers

Randy