King Eider and my last image for 2015

[gail bisson]

Wishing all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Taken in 2014 in Barrow, Alaska at about 11:00PM - sun was setting behind some light cloud cover
Canon 1DX 600mm ISO 800 ss 1/800 F 7.1
Cropped to 70% FF, cloned out 1 blade of grass in the water in front of eider.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail
I did a version where I cloned out the BG grasses but it looked too sterile for my taste.

[annmpacheco]

Great head turn to strike a pose here! What a beautiful eider that has such detail I can appreciate the texture of each color! Wonderful water droplets on the back, and i love the water tipped feathers throughout the front. Im glad you left the vegetation as it adds interest to the surroundings. What a cute tail and i like his smile! such a beauty Gail, well done.

[Lorant Voros]

Very nice with a good winter feel in it. Love the simplicity and the composition. I agree keeping the grass in the background. TFS.

[Bill Dix]

What a great image to end the year with. Love everything about it: low POV, nice light, color, detail, texture, comp, head angle. Water blending with background. I like that you left the vegetation, but parts of the background look a little "dirty" -- I thought it was my screen but when I cleaned it the "dirt" was still there. Maybe a heavy dose of NR on the BG? The smile on the Eider's face does it for me. Wishing you a New Happy Year as well!

[Bob Smith]

Such a rainbow of colors. A magnificent bird, magnificently portrayed.<script type="text/javascript" src="safari-extension://com.ebay.safari.myebaymanager-QYHMMGCMJR/a57ea1b0/background/helpers/prefilterHelper.js"></script>

[Marina Scarr]

This is such a special image, Gail. So glad you left the vegetation in b/c it balances the frame with the duck. Great pose and your processing skills are awesome. I can't imagine what it would be like to photograph at 11pm. When do you sleep.

Happy New Year to you and your family. May you have many photo opps in 2016. I hope to have a chance to shoot with you soon!

[Joseph Przybyla]

Beautiful bird, nicely shown. Having never seen one I can appreciate it through your image. I have mixed feelings regarding the out of focus vegatation. Thank you for sharing, Gail.

[Mike Poole]

Great expression on the face - made me smile as well!

Lovely colours and I agree with leaving the vegetation in.

All the best

Mike

[stuart wanuck]

Just a great image to end the year with

[Grace Scalzo]

Ahhh, that midnight sun. Beautiful eider, pose, and the background is typical. Very sweet way to end the year!

[keith mitchell]

Not sure about the oof vegetation but must say the Duck is magnificent, would be thrilled to bits if it was mine.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year.

Keith.

[David Salem]

What a beautiful duck to photograph!! I would love to see one of these guys!! The pose, details and colors are awesome. I don't like the foliage in the BG. There isn't enough of it and it isn't defined enough to be worth keeping in the image IMO. Must be kind of cool shooting at 11PM. Not much time for sleep I guess.
Happy New Years to you and yours too!! I hope we can somehow meet and shoot together this coming year.

[arash_hazeghi]

very beautiful Gail, love the colors, low angle and the details. I am not a fan of the OOF vegetation because they are too sparse. Soft light was really nice here

Happy new year

[gail bisson]

Here is the same image minus the BG vegetation. The jury seems to be split on the BG!
Thanks to all for your comments.
Gail

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Striking image, Gail. Perfect head turn in beautiful light. I prefer the original with blades of grass.

Happy New Year to you.

Geoffrey

[Daniel Cadieux]

Although I understand what you mean about the image being too "sterile" without the grasses, but I do prefer the cleaner version of the repost. Sharpness, colours, low angle all make a stunning duck image.

All the best for 2016 Gail!!

[annmpacheco]

Your "last image of 2015" was a winner Gail, congrats on this gorgeous eider, with and without the "veggies!"

[Satish Ranadive]

Gorgeous image, Gail.
Wish you very happy and prosperous New year,2016 and happy birding.

Regards,
Satish.