Black Scoter

[Bill Dix]

There were quite a few Black Scoters (and a number of other species) swimming around in the inlet just off the Barnegat Jetty on Sunday. There was the occasional fly-by, but those were generally too far out for a decent shot. I almost missed this guy as he suddenly zoomed in from my right, much closer to the rocks where I was perched, and I managed a quick grab with a decent wing position before he got by me.

D500, Sigma 150-600C @ 550mm, ISO 800, 1/3200s @ f/6.3 manual, HH.

[Randy Stout]

Bill: Nice angle in frame, with a bit of additional head turn towards you, well exposed, bg just the right amount of detail to add depth and context, but not detract from subject. Like the little pop of color on the bill.

Good job.

Cheers

Randy

[John Mack]

The pose is right on. Really like how that near wing is fully raised. Like the framing as well. Nice of the bird to give you that head turn.

[Alex Becker]

Great pose and HA. Nice BG too. Exposure looks great and the catchlight adds. Was this a decent sized crop? Just curious as I see some noise on the wing. I love the shadow / image of the far wing on the near wing. TFS

[Aditya Sridhar]

Great wing position and light. Nice work tracking this bird - it definitely sounds like a challenge. I agree with Alex on the noise. I, too, am curious to know if this is a large crop as there seems to be a loss of feather detail, especially near the breast and the head (I've never seen this bird in real life, however). TFS Bill!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Bill that's a gem, super action wonderful details and you couldn't get better light on the duck.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks guys.

Alex, this is cropped to 37% of the original pixel count. I do see a hint of noise (I prefer to call it texture :w3). I consciously left it that way since I wanted to avoid any smoothed-over look from too much NR.

Aditya, I see a bit of detail in the head, but it does appear to be lacking on the neck and shoulder, and in a patch just beneath the wing. I'm guessing this could be attributed to the bird being wet.

[gail bisson]

I have never seen an image of a scoter in flight and I would be doing a happy dance if I got this.
You have a perfect HA and wing position and I love the way the light is hitting the wings.
Gail

[Daniel Cadieux]

That wing looks very good! Nice job on the blacks. IQ held up well for the large crop, teetering on borderline but still good in my books. I'd be happy with this too!

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Gail and Daniel.