Down the hatch!

[gail bisson]

Male common merganser eating flounder.
I was spending a lot of time in my blind self-isolating with the ducks. But the government has shut down ALL beaches,public trails, parks and reserves so now I am at home and have taken (what feels like) 168,362,578,372 pictures of American Goldfinches and dark-eyed juncos in my backyard. Someone save me!
Going shack-whacky here in Nova Scotia.
Canon 1 DX3 600mm
ISO 1250 1/2500 @ 6.3
About 70% FF and nothing added or cloned.Darker areas in BG dodged.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Randy Stout]

Gail:

Wonderful timing. It is going to be a really bad day for the flounder. Good shooting angle, bird angle, nice display of the lamellae.

I might soften the darker band behind the birds head just a bit. The water is so light colored overall , that it stands out.

Sorry about the impoundment. We are still able to be out a bit, and the bird sanctuary near by has shut all the facilities down, but you can still walk around and look at/photograph the birds, keeping respectful distances from other photographers of course!

I am glad my frogs have started showing up in the pond!

Cheers


Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

Things are getting tighter and tighter here now too. No go to drive to our spacious local parks, but feel free to stand in long lines at the pot shop next to coughing folks though, or at the alcohol store! Sorry, just my mini-rant of the day lol.

As for your image - fantastic! I love the action, and the curls on the flipped flounder. Great low angle, nice water action.

[kevin Hice]

Wonderful image Gail . Like the water droplets and the curl of the fins is fantastic.Amazing how wide they can open that bill. Thanks for the comments on my image and agree with the bird too bright. I can still get out here and do some photography. Great thing not many people in Nd.

[Bill Dix]

Fabulous action shot. Great look at merg and fish, especially the doomed fish. Nice low POV. There's a hint of the merg's green iridescence; I don't know if you would bring out a bit more of it?

For the moment our governor is encouraging folks to get out into the fresh air, mindful of social distance. So open spaces are still open although facilities are closed. The parking lot was virtually full at one of my normal go-to places several days ago, with almost everyone keeping their distance on the trails. Unfortunately very few birds - a few distant meadowlarks singing their sweet songs, a kestrel chasing a red-tail.

[David Roach]

All has been said, but I also love the reflection and frozen water/drops to add to the action feel. Stay safe and keep them coming. TFS

[John Mack]

Whoa! What a frame. Neat how the fish makes a S shape. Detail in the blacks and the whites looks quite nice. Like the framing as well.

Daniel's rant is the best one here.

[dankearl]

Great angle and nice stop action... I would maybe lighten the catchlight just a wee bit more.

[William Dickson]

Thats a beauty Gail...The POV got my eyes first, then the wonderful detail on the bird...great flip of the fish and facial expression. The wave in the BG adds..

Nice one

Will

[annmpacheco]

great action Gail, pov, and flippin flounder. I zoned in on the serrated merg bill and the comb like curls, super!

[Colin Driscoll]

I like it! The poor fish having a last futile flap, and what a view that fish has!
I would say nicely timed but at 16 fps you get to choose later.
Maybe a little more could be brought out of the blacks around the head?

[arash_hazeghi]

love the action, the fish is great the merganser looks sharp and well exposed but it's missing some fine feather details in both whites and blacks perhaps from high ISO NR or crop

TFS