American Coot

[Joseph Przybyla]

I have always thought of Coots as funny little birds. They gather in rafts of hundreds of birds, very gregarious. They have to run on the water to take flight, sometimes leading one to wonder if they are going to get airborne. Their feet are truly alien looking, and then there is the red eye. Image captured in 2015 at Lake Mirror in Lakeland, Florida. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED, camera and lens supported by a monopod
1/2000 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 800 Auto WB, image captured at 400mm
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2020 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped for composition and presentation

[David Roach]

Beautiful view of that eye, beak and all the rest. Water makes a great BG so down angle works for me. TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Joe, good exposure on the bill & 'shield', although course, the black plumage looks a little odd, perhaps due to the bright light? Did you adjust the eye? The blue works as the backdrop.

TFS
Steve

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Joe, good exposure on the bill & 'shield', although course, the black plumage looks a little odd, perhaps due to the bright light? Did you adjust the eye? The blue works as the backdrop.

TFS
Steve

Hi Steve, thanks for viewing and commenting. Nothing done to the eye other than settings for the whole image. I did work on the bill with the adjustment brush, a work in progress as are the blacks in the image. This was shot a long time ago when I stayed out in brighter light than I would now. I will try to smooth the bill, if I think I have it right I will repost.

[Steve Kaluski]

I will try to smooth the bill, if I think I have it right I will repost.

Why Joe, looks about right to me? I meant the plumage is slightly Course, not the bill.

[John Mack]

Nice solid portrait of this coot. Like that blue water background.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Why Joe, looks about right to me? I meant the plumage is slightly Course, not the bill.

Duh... Now I understand... LOL Thanks Steve

[Joseph Przybyla]

Why Joe, looks about right to me? I meant the plumage is slightly Course, not the bill.

Here is a repost with a tad less sharpening.