Final Red-necked Phalarope

[Dorian Anderson]

You didn't think you were gonna get out of this series without a headshot, did you? It's not perfect on the sharpness front, but this is a species which is rarely - if ever - presented this close-up.

I just like how our attention goes straight to the namesake red neck.

This is a female (recall female phalaropes are more brightly colored than males).

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX2
1/2500 at f/7.1, ISO 800
Processed in PR without trickery. Did raise exp on dark beak a bit and drop exp on white through a bit.

187228

[Bill Dix]

Such a beautiful bird, and this does indeed capture that lovely neck. Sharpness looks pretty good to me, just falling off a bit in a few areas. Water and background are delicious. My only problem is that you've included so much of the bird I sort of want to see the whole bird, or less of her. Although I'm not a big fan of square(ish) crops, I wonder what it would look like to take some off the right and left sides.

[David Roach]

The soft light, the water/wake, the BG, all killer. Did i mention the details and colors, so sweet. You found a way to have a big finale on a killer series... TFS

[dankearl]

I think a 4 X 5 vertical shot of just the neck and head would work better.
I also want to see the whole bird in this frame.

[John Mack]

A nice portrait here. Perfect head angle and pose. Lovely color in the water. Like the ripples in the water as well.

[Robert Kimbrell]

Well done Dorian. The colors and sharpness look great. The calm water texture is stunning as well as the fade into the background. Exposure on the whites looks nice. I would also take some off the right.

[Brian Sump]

Super quality shot as usual Dorian. Bill said it best in that the amount of the bird you portrayed here doesn't quite fit the framing. Further I would add, it's so hard not to want the whole bird after all the beauties you've posted. So, I'll keep it objective as though I haven't seen those and say just a crop tweak should work.

Oh, and probably that out the two small flecks in the water just in front of the bow wake.

Curious if you used DNAI on the bird (I usually do) and if so, how much? The smoothing near the beak and cheek area as well as chest going along toward the back maybe appear a tad over refined. I will say, however, I've never seen this bird in person so it may just be the bird.

Well done!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Sweet! I only see these guys (or gals) every 4-5 years, and only during fall migration (and usually only one or two individuals) so this is a treat to the eyes to see in all her glorious colours! I can see what the others feel a bout the crop, and I agree, in my case I wish for a bit tighter crop from behind , but this certainly does not diminish the impact of this beauty.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely details and colours but I don't like the tail being chopped off, it makes me think great close up but too close for the lens used.

[Dorian Anderson]

Thanks! All the thoughts/ideas are appreciated. Here is the an alternate, 8x10 crop. I was resistant to try this because of resolution issues, but I think it looks decent......

187249

[dankearl]

Looks great.
This is the internet but I bet it looks good on any monitor.
You can do a lot with sharp photos and you post sharp photos.

[Dorian Anderson]

And since some wanter to see the whole bird, here's an adjacent frame (I clipped the reflection in the frame I used for the headshot). A bit tight, but I can live with it.....

187250

[Dorian Anderson]

Looks great.
This is the internet but I bet it looks good on any monitor.
You can do a lot with sharp photos and you post sharp photos.

Cheers, appreciate it!