Surf Scoter

[Sharif Uddin]

Hi everyone,

Taken last weekend. Around the same time as the northern pintail image I had posted before (late morning). I usually see a lot of them on the surf, but hardly ever in a calm lagoon. So I was very excited to have this opportunity. Earlier in the morning would have been better... May be next time..

I removed a silhouette of another duck from the top left. Increase warmth and selectively added black points on the bird. Also reduced highlights on the whites. The original was slightly overexposed because I wanted to get details on the black.

Processed with C1 Pro 2021, PS CC. NR with Neat Image.


Nikon D850 500mm PF
1/4000s f/5.6 ISO 800
HH

PS. image posting from Flickr. The instructions say the thumbnails should be visible. But for some reason I don't see it. Sorry about that.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51848124792_807cac416e_h.jpg

[Dorian Anderson]

I think this looks good, Sharif. The deep charcoal black on this species does make a tough exposure, so well done on keeping the details/texture on the white forehead. Low angle is excellent, and the bow wave adds a slight sense of motion. I would move the bird
right in the frame; he's too centered as is and need more room into which to look/swim. Moving the underexposed rear potion of the duck towards the periphery will also help us focus on the better exposed head. It's virtually impossible to photo this bird without some areas being underexposed. I've seen people try to life the shadows too much, and the result is awful because the bird looks washed-out compared to how they appear in the wild. You avoided that here, so that's good!

[Sharif Uddin]

Hi Dorian, thank you for your suggestions. Here is a re-crop of the image.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sharif .... very well controlled exposure and good to see all the details in the whole tonal range .
Well captured and well processed ... great job :cheers::5
RP looks better , albeit slightly ... I would have excepted the OP as well .

TFS Andreas

[Arthur Morris]

I love this species and the wonderful low perspective here. I love the black blacks and the rest of the bird as well. If it were mine, I would do some bill clean-up as it is a bloody muddy mess.

with love, artie