Common Moorhen

[Mike Milicia]

EOS-1D Mk III, 500mm f/4L + 1.4x II, 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 800
Manual fill flash at -2
About 70% of Full Frame

Photographed on an overcast evening earlier this week at Great Meadows NWR in Concord, MA.

The Common Moorhen is actually not so common here in Massachusetts.
It's listed by the state as a "Species of Special Concern".

Looking forward to your comments and critiques !

[Doug Brown]

Pretty bird Mike. Nice to get a rarity. You've got eye contact but I wouldn't mind seeing a little more of a profile. Head is nice and sharp, but a little more DOF might have helped with the body (depends on the angle of the body though). I don't mind the habitat at all. Thanks for posting!

[Stephen Stephen]

Mike nice details on the head and I'll agree with Doug about more DOF for the body. I alos like the little blossom floating on the water although some may wish to clone it out.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Guess I'm the odd one out here, but for the most part I've never minded DOF issues if and when the head is nice and sharp (which it is here). To me the white OOF element in the BG where the neck meets the back and the yellowish vertical strip in front of the forehead are bigger distractions. A lower angle, if it was possible, would have hidden that spot and given an even more intimate view (not that it isn't here though!) Love the habitat :-)

[Arthur Morris]

You did well in getting close to one of these in the NE... I am fine with the dof and love the angle and the sharpness of the head. The soft light and the habitat are nice, and the little purple flower is a plus. The whitish area above the head could go...

[Sudhir Shivaram]

The forehead and the beak colour is what I like in these species, and those have got due attention here. The habitat around the bird is nice. There are a few distractions in the background, but am not that bothered about it.