American Coot

[Katie Rupp]

There are always coots here and they aren't the easiest photographic critters what with the black feathers and the ivory beak but they surely are fun to watch. In this image I really like the green water, the red eye and the water drops on his back; not sure about the crop---I wanted to keep the wake and the reflection. Angle of view/sun direction limited due to tall grasses (hence the green water). Comments/critiques encouraged and appreciated!

Canon 40D; Av f5.6, 1/320; Eval +1/3; ISO 640 and 1-400 @400

[Lance Peters]

Hi Katie -- do love the eye and reflection. Exposure looks good - maybe a bit of a hotspot on top of white section of head, multiply would fix if its a problem.

The white refelection lines in the water and across hs back are a little distracting (IMHO).
Something abiut the wake just doesn't look right to me - not sure - maybe it makes him look like he is swimming downhill.

keep then coming :)

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Lady Katie,
There is something funky going on here. I see whitewash vertical streaks all over the image... Possible dirty lens or moisture inside??? You do have a hot spot in the bill. Would also add just a tad of canvas on top to make this a more even pano...:cool:

[Harold Davis]

i think the vertical streaks are a reflection of the bg. i like the reflection, but this image would have been a lot stronger from a lower perspective. would have lost the reflection of the bird, but also the distracting verts as well. as presented, would like to see a little more canvas above the bird. the white beak is hot, guess you could fix in PS. these guys are tough because of the huge contrast of colors. soft light is best!!

i have several sets of chicks at work right now. only wished i wasnt so darn busy!! would love to try to get some of these myself!!

[Alfred Forns]

HI Katie

Tough call on this one, the reflections are doing a number on the image since they detract. Room up top is needed and not sure I would keep the reflection. Need a very strong one to make it work. Exposure wise just need a little detail in the white beak area which is difficult to obtain but the shadow detail is excellent.

Wake wise its like anything else.... if its worth showing ... show it completely !!!!

[Doug Brown]

I'm with Al on this one Katie. I don't think the reflection is strong enough to keep. You got great detail in the blacks at the expense of a small hot spot on the bill that should be easy to fix. I would add some canvas up top and remove the white reflections. Thanks for posting!

[Gus Hallgren]

Hi katie:
Actually love the reflection & wake, more room at the top & hot beak I agree with. If mine would probably make it a Pano & punch it up to bring out the reflection more. :)

Keep em coming

Uncle Gus

BTW: Had the loveliest wet summer in 18 years, Southern AZ is green, green, green!! Hope you got your share?

[Katie Rupp]

Thank you all for your feedback; getting honest critiques really helps the learning process for me. I agree, the beak is hot and the reflection isn't perfect and the crop doesn't fit which is why I hesitated posting it. But I love that moire pattern in that green water so I decided to find out "how it plays." It goes into the file marked: "not for show, but I like it too much to discard!

[Oscar Zangroniz]

I'm in agreement with the adding a little canvas on top of the image and on the hot spots.
Regards,