Hooded Merganser (male)

[Raul Quinones]

My first male Hoodie

Canon 40D, 500 f/4, 1.4 TC, tripod
1/1000, F7.1, ISO 320, 700mm

C/C appreciated, Raul

[Mike Lentz]

Such a sweet pose and you did good on pushing the whites to their limit! :)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Congratulations on the first hoodie image. I like the open bill and details and would tone down the highlights a bit more. Does it need a bit CW rotation?

[Juan Aragonés]

Terrific quality Raul. Love that open bill and the neat eye contact. Superb light and great that you got the crest raised. The floating water droplets over the head are a nice bonus!

[Leroy Laverman]

Tough light to keep the tonal range in check. Keeping detail in both the black and white feathers is a challenge in high contrast light. Looks like the details are there but tough to see in the smaller web images. One of my first thoughts was that it needed a rotation as Axel suggested (1-2 degrees CW). I like the crested head feathers and the open beak is a definite plus.

[Doug Brown]

Great open-bill pose, and it's always nice to get these guys with a raised hood. Agree about the slight CW rotation and about the whites, which look a little hot.

[Stu Bowie]

An amazing looking duck. I like the colours in this, and agree a slight CW rotation would be in order. Well captured Raul.

[ChasMcRae]

Nice shot and with all the right things-hood up and bill open with detail.
He does look like he going downhill slightly as others noted.
The whites look a little hot ,but feel like the detail is probably there.
Was he shot in a public or private setting ? Just curious about location.

Chas.

[Raul Quinones]

Was he shot in a public or private setting ? Just curious about location.

Chas.

Charles,
This shot is from Merritt Island NWR.


All,
Thanks for comments and critiques.