Hooded Merganser

[Steve Zamek]

<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" http:="" www.birdphotographers.net="" forums="" images="" smilies="" redface.gif="" border="0" alt="" title="Embarrassment" smilieid="2" class="inlineimg">I find these birds particularly captivating. They exhibit so much personality with their crest, almost like a dog’s wagging tail. And on this morning a couple weeks ago, this male was displaying by stretching out his neck and occasionally tipping his head back. This image captures the bird preceding one such display, where the neck is extended just a bit.

As is often the case with this bird, both the whites and blacks were clipped in the raw file, which I attempted to bring back as best I could. Still, it remains my favorite of the day because it shows off the bird’s personality a bit better than other shots I came home with.

Canon 40D
500mm + 1.4 TC
ISO 800
AV +2/3 EV
1/1250 sec
f/6.3
</o:smarttagtype>

[Doug Brown]

I like the low angle and the open bill. I wish the eye contact was a little better and that the tail feathers weren't clipped. Regarding the exposure, +2/3 seems like a bit much. I normally go with neutral to slightly negative EC on hoodies.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

A very fine image Steve. Having struggled with this species a lot, I really appreciate it. Loved the sharpness and open beak. agree that its hard to get details in both whites and blacks with these guys. If this were mine, I'd have cropped a little from the bottom as the reflection is a disturbed one.

[Daniel Cadieux]

The HA and clipped tail are the main issues here. Otherwise you captured nice action and behaviour. With the behaviour you describe as having witnessed did you notice a female close-by? With these guys exposing for the whites and letting some fill-flash do its job on the blacks is an option to consider when photographing in bright sunlight.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

The angle, pose, raised crest, open bill and eye contact are very good. If you would have gone to -0.33 or so you could have switched to ISO 400 and the whites would have been fine. It looks as if you could recover them in your RAW file. I might crop a tad off the bottom.

[Caroline Darmo]

Such a great pose on this little dynamo. I love the raised crest and open bill. Toning down the whites would improve it. I love the BG and would crop a little off the bottom.

[Arthur Morris]

I like the low angle and the open bill. I wish the eye contact was a little better and that the tail feathers weren't clipped. Regarding the exposure, +2/3 seems like a bit much. I normally go with neutral to slightly negative EC on hoodies.

I'd surely agree with a 40D or a 50D but not with a MIII and the 7D is a lot more like a MIII than a 50D. That said, the histogram never lies.

I am with you Steve, these guys are great subjects.

[Dan Busby]

Steve - this is one of my favorite birds and this is a great portrait. The soft greenish-yellow background really sets it off. I have never seen a crest as large as this guy's - his head is really big! I agree with cropping a bit from the bottom but love the open, sharp beak, the puffed throat and the water droplets on the neck.

[Raymond Barlow]

very nice image, if you have it, a bit more room all around would help, nice job on the processing with some great suggestions above., the head angle looks fine to me, and the clipped tail is not really noticable., the open beak, and raised hood looks great, with nice details.

[Steve Zamek]

Thank you all for your kind and helpful comments.

I certainly agree that the +2/3 EC was too much. To be honest, I'm not sure where that came from. The conditions were very difficult that day. The birds (3 male and 2 or 3 female) were very active, swimming quickly from bright sun to dark shade. And the reflection on the water varied from bright to dark as well, so I was frantically spinning that EC dial, sometimes losing track of where it was set. I did get some shots that day which were exposed better (also with better head angle and without clipped tail), but the one posted captured my attention more. I'll keep looking for that perfect shot!

The consensus seems to be that the image should be cropped a bit from the bottom. I agree.

Thanks again for the thoughtful comments.