Red Breasted Merganser

[jfranciskay]

Watching these little beauties do their mating dance was a real treat. They dip their neck way down, then hold it it way up high. This is one of three who were competing for the lady. Taken in Gloucester, MA.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4457723809_731ee26561_o.jpg

Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Lens: 500.0 mm
Focal Length: 700.0mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/640
ISO equiv: 200

[Rodney Flowers]

Placement of the subject in the frame is good. The whites look like they are overexposed. You may be able to recover some detail if you are using the Adobe camera raw converter. It would also be nice if the head were angled a little more towards the camera IMO.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Good-looking specimen and sharpness. I wish the head were angled toward you and the angle less steep. I would desaturate the eye a bit and agree that negative EC would have helped with the whites.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I agree with the boys about the whites and the HA. I would also get rid of the two highlights directly underneath the bill. I love the 'do! It must have been pretty cool to observe the mating rituals of these guys...did you capture any to show?