Coot on ice

[Steve Kaluski]

Taken late afternoon in the winter sun (or not) on one of the frozen lakes. Really hard not to blow the whites on the crown, any hints & tips grateful :)

Steve
MKIII 500f/4 1/320sec f/7.1 ISO800 (Wimberley head mounted on a skimmer pod)
Cropped, rotated slightly and minor cloning on BG to extend canvas on RHS.
Curves, Levels, Saturation and minor sharpening

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Steve, this is very nice...Like the gold light on the front of the bird, red eye, and the sharpness of the feet really makes them stand out even more. Nice reflection too, and the BG is complimentary. I am not sure what colour the bill and frontal shield are meant to be on this species, so wouldnt know if they are a bit blown out or not?? Also not sure how much canvas you added on the RHS but it does seem as if there is a vertical strip of BG that doesn't quite line up with the rest? For me it would be fine cropped a bit from the RHS anyway
Super shot
Cheers
Grant

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Grant, bottom corner, abour 8mm going up in a fine pinnacle half way up...opps see what you mean:o:o:o

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Grant, bottom corner, abour 8mm going up in a fine pinnacle half way up...opps see what you mean:o:o:o

Very sloppy, I think this is what should have been posted.

Thanks again.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

This is really nice. I have come to really like images on ice. It adds a certain quality of reflected light, shows the feet, which are really interesting on the coots, and often gives a very clean BG.

I don't think there is any magic on the bone white bill/shield. Hope for the softest possible light, do a selection on those areas and run a blend mode such as multiply or linear burn.

Overall, the exposure here is very good, shows the darker details well.

Cheers


Randy

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

I really like the pose given by the bird, very elegant to me. I actually love the side lighting here, I think it fits the pose well. Also nice low angle as well. I might tone down the bright part of the legs just a tiny bit.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

One more thought. Although it would cause a bit more of a square crop, if it were mine, I would consider a crop down from the top, to slightly below your signature line.

Cheers

Randy

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Guys, wished I had paid more attention in the first place when posting instead of having lunch. :D

Thanks Randy, I tend to use linear & exposure as a mask, but just curious what methods people use here as it's great to get new info & techniques. :cheers:

Steve

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Steve, looks pretty good now...repost rocks
cheers
Grant

[Steve Kaluski]

Randy think the suggested crop works well if I have interpreted it correctly. I also added a grad from the top too. Not always happy about using too many gimmicks or reposts, but...

Cheers Grant.

Steve

[denise ippolito]

Steve, I really like the pose and the lighting. The golden tones on the breast are nice. I like the original crop better.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Beautiful image, all said above.. I loved the feel here too...

[Troy Lim]

Love it Steve, love seeing the feet, they are big.

[Jim Fenton]

I have nothing other to say that It's serene, stunning lighting, great pose and I love it :)

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, feet, lighting and ice in this beautiful image. Well done!

[Danny J Brown]

Steve,

I think this is one of the most stunning photographs I have seen on BPN in awhile. Color, exposure, composition, sharpness.....everything is amazing. My jaw dropped when I opened this image up. If there was a magazine calledCoot Enthusiast this would be on the cover.:)

DB

[Harshad Barve]

great light and excellent techs , Excellent image
TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks everyone, I really do appreciate the feedback and any comments in improvements that I can do.

Hi Danny, I'm not too sure how to reply to your feedback, as I am rather humbled by it, considering the great postings that appear on this section, however I thank you for the very generous words, very much appreciated and valued. :cheers:

Thank you.
Steve

[Joey Lounsbury]

Awesome detail! The white on the front of its head really stands out. Its feet almost look like snake skin!

[Ilija Dukovski]

You've got perfect pose, incredible greenish color on otherwise black bird, and, and
visible feet:). OK there is one specular dot at the bottom(easy to correct), but this image is among the best I've seen on this species. Congrats!