Dusky Moorhen

[Paul Davey]

Dusky Moorhen - Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Australia (VIC).

Very tame on the escarpment circling a side of the main pond in the gardens. I shifted below the rock wall on the pond so I could rest the camera on the grass for this "extreme" eye-level photograph. The moorhens occasionally opened their beaks after commencing pecking the grass, I was lucky to get this bird at such a nice angle.

I began my family-based holiday in Australia earlier in March, staying for two and a half weeks across the south west of WA and spending last weekend in Melbourne. This was the first time I had flown. Many new birds were seen, although time and tolerance for photography was limited. This Dusky Moorhen was one of my best avian images created during the trip - or at least I think. ;)

Fujifilm Finepix S5600, Manual Mode
1/1600 sec, ISO 200, f/3.6, flash, 10x optical zoom at 380mm
Cropped slightly from bottom-right corner to enhance composure. Scaled down to "800" pixels (width) with the GIMP image editor. I know it probably needs straightened (horizon is tilted).

Thanks for looking, and all comments are welcome!

Paul

[Gus Cobos]

Hey Paul,
Love your exposure, would have prefered to have the bird off center on the frame...:D

[Alfred Forns]

I like it a lot Paul !!! The low angle is great and love the open beak with all so sharp !!!!

Would like more room around the bird since it feels tight in frame The virtual legs are actually clipped The bird stands out well from the dark bg would try getting some detail on the dark bottom Not sure if would introduce much noise? Do like the feel Looks like you had a great trip !!!

[Robert O'Toole]

Like the low angle and the colors are great. Alfred mentioned some good points.

Robert

[Nonda Surratt]

I also really like this image, the pose the colors are super! Ditto on Alfred.

[Paul Davey]

Thank you all, for taking the time to comment. Definitely yes, the compo is quite bad. It was a spur of the moment photograph and I have trouble with remembering some things like basic composition when I get "overexcited" with such close and "easy" photographic opportunities.

BTW, I think the flash has given my bird an "artificial" eye? I see a bit of purple-violet in the catchlight.

Paul