Eurasian Coot

[KK Hui]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6388718839_882ea5102d_b.jpg
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra

An intimate close-up captured this morning under a bright overcast sky ... :S3:

EOS-7D, EF600/4L + EF1.4x
Manual, ISO 500, 1/800, f/7.1

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the dynamic pose and eye contact I would prefer to see more of the near wing but given that it is OOF it may not improve the overall composition. overall the IQ is not great, especially the eye looks soft and the there is no detail in the head blacks or the white forehead it seems like you had to run noise reduction. the chest feathers are good though. TFS

[gail bisson]

Very unusual closeup and full of potential. I wish there was more detail in the blacks. I would also tone down the brightest water droplets on the chest. Fill flash might have helped here. TFS
Gail

[Doug Brown]

The unique pose and crop carry the day for me. I think the eye would look sharper if you ran a little NR on it and made the border between red and black more distinct. FYI, images can be 1024 pixels wide but only 800 high.

[Arthur Morris]

I love the image design as presented. Maintaining focus in situations like this is a huge challenge. I thought that the JPEG could be improved and went about doing just that with a Linear Burn on the bill, a bit of selective NIK Details Extractor, a bit of burning the head, some Eye Doctor work, and a contrast mask....

[Robert Holguin]

Great shot. Really like the closeness, the comp is just wonderful, and great action captured.

And Mr Morris Wow!!! You really took this great shot to the next level. Excellent pp work.

[KK Hui]

1.
... and the there is no detail in the head blacks or the white forehead it seems like you had to run noise reduction. the chest feathers are good though. TFS

... I wish there was more detail in the blacks... TFS Gail
Thanks Arash and Gail for your feedback! I see plenty detail in the dark head/neck areas on my calibrated ( @ 120 cd/m2 ) LCD monitor which might be brighter than yours hence the 'problem'.

2.
... FYI, images can be 1024 pixels wide but only 800 high.
Oops! Sorry, didn't know that. Won't happen again, Doug!

3. Artie - Thanks for your comment and taking the time to re-post!

[Arthur Morris]

Great shot. Really like the closeness, the comp is just wonderful, and great action captured. And Mr Morris Wow!!! You really took this great shot to the next level. Excellent pp work.

Thanks Robert. It is all in Digital Basics (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=252) :S3:.