COMMON GOLDENEYE

[gary ellwein]

Nikon D3s, Nikkor 600mm, 1.4TC, f8, 1/640, iso 360, manual, matrix, tripod. Clear, mid Dec., Snake River, southeast Idaho. PP, my initial attempt at implementing Nik Color Efex Pro 4. I used the tonal contrast, white neutralization, detail extractor and fog. In the past, I have been frustrated by this duck. Getting a reasonable image of this species on a clear day is new to me. For starters my initial image was close, but the whites were border line at best. After processing, the back of the neck remains hot, but the rest of the whites look pretty good to my eye. C & C appreciated appreciated.

Gary

[Joel Eade]

Gary,

I love the look bacl pose and the eye is killer. Looks like you were fighting with relatively harsh light and I agree about the neck looking like the whites are too hot but I did not check in PP.

I would consider a version with some cropped off the left and top.

Good work,

Joel

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Gary,

This is a beautiful subject lets start with the composition would move out of the center of the frame and take some off the top. The negative space at the top can pull the eye off the reason for the picture in the first place. What was the tripod setup.

Exposure, not sure why you are using such a low ISO especially with a Nikon kit, I would raise it for a faster shutter even with a tripod. The whites are alright as you know always expose for them first and everything else will fall into place. For shots like this the tripod technique is critical have you seen the James thread in the education forum on this topic - nice read and it helped me.

On balance this is a nice picture and a beautiful duck. I like the way you work your subjects and the reward is a great find like this. The Common Goldeneye is so stunning, thanks for sharing.

[gary ellwein]

Jeff and Joel, thanks for the look. Jeff, my tripod is a Gitzo carbon fiber GT3530LS with a Wimberley head. For this image I was tucked down among the rocks along the river. I was sitting as low as possible in order to eliminate my silhouette. I also use a Quik-Camo throw over blind. The ducks were drifting with the currenting and I let them come to me. I try to dampen lens vibration by making contact with the camera with my eyebrow. With my left thumb as an anchor on the head, I press up a bit on the lens with my fingers.

Jeff, my New Years resolution will be to use a higher iso. Thanks for your participation in this forum.

A repost with the recommended crop. I like it.

Gary

[nancy hazen]

I like the angle and how you brought out the colors of the head, Gary. It was good to hear about your technique. I am working on ways to get lower shots of waterfowl.
Very nice image.
Nancy

[pat lillich]

gorgeous picture Gary, I really like the 2nd crop, definitely pulls your eye to the bird!