Surf Scoter with catch

Nikon D70s 1/3200 f2.8 190 ISO400

This was taken last week at Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach, CA, around 8:30 AM. The light was pretty good. It is only slightly cropped. I played with it a bit but could not bring out detail in the blacks any better, so it ends up being presented "as is" out of the camera. I took many shots that morning, but this is the best one. I keep thinking it could be improved (particularly with the black colors). I'd appreciate any and all criticism and suggestions.
Thanks,
Wendell

Hi Wendell Will take a crack at it when I get home

Tough bird to expose You got the whites almost over with no detail in blacks I see artifacts in the water? Is this out of the camera?

Yes, Al, I think the artifacts are out of the camera. But frankly, I'm a bit confused as to what artifacts are; I've had no "formal" training. I don't recall doing anything to the image but cropping it. I hope I'm right on this. I had no idea I'd be posting it, but in the future I'll be careful to make a note of anything I do to change things. So, is there anything I can do to improve the blacks -- or the whites?

how much did you crop
did you capture in RAW or JPEG

I captured in jpg and cropped about 50%, that is, I eliminated about half of the original image.

Wendell In the current jpeg form I don't think much can be done

I would try shooting in RAW Does make a difference Also try getting data in the fifth box of the camera histogram Will insure the best image quality Cropping half the image could lead to some quality loss

Also pay attention to your camera settings. With the ones you posted you could have shot at ISO 100-200 (and still have plenty shutter speed) to give better noise performance with your D70s...thus making such cropping less detrimental to your image. I'm afraid the blacks are a little too dark to make satisfying corrections, especially in the face area. Some fill-flash at the point of capture would have been beneficial.

Thanks to Al and Daniel . . . I will try RAW -- again -- after having given up on it recently after only two shoots. (I thought it was particularly helpful for pros only, but if I could have used it to improve a shot like this, I'll give it another try.) And I'll drop the ISO down next time in those lighting conditions. This is the kind of advice I hoped to get . . .