Hoodie Wingflap

Probably not low enough for the theme. I lay on my stomach on a viewing deck, probably several feet above waterline, for so long that my neck was aching and my underparts freezing against the cold concrete. I thought I wouldn't be able to get up. But it took what seemed like hours for this little Hooded Merganser to come withing range and give me a decent wingflap. He's a species that I've always had difficulty getting close to, so I was determined to capture him. A little noisy on the underwing but I didn't want to be aggressive with the NR.

D500, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 3200, 1/2000s @ f/7.1 manual. Fill @ -2.0. 1600 px wide.

I can relate - I got the same general symptoms waiting for an unusual winter duck here this weekend (but lying on ice)! Good wingflap, low angle, habitat in the BG. Details seem to be lost, perhaps due to resizing, many of us will have to re-adjust final output sharpening for web at these new sizes :-)

Thanks Daniel. The OP was sharpened to the point where it was looking crunchy in PS. Here's a repost that looked even more oversharpened. Better? It is taking some adjustment to get used to the larger size.

Overall the image looks good for the high ISO. You've gotten a lot closer than i have with these guys.

Good one, Bill. Very nice POV even though a few more minutes and you might have frozen to the deck. Good thing he flapped when he did. Original post is better than the over sharpened repost on my monitor.

Geoffrey




https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

Nice one, especially for ISO 3200 Bill. The pose is excellent IMHO. Sharpening looked OK on the original but having seen the repost, I think it is an improvement, particularly around the eye and the fine black feathers on the head. I think you are using Neat Image for NR? If so, a little more on the wing should help. I often combine it with the inbuilt sharpening tool in Neat Image at the same time to effectively treat noise while preserving or even enhancing detail. The rest looks really well handled, especially for a difficult black and white subject like this with the right amount of detail left in the blacks and whites without making them look washed out or murky respectively. Lovely setting and composition too.

I might have given up a little s/s and aperture to reduce the ISO at this capture. Looks pretty good for this challenging photography day. The re-post looks sharper to my eye, especially the eye area. Well done

Thanks everyone.