Black Scoter riding a wave

Went down to Barnegat Lighthouse in New Jersey to try and do some waterfowl flight photography as there are very few places in or around New York City that present decent opportunities. There were the least numbers of waterfowl there that I have ever seen. I literally had one bird fly close to the jetty other than the Harlequins that are always at the base of the jetty. Very close to sundown 4 Black Scoters finally drifted in off of the ocean and got close enough to photograph. This was from the very end of the jetty. Water was choppy so I waited to get one of the males at eye level as it rode the wave. Tide was high and the end of the jetty was more wet than I would have preferred but it is really the only place there to get these birds at or near eye level. Photo taken a few minutes before sundown.

Canon 1DX ii + 500 f4 ii and 1.4x iii. F8, ISO 1250, SS 1/3200. Processed with DPP 4.7 and PS

Isaac:

I like the wave effect, bow wake up onto the breast, the patch of bright yellow to add a bit of pop, good eye contact, and the hint of the leg/foot through the water.

Sounds like difficult conditions, in a place I understand to be a bit of a challenge at all times!

Cheers

Randy

Nice bird. Nice wave. Neat how you can see the feet in the water. Love that blue water.

Hi Isaac, good angled swimming pose into the frame. Well exposed on the dark plumage, and I like the 'surfing' behaviour. The blacks of the Scoter against the rich blues of the water work well together. The timing of capturing the wave on the breast takes this over the top.

I like the bow wave, the pop of yellow against the blacks and the partially visible foot.
Nice to see him riding the front side of the wave and good POV.
I find the blacks along the sides rather blocked- too bad the sun angle wasn't a bit better.
For some reason, The specular highlight (x3) over the foot draw my eye away. I would clone those out.
Gail
PS. I just read the previous critiques and I seem to have repeated Randy's comments! Sorry about the repetition!

Gail, the waves were breaking towards the jetty. I have plenty of shots of the scoters as they swam parallel to the jetty and they are perfectly lit but when they swam towards the jetty and over the waves the light was a touch off. This one showed the action the best at the cost of the back of the bird being too dark. The shots where the sides are on the perfect sun angle are just a bit on the boring side. Funny you mention the highlights I literally never even think about them or think about removing them also. Guess I need to start thinking about them. :bg3:

Nice Image. I like the waves of water.

Any reason why you shot this at f/8 rather than wide open at f/5.6 ?

Thanks
Krishna

This one does have more interest than just another duck in the water; love the way he's acting like a surfing scoter. Good looking water and great look at the yellow knob. I also noticed the blacks, but understand your explanation. You were taking your life in your hands, venturing to the end of the jetty at high tide in choppy conditions.

That spot is another "bucket list" to visit once I get more time to travel away from the family:S3:. I love the richness of the blues. The water arching around the breast is too cool.

Krishna the duck was pretty close. I wanted to make sure that I had enough depth of field to keep the bird in focus, especially since it was angled a bit.

Dan, Barnegat can be really good or really bad as well. The Harlequin Ducks are always there and allow close approach, but are usually well below eye level and it is really hard to get a quality shot of them.

Bill, it was a little dodgy out there but not terrible. Would have been far worse if it was icy. I bought these cleat type things that I attach to the bottom of my boots. They work really well and provide for a bunch more traction that just the bottoms of your shoes.
See the link https://www.amazon.com/STABILicers-O...A33TBMAWGCISEI

Thank you Isaac for the details.

Cool looking frame Isaac. Love the surfing pose and the nice details in the blacks. He looks great against that vivid blue water. Well done