Eider hen in Iceland

Here's a female eider who was just starting to leave her resting spot to join a few others as they head to the water. Always such interesting habitat in Iceland...

D500

500mmPF

ISO 1600
1/1600
6.3

Beautiful habitat indeed. Good details, comp. I do feel that the blacks could go deeper, but overall pretty appealing image. Good head turn too!

Agree the habitat makes this frame. I do like the pose. The detail looks great in the diffused light.

Great head turn. Lovely Icelandic habitat. Maybe a touch of contrast to the bird could help, but nice just as posted.

Ann, this is almost calming in effect. Beautiful look at the hen in environment.

So glad you got some of the purple flowers mixed in and that grass just cleared her beak.

I too felt it could use a bit of a punch in contrast. I'd take a tad more below if you had it but lovely overall frame!

The rock in front of the bird is a bummer but I feel that this one needs more room below not less as you have cut off the virtual feet and that bugs the heck out of me. In the soft light moving to your right would have paid multiple dividends:

1- it would have eliminated the rock in front of the subject.
2- the bird would have been more parallel to the back of the camera.

That said, you did a good job with the look-back head angle.

Here is an out of the box thought -- getting higher might have been better here, in part to get the horizon line way from the bird's head. There would have been other plusses as well

with love, a

This is lovely. Very soft and ethereal and I love the BG and environment.
Makes me even sadder that we had to cancel Iceland this year....
Agree on darkening the blacks and adding more room below.
Artie's critique is spot on!
Gail