Tide pools...

Harlequin Duck in the tide pools at the Needles, Oregon coast.
BG are starfish and sea anemones..
D500, 500pf, f5.6, 1/1000, iso320
Harlbp3.jpg

Duck looks good ,Ha could be better and some harsh light which you handled well. Kelp is neat and different. Just wish the background wasn't so busy. It is what we get and nothing you can do about it. TFS

Sharp and a nice pose but much too contrasty for my taste and the BKGR is quite distracting.

with love, arite

Ditto Artie, duck is great, a bit over-sharpned / contrasty to my eye, perch with the seaweed is also nice and unique the contrasty busy BG, not so much....

TFS

I do love that kelp/boulder perch but the BG is soooo busy that it takes away from the gorgeous male.
Gail

Nice perch and subject...however, the whites look hot on my monitor and I agree the BG is very busy and distracts.

Dan, Harlequins are one of the most impressive waterfowl species IMO. I have no images of them unfortunately.

For me, this one has too many shortcomings. The pose and composition are strong, but as mentioned, too much contrast and for me the whites appear far more greyed out (and a tinge of blue) than they should, specifically in the white bands on the chest. Bkg isn't ideal to isolate the subject but it is quite pretty in and of itself.

One day I'll make frames of this stud.

Nothing like a good view of a drake harlequin. I do like the framing and the setting. Agree exposure need to come down.