Still traveling...well sort of stuck a few extra days because of the snow. Here is another processed only laptop. One of my favorite ducks to shoot are Hooded Mergansers. This drake gave me a nice flyby. Unfortunately the BG was large boulders so it gave a bit of an uneven BG color. I still like it, just wish he flew by the brown natural grass instead.
Sony A1
200-600mm
1.4 TC
shot art 840mm
1/8000 at f/9
ISO 3200
12-29-2022, 06:53 PM
Joseph Przybyla
Hi Kurt, looks good to me. Beautiful bird, nice wing position... I like the background, still enough separation for a nice softness. Thank you for sharing.
12-30-2022, 07:49 AM
Jonathan Ashton
Very nicely focused, pleasing colours and I like the background, fascinating ducks I was photographing them yesterday.
12-30-2022, 12:14 PM
Steve Kaluski
Nice flight shot Kurt, exposure also appears good, just not a fan of the dark grey areas (boulders?) under the bird, slight distracting. A simple fix which would give a continuity to the BKG and more emphasis on the subject.
TFS
Steve
12-30-2022, 06:49 PM
Dorian Anderson
This is almost there, Kurt. The action is great, but I think you went overkill on the shutter; I think 1/4000 at ISO 1600 woulda served you better as details aren't as crisp as your last HOME frame. Did you do some recovery on the white hood? There's so blue fringing coming where it meets the black. Might also be a bit hot. I think the BG is pretty cool, just enough color and texture to be interesting.
12-31-2022, 09:32 AM
Daniel Cadieux
BG is what it is, but the merganser gave you a great fly-by here and so that is where my attention is. Nice wings-down pose. As posted it looks like it may need a touch more sharpening for the fine details? Could be my tired eyes this morning though. I would also remove the white spot under the foot. Good stuff though, and have a great 2023!!
12-31-2022, 05:03 PM
Brian Sump
A banger Kurt.
I am in the minority but I like the bkg here. The transitions in the rocks are just subtle enough for me and the mottling helps the stripes on the ducks plumage stand out.
Great light and flight angle. I do feel like you could push sharpening some on your larger monitor.