Harlequin Drake from Barnegat

I photographed this Harlequin Drake at Barnegat in Dec on a cloudy morning.

The light was tricky and I had hard time separating the beak of the drake from the BG.

Also I am still not sure if I got exposure right so here I am to know if I can get the overall details by doing anything differently.

C&C welcome.

EXIF

Aperture-priority AE
Camera - Canon EOS 7D
Exposure - 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture - f/5.6
Focal Length - 500 mm
ISO Speed - 400
Exposure Bias - +1/3 EV
Flash - Off, Did not fire
Date and Time - 2011:12:04 09:00:05

Attachment 107118

Excellent IQ, exposure, and detail!

A bit tight in the frame for my taste. Would like to see more room at top, bottom, and left,
and could possibly go with a bit less room on the right if needed.

Thanks Mike...I too wasn't sure if this is the best composition...will try and see if this improves with your suggested changes.

Sachin:

I think you did a good job exposing this fellow, with good detail in the darker feathers and most of the whites. The softer light helped here.

Nice look back pose, mussel encrusted perch and BG.

You might be able to do some localized contrast work on the bill to help it pop a bit more from the BG. The colors are so similar that it is a bit of a challenge.

Cheers

Randy

Sachin,

Excellent details and pose.

May be flash might have helped a little bit in providing bit of separation in between subject and background. You can under expose the ambient light and compensate with flash from the front.

Sid thanks for the comment and suggestion. I agree that flash could have helped in this situation but I do not like using flash personally..I only consider it using when shooting song birds in shadows

A beautiful bird, nicely posed with good eye contact and interesting colors. And it's sharp. My only suggestion would be to add a bit more canvass above the bird if possible.

I am OK with the composition. Very tough situation with the bill but still looks fine to me. I think the exposure looks good,
Gail

That is a Handsome bird!
Another vote for a looser crop.
The exposure does look nice in what looks like flat light.
Nice details.

Hello there.
I think you did a wonderful job on exposing this beauty. The detail is excellent, love the perch, and pose. Great comp too.
Well done.

Sachin

this is indeed a great image and give a thank to the cloudy day that you have got chance to expose this .. Superb work mate.

I've come back to this image a few times now - I really like the pose and HA, not to mention the great detail you have caught including the whites (which I am envious of how well you did with it) as well as in the legs & feet. It does feel a little bit cramped, and I would also like to see just a bit more room, especially at the top and on the left. Otherwise, very well done!
(And I am looknig forward to seeing this image again when I get home from work and can view it on a better balanced monitor!)