THE PREEN

[Marina Scarr]

This is the only male Red-breasted Merganser in breeding plumage that I have ever witnessed in the Tampa Bay area. What a stroke of luck that he appeared on one of our beaches for several days and had no problem with our presence. This is my favorite picture b/c of the light, the preen and all of those feathers standing up on his head.


Canon 1D3, Canon 500 & 1.4 @ 700mm
F8, 1/1600sec, ISO 640, manual mode
Feisol Tripod, Jobu Head

C & C always welcomed and much appreciated.

Marina Scarr
Florida Master Naturalist
www.marinascarrphotgraphy.com

[gail bisson]

Your first post as moderator! And a lovely one at that.
I like it for all the reasons you do- the light and the raised crest.
Great comp as well but I could see a sliver taken off the top to just under your name.
It is very nice that he is looking at you while preening-usually they have their eye closed or semi-closed.
Gail

[Dan Busby]

Sweet image Marina! Those oranges really pop. Very nice presentation. Now, a few weeks earlier that very same bird up here would have been heading for the ocean upon first sighting of a photographer! It's not fair -(

[dankearl]

First off, Congrats on your new position, you will be excellent!
First thing that struck about the photo is the DOF, very nice to get the tail sharp at this angle.
The light also is very nice.
The focus though is on the back feathers, the head and chest could be sharpened a tad more I think.

[stuart wanuck]

love it love it!

[Nick Palmieri]

Great pose. Nice light. Congrats on being made a moderator. A well deserved position for you!

[Randy Stout]

Marina:

Again,a big welcome as an Avian Moderator

Lovely colors, exposure, preening pose with excellent head angle.

I would agree with two of the comments: Sliver off the top, and def. some more sharpening on the head, esp the eye, and the breast area.

Cheers

Randy

[Karl Egressy]

Great to have one on the beach posing for you, Marina. It's a real treat.
Great preeding pose captured. I like the light, background and the fine feather details.

[Mike Tracy]

Love the hairdo, light and subject. Not sure additional sharpening on the eye will have a positive effect. It looks more hazy than oof.

[Randy Stout]

Mike:

Interesting observation about the eye. Could the nictitating membrane be closed?

Marina, what does the eye look like under high mag in the raw file?

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

Mike:

Interesting observation about the eye. Could the nictitating membrane be closed?

Marina, what does the eye look like under high mag in the raw file?

Randy

Just looked at the RAW file, and the nictitating membrane is not evident. It almost looks as though it has something to do with the way the light is hitting it. Mike hit it on the head when he said a bit hazy.

This particular duck was injured, at least at one time. If you look at the right side of his chest, you will see an indentation. Straight on it is much more evident. I have a feeling that's why he hung around as long as he did. Maybe he needed to garner some strength for long distance flying.

Thank you all for all of your continued comments, critiques and words of encouragement!

[PhilCook]

hahaha....the thumbnail dragged me in immediately, a classic looking duck, and I hope he has his comb with him and not just be contented with grooming his wings.....very nice Marina

[Troy Lim]

Beautiful looking duck for sure. Well captured.

[arash_hazeghi]

what a handsome merganser, sharp and the sweet light takes it to the top!

[Frank Schauf]

Beautiful shot. Lovely light, eye contact and low angle here.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Excellent shot he looks a real dandy! I love the composition, the pose and the colours, I may be wrong but I suspect the red legs are just a tad over-saturated??

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Marina, love the twisted pose and the curl of the feather being preened. Hairdo looks cool too. The reds of the eye, bill and legs stand out nicely, and agree, a touch more sharpening on the breast area wont harm the image.

[Melissa Groo]

That curve of the neck and body with that look back at you, and the spiky head feathers plus that sweet sweet light, make for an exceptional image, Marina. Of course I love your low angle.
I might desaturate the legs just a tad as they tend to draw my eye down.
A stunner of a portrait!

[Marina Scarr]

I will try a little more sharpening of the head (not the head feathers though) and the chest. As far as the reds, I have already desaturated them and believe it or not, they really are that orange!!!

Thanks again for all of your kinds words and critiques.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Marina,
Yeah....these don't hang around very often so very nice to see! All possible tweaks covered.....so maybe hit the pupil with black to see if that unclouds it?
Congrats on the mod position too!

[Satish Ranadive]

Marina:
What a lovely pose you have captured? Great hair style,lovely colors.Beautiful preening pose with nice head turn.
Rest as usual superb.I like the perfect low shooting angle and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very nice one Marina! love everything about this one. The eye looks good and natural to me. The raised feathers on the head are fantastic.

[Kiran Poonacha]

loved this, cool hairdo Marina... :)

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I remember this beauty! Heck I remember this day and this exact shot and you nailed it girl. My timing was a bit off compared to yours and it made all the difference in where the tail ended up. I like the angle you have as well because you got more eye than I did. Sooo... that being said I'll getcha next year Hee. Awesome image BTW. I love it.