I hunkered down on the edge of the lake for several hours next to an ice-free patch, hoping for something to fly in. A pair of Hooded Mergansers finally appeared but stayed on the far side of the cove except for literally one minute when they paddled by me within range. Not the quintessential hoodie shot with fully raised crest that I see in my dreams, but I was pleased to get a preening pose of one of my nemesis birds. C&C always appreciated.
D7000, 700mm, ISO 800, 1/2000s @ f/6.3 manual. Lowered tripod.
This is a great image and I can certainly appreciate the patience that you put in to capture it. I'm glad you got your one minute with these guys and were able to share this one with us.
Wonderful positioning down low to get this perspective, and you nailed the exposure and focus. The preening pose isn't something we see in a lot of photos, so it's nice to get it here.
If you are ever back in FL and want to swing this way, we have a small pond with 8 hoodies. I'm sure between the two of us we can get them to go to the middle of the pond, allowing us some (hopefully) stunning photos. :)
Thanks Miguel. I'll take you up on that the next time I come. Yes, what I needed here was a colleague to encourage them to swim over to my side of the cove.
First off congrats on getting this shot of your nemesis. We had a pair here and the only thing I managed are id pics. :(
I really like the preening pose, nice shooting angle, and exposed well.
Well done.
Well done conquering your nemesis, Bill! Exposure looks good, I'm enjoying the preening pose with that sharp yellow eye. Lovely composition and perspective as well.
Hoodie preening, finally
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