SYTYCD!

[gail bisson]

So you think you can dance!(Reality dance contest in Canada and States)
This lovely little female red breasted merganser did something I have never seen before. She did the usual dunking of the head during her bath and when she should have done the wing flap she started sashaying ( sp? is that even a word?) to the left for a good 10 feet then moved sideways to the right for about the same distance before settling down. There were no males nearby and nothing threatening her. Has anyone else seen this and what does it mean?
Shot was taken about 5 minutes before the sun rose above the raised bank.
ISO 800 SS 1/800 f 6.3 cropped by 30% to 70% FF
1DMKIV F 600mm and 1.4XIII
PP :NR, levels, dodged the left side of face and DE to duck at 2%.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail
PS I do have more room on the left. Should I use it to create more of a pano?

[D. Robert Franz]

Some great action here. You could go with more room on the left with the position on the head and it would work just fine....

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent and interesting pose and nice water splash around the bird Gail.
I spend many days and many hours per day at Burlington Bay.
I have come to the conclusion that waterbirds do these kind of things just for fun.

[PhilCook]

Interesting timing, lots of action, light was a little poor sadly. Tough call on making it wider...show us and we'll decide

[laurie golden]

Gail,

I have seen this behavior with snow geese - just thought it was part of the bathing ritual. I agree with Phil - show us a pano, I love them so would like to see it. I also might take some off of the bottom.

[Diane Miller]

Great catch and perfect light and DOF!

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the action and water drops part that tell part of the story, I'm undecided about the pose a bit, I wish the eye was visible a bit better to make a connection with the viewer. IMO this kind of shot works better when the wings are open and the neck is stretched forward.

TFS

[David Salem]

Cool shot Gail. Looks like she is fully engrossed in her bath. Funny you mentioned this behavior because I saw a similar display from an Egyptian goose the other day. I think its a sign of good health, as is rousing, and feeling spunky as they are bathing. This goose was going crazy and doing the side way shuffle too. Fun capture! TFS

[Frank Schauf]

Great timing, great action.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Great timing Gail, love the action. The exposure is spot on. If it were mine I think I would make it a little more pano.

[Diane Miller]

Good point about the eye -- it would be easy to brighten that area (keeping the contrast up as needed) with an adjustment layer masked to the center of the face with a very feathered edge.

It seems to be a corollary of Murphy's Law that the most important area of a picture is also the area of lowest contrast.

[Bill Dix]

Great action, Gail. I'm inclined to agree with Karl that their antics are sometimes just for the sheer joy of it. The other day I watched a Merganser drake acting similarly strange -- different moves but same effect. I'll post that momentarily. On this, I'd try a little more on the left to emphasize the direction, and a slivver off the bottom. And brightening the eye and catchlight is worth a try although it might just get lost among the water drops. In any event, a good catch.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, I can just see this girl 'jivving' left and right, and just love the sideways pose you managed to capture. Of course, the flying droplets add. I can see a bit off the bottom, and a little off the right. That should sort your comp out just fine.