I've taken a lot of photos of preening birds, very few of which seem to work out well. I think this one is more aesthetically pleasing and works pretty well but I'd like to hear the opinions of others. Thanks in advance.
Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED + TC-14E II
420mm (630mm equivalent), f/7.1, 1/1250, ISO 800, manual exposure
That's a lovely shot isn't it? Great colour and detail.
I think if it were mine I might move the bird up in the frame a little as the reflection looks a bit more interesting than the plain water above.
Also maybe bring that lovely eye out a little more and perhaps sharpen the overall image a bit more to really make those water droplets and crest feathers pop out.
Hi Paul. It took me several days this past week to get a couple of decent pictures of these birds in any posture, so I'm doubly impressed that you got a nice preening shot. They swam away anytime I got close. Excellent catch! I think there are a few hot pixels, but the the techs generally look fine. I'd be tempted to tighten up the crop a bit, but not sure.
Last edited by Ian Cassell; 03-31-2013 at 01:27 PM.
I like to watch birds preening, and take shots of them doing so, but when I get home and view them on my computer, the interest usually isn't there anymore, unless it's an unusually funny pose. I guess that's why they stress eye contact. It does help to make a connection with the viewer. That said, I like your photo for the behavioral aspect. That's somewhat of a contortionist pose and like the tones in it.
Paul, here's a repost with a brightened eye and a bit more sharpening. I never brightened an eye before, so this was a bit different for me.
Ian, I'm going to have to chew on that cropping a bit. I like both, so now I just have to figure out which one I like more. Decisions, decisions. I was at Barnegat Sat. afternoon and what I found was that if I approached slowly and got down on the rocks (often laying on my belly), they get over their initial nervousness and often drift back in. I got some of my best Red-breasted Merganser shots yesterday.
Jeannean, I agree that most of the behavioral aspect disappears with my preening shots. It seems that you really need just the right pose, so it ends up being a bit of spray and pray. Often the best shots don't really show the bird in its actual preening movement. When will somebody teach these things how to be more cooperative?
I wish I'd known you were going to Barnegat. I flew back to Phoenix out of Philly on Saturday afternoon and considered driving back up on Saturday morning, but decided not to (it's about a half hour from my house in Mystic Islands). Would have been nice to meet. I was there a big hunk of Friday afternoon. Disappointed by lack of Harlequins, but happy with the Mergansers and Long Tailed Ducks. I posted a drake Merganser up in Avian.
Last edited by Ian Cassell; 03-31-2013 at 09:19 PM.
Ian, I didn't even arrive at Barnegat until 5:00 on Saturday so we would have missed each other anyway. There were still over a dozen Harlequins around when I was there, but I was amazed at how the loons disappeared. I saw only one. I did reasonably well with Harlequins, especially one posing female, several Red-breasted Mergansers, and a Dunlin perched high up on a rock. It was a relief to get out with good light. With all the clouds we've been having this winter, I feel like I've been transported to the Pacific Northwest!
This is a wonderful and very interesting image with a pleasing pose. Even without eye contact, the eye is clearly visible. I really like the inclusion of the entire reflection on your second post -- it gives the reflection a chance to end comfortably before the bottom of the frame instead of being almost cut off. When something touches the edge of the frame it creates a tension point that pulls the eye from where it should be.
I don't think so much is needed on the top. I'd consider a crop halfway to the birds head, but definitely enough to get rid of the darker areas very near the top edge.
Preening Red-breasted Merganser
Posting Permissions
