Hen Hooded Merganser

[Neil Nourse]

Taken about two months ago. This was on a very small beaver pond on the edge of a field. She had 10 young with her and I never was able to get enough DOF to get them all in focus..Splayed tripod on top of the beaver dam. Does the merged duckling ruin it? About 90% of FF. MarkIII, 700mm, ISO 1600, f/10 @ 1/800. LR 5 / CS6 cloned out one dark reed, NR on BG and sharpened.

Thanks for looking....Neil

[dankearl]

I think the OOF youngsters add to the scene.
Very nice close up, sharp, nice DOF, a very nice Merganser photo.

[Tim King]

Neil, it's picture perfect. Wouldn't change a thing. Fine job.

[MohsenVahedipour]

Great details, light & shooting angle. Lovely hair style. Agree about the positive effect of OOF birds, But with that the right OOF bird did not merge with the main subject. Maybe a little CW rotation it needs?

[gail bisson]

Lovely details in the hen. The raised crest and the reflection in the eye really make this shot.
I like the OOF chicks but agree that it would have been nicer to not have the merge of baby and mom's back.
You could easily clone him out if it bothered you enough.
I think this needs a touch of CW rotation.
Gail

[Girish Prahalad]

lovely low angle. the raised crest is really superb. agree with others on CW rotation.
details are good but looks a bit over sharpened to me.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I personally like the OOF chicks, both of them. I love the "small pond" feel to the image. I agree with CW rotation, and I could see a version with more canvas left and above (if you have it). The fully erect hood is very neat!

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely image and story to this one. The chicks work although I'd prefer just the one on the left b/c of the merge. Agree on some CW rotation. You have great details on momma and a lovely BG.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Neil, good low perspective, and I too like the raised crest of mom. Another vote for maybe removing youngster behind mom, and to some CW rotation.

[vishaljadhav]

The hood looks neat, i love all in the image
may be the CW but i love it as presented

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot.
I really like the head angle, excellent details, terrific shooting angle, and great comp.
I think the oof chicks really add to the image.
Very well done.

[Neil Nourse]

Thanks for looking all the comments.
Looking again I do think it needs a little rotation. I am leaning on keeping both ducklings, a lot of you liked it, and that's the way I remember it.

[Grace Scalzo]

I love it, Neil. Tells a nice story.

[Shawn Zierman]

Low angle rocks. The "feel" to the image, with the large in frame, alert hen in front giving the sense of protection is excellent. The other thing I consider when I look at an image like this, is when was the last time I saw an image like this of this species....it's been a spell since I've seen one this good. For me, everything works well here except the need for some clock wise rotation.

[Jim Crosswell]

Great image Neil! I like the low angle, hairdo, OOF chicks, BG, IQ and composition.