Red-breasted Merganser (female).

[Daniel Cadieux]

This species, and the Common Merganser, is quite skittish and spooks very easily up here and it is often difficult to get within 100 yards of them. On those rare times that some come close it is a treat to see and photograph. For this image I was tucked in between some large rocks along a jetty that goes down into the Ottawa River. I was calling in some Horned Grebes when this one and a female Common Merganser swam by. They were at first unaware of my presence but their acute perception of their surroundings got the best of them and they spotted me...that was the end of that opportunity! AT least the Horne Grebes stuck around. Here you can see the a strand of river weed strung along its body...

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/640s., f/5.6, ISO 800, natural light, handheld, cropped for composition left and bottom.

[Enrique Patino]

I like it Daniel.

I notice that you are using your 1.4TC often. I have stopped using mine because I lose IQ most of the time... Only under certain circumstances I find it acceptable... but you have the 500mm f/4 II and I have version I. Do you use the 1.4TC III or II?

enrique

[Alan Murphy]

Beautiful image Daniel.

[arash_hazeghi]

love the low angle, pose and details! well done Dan!

[gail bisson]

I like the soft light in this image and the ethereal quality .
Love the way the foreground merges with the BG.
IQ excellent as always.
I really like all the space you have left around the merganser and the little pop of green adds a little unexpected twist,
Gail

[Ágúst Svavar]

this species is quite common here and they are very skittish and its not an easy job to get close enough for a good shot.
I really like the exposure and IQ.. beautiful image

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks everyone!

Enrique, I use the version III and see no visible loss of IQ. I'd be surprised to see any huge loss of IQ with the other versions too combined with this lens (either versions). Have you done any micro adjustments with your gear?

[Enrique Patino]

Enrique, I use the version III and see no visible loss of IQ. I'd be surprised to see any huge loss of IQ with the other versions too combined with this lens (either versions). Have you done any micro adjustments with your gear?

Yes, I have done micro adjustments Daniel. I should do that again. How often do you do it?

I do see a slight loos of IQ with the TC version II and the 500 I, but not all the time - I cant predict when or why, so I only use it if I have to. I do see more chromatic aberration with the TC than w/o under certain light conditions... but this is for another thread... ;)

[Loi Nguyen]

Daniel, I like the soft light and pastel colors. Excellent low POV and details. Well done. Loi

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Stunning Daniel, great IQ you managed to get here. I like the cool colours and soft light, nicely done.

[Doug Brown]

Love the soft light and gray water/BG. For me the green river weed makes the image.

To Enrique, the 1.4x (II or III) should barely be noticeable optically when paired with either the 500 I or 500 II. I've never had to microadjust any combination of lens and teleconverter, much less have to do it more than once. I'd be interested to see a 100% RAW file crop of a frame with the focus issue you describe; include your EXIF data too. Maybe you could start a thread on the Photography Gear forum.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Beautiful. Congrats on getting her nice and close

[Enrique Patino]

To Enrique, the 1.4x (II or III) should barely be noticeable optically when paired with either the 500 I or 500 II. I've never had to microadjust any combination of lens and teleconverter, much less have to do it more than once. I'd be interested to see a 100% RAW file crop of a frame with the focus issue you describe; include your EXIF data too. Maybe you could start a thread on the Photography Gear forum.

Thanks Doug. I will try to do that this weekend

cheers,

enrique

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, love the low shooting angle, together with the dead straight looking ahead pose. The colours on the head and bill pop nicely against the grey BG, and I would just take a bit off the top.

[Dan Busby]

This would be beautiful printed, framed and hung on a wall! Love the simplicity.