Common Merganser in Flight

[gail bisson]

Canon 1DX
F 600mm and 1.4X
ISO 500 SS 1/2000 F 8.0
Small crop to 80% FF, levels, DE to merganser, NR to BG, USM to JPEG
Took this last winter at our local pond. I sat on it because of the head intersecting with the water and snow line but I still like it. Hope you do too.
The mountains in th BG are actually snow covered rocks on a bank about 100 feet away.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, I like this elongated flight pose, together with the full down stroke of the wings. Great exposure overall, especially on the darker plumage on the neck. The droplets add, and Im fine with the intersection of the head and BG.

[Tim Harding]

Great pose, exposure and IQ. The down stroke of the wings just above the water is a great look.

[Grace Scalzo]

Quite an awesome flight shot, Gail. I don't know who made up the rule about the head intersecting the rock, but it doesn't bother me in the least in this frame. Exposure and sharpness are perfect. Only thing I might consider is composing so that the top of the rock in the bg isn't cut off.

[Amol Khedgikar]

What a beautiful capture Gail!

The BG is busy for my taste but totally like it here. I can see why you sat on it... but you definitely shoudnt have.... :)

Its well exposed. The pose is great ad the falling droplets add a lot

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent flight pose as the down and forward wing beat captured so nicely, Gail.

[Alan Murphy]

A stunning frame and so sharp. Wish it was mine Gail.

[Lyle Gruby]

This is incredibly sharp, really nice wing position, great light. I definitely like the frame. I think the problem with the BG is that the dark head is intersecting a white part of it and that the white then turns to a light brown. If your IQ holds up, I sort of experimented with a pano crop where I just cropped out the brown part of the rocks, and I thought it worked very well.

[David Salem]

What a killer frame Gail, great sharpness on the head and those cool looking diver feet. Exposure looks spot on also. I don't mind the intersection to much because the head is so sharp that it sticks out in a 3D kinda way. I like the BG with the snow covered hills, looks like Iceland or Greenland. Very nice work Gail.

[arash_hazeghi]

I love the down wing stroke and how the wing tips are touching the water, great exposure and sharp details. BG is nice and shows the environment

well done

[Daniel Cadieux]

The pose, low angle, IQ are all fantastic. I can see your reservations about the far shoreline skimming across the subject's back and head (I would have too)...but it takes a back seat to an otherwise spectacular image. Glad you processed it (and again, I would have too).

[Bill Dix]

The bird is really wonderful. Sharp, well exposed, with a great flight position. I do like the snow covered rocks, but boy do I wish they were in a slightly different position relative to the bird. I can imagine you're thinking, as I often do, how great it could have been if only...... But I'm glad you posted it to share the pleasure. Lyle has an interesting observation; a quick browser crop to take off some or all of the brown rock does seem to lessen its impact.

[Jim Neiger]

Great image, Gail!

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the wing position, exposure, details, setting, IQ and composition. I think when you like an image you created why not post it. Thanks for sharing this excellent image Gail.