Another shot that has been on ice for a while - except this Ptarmigan, photographed in Svalbard a few years back, had been on the rocks for a while and managed to get his ragged winter plumage a bit dirty! He had just been preening and ruffled his feathers for me. That combined with the soft light off to the side means there is a lot of shadow within the plumage - I think, to good effect. Photographed at about half an hour after midnight.
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, EF 500 f/4L IS, 2.0 Extender Mk III for 1000mm
1/800 sec at f/13, ISO 640
DPP 4 followed by PS5 with Levels, Curves, light Dfine for NR
Hi Gerald - Beautiful feather detail. That after midnight light in Svalbard can be special and it worked its magic here. Like Marina, I would prefer to see this a bit wider with the entire bird included or room for it if the rocks blocked it.
The crop is neither here nor there for me. Smaller in the frame or a tighter shot would be an improvement.
Great light too, as mentioned.
Thanks for sharing Gerald!
I agree with you that the side lighting is very nice.
Love the earthy color palette.
I have to agree with the others on the comp. You need to go looser to include the virtual feel or tighter to get rid of the obstructing rocks.
Gail
Hi everyone and thanks very much for your comments and suggestions. I guess, I became so fixated on the feathers, I forgot about the feet!I do have other shots with the feet / virtual feet, but unfortunately they don't have the same ruffle of the feathers.Such is photography!Attached as a repost is a tighter crop - I'm not entirely sure that it works and I feel it is missing the nice background. Not what I had in mind as a shot.Any thoughts?Best wishes, Gerald
Theme: Rock Ptarmigan - also available in white!
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