Not my style!

[Grace Scalzo]

Rarely do I enjoy a tight portrait of a bird. Maybe making an exception with this close up of a Steller's Eider from Barrow, Alaska this past June. These normally wary ducks seemed to replace their fear with curiousity when I entered their little pond and just hung out with them for a while. I find them to have such interesting and unusual plumage.

1/2500, f8, ISO 800 (Late into the evening!)
Canon 1dx, 600f4

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Grace, same here, I find it difficult to do very tight portrait of birds, but when an opportunity presents itself, who could resist? Very nie light and perfect exposure of the back and white. I'm not sold on the crop though. may be go tighter so that the body isn't cut off in half. Loi

[Ross Taylor]

Hi Grace, Love the bird and IQ! Vertical placement in the frame, with thin band OOF at bottom and little wake in front is very nice:) I feel this image can be brought up a notch if the horizontal crop had a little less bird on the right, and a little more water on the left.

TFS-Ross

[D. Robert Franz]

Great looking bird photographed in excellent light. Composed well. Love it!

[keith mitchell]

Some lovely feather detail which is nicely exposed ,agree with the above about the crop ,these really are beautiful ducks.

Keith.

[annmpacheco]

Hats off to you Grace, I'd be tickled to have such a superb image as this. What a beauty, well done. I looked and enjoyed every color and texture, such a clean detailed portrait.

[Mike Poole]

Nigh on perfect details throughout which is no mean feat with this colouration. I agree with the crop suggestions already mentioned.

Mike

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Amazing details, spot on exposure. I like your comp choice and shooting angle. As far as tight portraits go, it can't get any better than this imo.

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks for your comments and thoughts on comp. I got fixated on that curved blue feather and didn't want to cut that up as I think it adds an element of interest.