Wintering Common Loon molted into breeding plumage

[Michael Moore]

Photographed at Indian River Inlet in Delaware on rough seas. Canon 7D mk II, Canon 100-400 mk II, Canon 1.4X mk III. Handheld at f/8.0, 1/1600 sec, ISO 800. Comments and critiques welcome. Cropped with some removal of a few white winter plumage feathers remaining around eye.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the white feathers behind the head giving this individual an aged and distinguished wise loon look. Well exposed for the blacks, and I really like the green feathers on the neck. Looks like the loon was rocked sideways by a wave? The fine detail seems lacking, not sure how much of a crop you had here. I also see purple-ish colour cast on the loon's back and sides.

[arash_hazeghi]

Good points by Dan above, I also wish the light was less harsh here

TFS

[Michael Moore]

Thanks guys. I like the way the loon was rocked by the waves. Makes the composition more dynamic for me. Handheld in nearly 40 knot winds I think sacrificed some of the fine detail, but I might be able to coax some more out by redoing post. I do not see much of the purple cast on my monitor but I am not using my color calibrated monitor right now. Will look into that. Any specific suggestions for improving the image as it is are welcome. Anyway to tame the harsh light (other than getting out of bed earlier!)? Thanks again.

[arash_hazeghi]

There is no way to tame that harsh light, you need to shoot when the sun is behind you if you want a great photograph :)

[Michael Moore]

Thanks very much for your comments. It really helps to see the photo through someone else's eyes.