Too bad about the head angles; but it was fun watching the antics of these RB Mergansers going through their courtship routine in the windy channel off Barnegat jetty last Sunday.
Bill: Well, maybe the head angles we usually talk about aren't there, but the raised head and open bills do help. Neat natural history images, like her hairdo, the wave action. I would try to pull a little more detail out of the whites on the males necks. The numbers are ok now but I wonder if they were originally a bit hot?
Lovely capture Bill! Such cool birds to work with.
I don't think the head angles are something to be concerned about here. Main issue for me is the high shoting angle, shooting distance to the birds and therefore the small distinction between foreground and background. Despite that I like this as a behavioural shot. It really shows the habitat and the interaction between these birds. You got a nice light and comp too! I do think the image is lacking some finer details though and the highlights seem bright.
It is a good behavioral image, but artistically not as successful. Did you work on the birds selectively? It seems the water should be more contrasty in comparison to the mergansers (or they, less). I'll bet is was fun watching, as despite my critique it is a fun image!
Nice action but perhaps the contrast is a little high, the blacks are dense and the whites a little bright. Having said that if the feathers are wet/soaked then there would be little detail to be had.
Thank you all. Yes, the birds are too contrasty. I reduced the contrast globally in RAW, and then reduced it some more on just the birds in PS, but the whites and blacks are still a bit stark.
Flirtation on the High Seas
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