Harlequin Duck

[gail bisson]

The Harlequin duck has been a nemesis bird for me to photograph well.
I went for a hike on the Louisbourg Lighthouse Trail (gorgeous scenery) and discovered a small flock of harlequins near the cobble beach.
The surf was wild and would lift the ducks up to eye level from my vantage point on an outcrop of rocks.
Canon 1 DX 3, 600mm v.3 and 1.4 x v.3
ISO 1600 SS 1/1250 f 6.3
Crop to 16 x 9 so ~ 70%FF
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gail .... nicely timed shot when the duck floated on a small wave .
Cool overall colors and tones .
Comp works well with the " small in the frame " context .

TFS Andreas

[Kurt Bowman]

Very nice frame Gail. I like how he's lifted on a wave. The complimentary water color is nice too. As Andreas said, nice timing!

[Bill Dix]

Love the way you caught him on the crest of the beautiful frothy wave. Lovely small-in-frame shot.

[dankearl]

This is a bit dull for me.. they are a difficult subject, always in close surf swimming away..light was not the best but shooting angle is nice and low, I like the ocean..

[Jonathan Ashton]

Nice shot Gail I like the ocean and the composition. The colours look a little awry for me - a tad cold, I checked the colour balance , I think it is a little out (??)

[Dorian Anderson]

I think the wide crop works well here because there subject is riding too low to carry the frame without the inclusion of the ocean/habitat. The underwater foot is fun, and the eye contact is great.

[arash_hazeghi]

I like this frame, you got a nice head turn and soft light. I am not seeing a whole lot of detail on the bird, maybe it's because it is small in the frame. If mine I'd crop it tighter and get rid of the white OOF foam in the FG if the quality holds

TFS