Goosander Portrait

[Rich Steel]

Hi

A head photo of one the beautiful male goosanders I managed to photograph earlier in the year.



Taken with 1D mk3 and 500mm lens at ISO 400 F5.6 +0.3EV and 1/1250s.

Cheers

Rich

[Arthur Morris]

The sharpness and detail are amazing. The bird's head is turned ever-so-slightly away from you. Would love to see a bit more green in the head. Great EXP control.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great light and details, maybe a slight crop off the top?

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Love the excellent detail and your exposure was right on. thanks for sharing this beauty with us.

[Kim Rollins]

The sharpness and detail are amazing. The bird's head is turned ever-so-slightly away from you. Would love to see a bit more green in the head. Great EXP control.

Are you sure the head is turned slightly away Artie? :confused:

That comment surprised me because I thought it was turned ever-so-slightly toward the camera.

[Kim Rollins]

Rich -

Well done IMO. A bit more green in the head may have been nice. Are they in full breeding color there now?

[Arthur Morris]

Are you sure the head is turned slightly away Artie? :confused:

That comment surprised me because I thought it was turned ever-so-slightly toward the camera.

To me it looks as if the head is away from parallel to the imaging sensor, possibly because the bird itself is angling slightly away. So, with the bird's head on "straight: and the bird angling away, the head cannot be parallel to the imaging sensor.

Anyone else care to comment?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I think the head is slightly turned away, not much, though.

[Sharna Lee]

The catchlight in this birds eye is GORGEOUS!!!! I think too the birds head is slightly turned away but to me it doesnt look bad. The part that I'm impressed with is the exposure. Very nice detail. Good job.

Sharna

[Rich Steel]

Many thanks for the replies. The amount of green on the head really depends on your angle to these birds. I think the head is very slightly turned as I have another shot with the head turned more towasrds the camera. I could post the other shot for comparison if you like?

Cheers

Rich

[Arthur Morris]

Would love to see it. And yes, it depends on your angle and upon light angle.

[Kim Rollins]

I to would like to see the other image for comparison purposes Rich.

Thank you for the offer and again very nice image in OP.

[Rich Steel]

The other shot although the exposure was not as good.



These were actually a very interesting group of birds. Goosanders are normally a complete nightmare to get close to but I herad about this large upland lake in North Wales were they eat the bread that visitors feed the ducks. I was a bit sceptical but turned up with three loaves and instantly had 2 males and 5 females fly up the lake and land in front of me.

Cheers

Rich

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Rich. The head angle is a bit better but it still looks as if the bird is angled away from you a bit. I prefer the reflection in the OP.