Hooded Merganser

[Steve Maxson]

A photo from last year taken from a blind on a small woodland pond. This female hooded merganser had been diving for food and came up sporting a vegetation necklace. 40D, 500 f/4 + 1.4X, 1/200, f/6.3, ISO 400. Comments are welcome.

[Tony Whitehead]

Lovely soft light and colour palette. Great low angle and sharp focus. I think this would work as a pano cropping off the top.

[Mike Milicia]

Great soft light and excellent detail!

Might take bit of the top and right.
Don't see any vegetation necklace here :confused:

[Steve Maxson]

Great soft light and excellent detail!

Might take bit of the top and right.
Don't see any vegetation necklace here :confused:

Hi Mike. Maybe I should call it more of a shoulder wrap - the color does blend in with the plumage. :)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great angle, soft light, details and eye contact. Another vote for a crop off the top.

[Doug Brown]

I like how the hood feathers appear to be backlit. The pose and eye contact are great; I might lighten the iris a bit. I agree with the suggestion to crop a little off the top.

[Stu Bowie]

Excellent low angle, sharp, with good detail, and just love that crest behind the head. Well captured.

[Marina Scarr]

Hi Steve:

You have a very pleasing capture here. The composition and crop work well. You got nice and low. You have wonderful details, and the water droplets on the bird is a huge plus. Congratulations.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Nice species, lovely soft light, great detail, colors and BG. Congratulations!