Red-necked Phalarope

[Geoff Malosh]

Hi folks -- I've been lurking as a non-member around here for awhile and finally decided to join and post some images. Been a birder for 26 years (since I was 8) and photographing since 2003. So I might as well just start with one of my favorites, a female Red-necked Phalarope which appeared for a day in May 2008 at a small pond near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Having spent so many years as a birder before I ever picked up a camera, it's always doubly satisfying to make good images of a local rarity. For this one, it only took an hour of laying down face-first in the grass for the bird to swim up to me...

28 May 2008
Canon 20D
500mm f/4L + 1.4x
1/1250 sec. at f/7.1 (Av -2/3)
ISO 200
Evaluative metering
tripod mounted level to ground

Any comments appreciated. Thanks all.

[Harshad Barve]

Big welcome to BPN
lovely image to start with
sharpness and expo looks good with nice BG
why half treat my friend :D, would love to see full bird
TFS

[Geoff Malosh]

Hi and thanks. Half bird because it was so close, a large portion of the tail end of the bird was cut off in the original frame anyway. I cropped it into a vertical from a horizontal original. I'll post another of the whole, same bird in the next few days.

Geoff

[Harshad Barve]

Hi and thanks. Half bird because it was so close, a large portion of the tail end of the bird was cut off in the original frame anyway. I cropped it into a vertical from a horizontal original. I'll post another of the whole, same bird in the next few days.

Geoff

Looking forward to see

[John Chardine]

Very nice portrait Geoff, and a big welcome to BPN. I like the light here and you have controlled the exposure well and "held" the whites. The bird is quite tight in the frame so I would recrop to give more space or make canvas on top and to the right. Although the eye is very prominent here, it would make for a more interesting image if the bird had its head rotated CW a little so that it's looking towards rather than away from you.

Interesting to know that these birds migrate up the middle of the continent in spring. I work on them in the Bay of Fundy when they move south in the fall.

[Dan O'Leary]

Welcome to BPN - you are off to a good start! Beautiful bird well photographed. I like the portrait presentation but I think you have cropped it a bit tight. I would open it up to the right / bottom / top.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Welcome to BPN, Geoff! Very nice first post and great find. I like the composition and exposure control and wish for a bit more head turn toward you. If it were mine I would remove the second catchlight. Keep them coming!

I found a red-necked phalarope in a local pond a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as cooperative as your bird.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Welcome aboard. Excellent excellent shot. I like vertical tight portraits a lot. What a beautiful bird..seen the wilson's one....but never this one. very rare in Dallas. I think one round of sharpening will improve it further.

KD