My first visit to Barnegat this afternoon and bingo!
Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS lens with a 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/8 set manually. One-shot AF and recompose with the central AF sensor.
For a primer on safety while photographing from rock jetties in winter, see tonight's blog post here: www.birdsasart-Blog.com
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Wow, I would love to get a picture of a Harlequin Duck. Great pose! I still have a lot to learn, but I am wondering if maybe it would be better to darken the light white area at top of the photo a little more. Probably not a big deal, but it seems to keep drawing my attention.
Very nice capture here. Wonderful stance and well done.
I am inclined to agree with Rocky and his suggestion to darken the light white area at top of the photo a little more. Easily done with a bit of marque selection, grad. filter adjustment and brush tool on the mask. As here for example -
I like the rocks covered in seaweed, pose, head angle, can't comment on color this monitor is bad..last year I never managed to see one out of the water..have a great time at get-together..wish I was there...
That's one good looking duck Artie! Love the setting. I am happy with the top either way. Regarding the safety aspect on rocks in and around the sea, when I was younger and did a lot of rock fishing off Sydney, wearing metal plates on the soles of my sandals was the minimum safe practice as the plates would cut through the slippery stuff and grab the sandstone. Of course, these kinds of shoes were not good on all rock surfaces. Further south, people would never wear them as there are different rocks and wearing the metal on the soles would be suicidal as they would not help. Maybe there is something that could be implemented to help in your region?
I have a pair of fishing shoes made with thick felt soles. They enable me to navigate the trout rivers and rocky banks effortlessly and safely while fly fishing at our place in MT. Should work fine in that environment as well.
Nice find on the duck. Hope you get another chance at him.
Artie - A nice image of a handsome duck. Glad that you were able to make it to Barnegat and that the harlequins re-appeared for you. I agree with Rodney about toning down the brightness of the BG. Thanks for the primer on jetty safety. Although the jetty rocks at Barnegat are relatively flat, some are indeed extremely slippery, especially beyond the edge of the beach where the jetty is exposed on both sides. Some of the fishermen wear crampons. Thanks for sharing the image, and be safe!
OK, Artie - here's my humble opinion. this is not one of your best images. Obviously it is a species you feel lucky to find, but there are so many things against you. The light looks really flat and doesn't show the bird at its' best, the fault with the BG has been mentioned and, to boot, the shoal under the bird's feet detracts. If you keep at it you might get good at this.:p
How Lucky Can You Get?
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