Black Scoter

[denise ippolito]

Canon 1D Mark III
500 mm+1.4 ex.
ISO 800
1/1250 sec. at f/ 7.1
Tripod
Barnegat in rough surf.

[Bryan Hix]

Denise, you definitely captured the feeling of a brisk wind here. Exposure looks great except it seems a bit bright on the part where the bill meets the head. It depends on how I move my head angle to my monitor, so could just be me. You can tell for sure through the histogram. :) Have a Happy New Year!

[Jim Buescher]

Great EX on this dark bird and the rough water, nice and sharp also. Did Santa bring you a Mark III:)?

[denise ippolito]

Bryan, Here is a screen shot of the histogram

[denise ippolito]

Great EX on this dark bird and the rough water, nice and sharp also. Did Santa bring you a Mark III:)?

I wish Santa brought me the Mark III !!!!!:) Artie loaned it to me for the day. Which was a nice surprise.

[Bryan Hix]

Maybe I need to lower my chair. ;) Seriously, it annoys me that if I slouch or sit up straight, it effects the brightness a lot. Have to rely on the histogram and not eyeball it.

[Arthur Morris]

Maybe I need to lower my chair. ;) Seriously, it annoys me that if I slouch or sit up straight, it effects the brightness a lot. Have to rely on the histogram and not eyeball it.

Here's a tip. When you get in place to work on images or to critique on BPN, adjust the angle of the screen until the calibration strip looks just right and you can differentiate the tones in the right-hand white squares and the left hand dark squares. Lots of folks have been missing that fine point lately. We need to do that every time as there is no way to adjust brightness on an LCD monitor.

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Denise - I've been loving all of the Barnegat shots of late! Looks like you were out there on a rough day. Oh, and I like your scoter image a lot, by the way. Exposure looks just right and the waves make for an exciting shot. I too, had a "wow, Denise got a Mark III - I'm jealous" moment.

[Arthur Morris]

Denise outdid me on this species (and probably a few others that day). Just getting the bird in the frame much less sharp was a major accomplishment. On my last blog post I wrote that it was like "bobbing for scoters.'

The funny thing about this species is that the bills look orange to me at all times, but the photographs made in the sun show them more as yellow. Images created in the shade show the bill as orange. Weird-oh!

[Dan Walker]

Nice one Denise. I like the eye contact, texture on the water and the windblown feathers. Good exp.

[denise ippolito]

Thankyou all for the comments. Much appreciated.
Danny, I will probably buy a used Mark III once the new ones come out and everybody wants to ditch their old ones.:)
Artie, Must have been the expensive camera I was using.:) Which BTW thankyou it was fun to use. I agree about the bills.
Dan, I liked the windblown feathers also.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Denise, good exposure on the darker plumage, and nice and sharp too. The water looks pretty rough - hope he didnt get sea sick. I like the wind swept tail. Well captured.

[Peter Farrell]

Beautiful wind blown bird and water. I have a time getting perched birds this sharp.
Happy New Year
Peter

[Ryan Schain]

Hi Denise.

I wouldn't change a single thing about this image. I love the sharpness, eye and feather detail, and the wind blown feathers. These are not easy birds to properly expose and locking the focus in rough chop isn't an easy task. Great job :).

[denise ippolito]

Stuart, Peter and Ryan-Thankyou all for your comments.Much appreciated.

[Rich Steel]

Hi Denise

Beautifully exposed photo of a bird that I have never seen any more of than a black speck on the horizon. Interesting to see what one looks like up close. We have hundreds in the local Bay over the winter but they never come anywhere near shore. I suppose one day I should try and charter a boat to get out amongst them. The rough water really adds to the setting.

Cheers

Rich

[denise ippolito]

Rich, Thanks-This is the closest I have been able to get. They have been hanging by the jetty and 3 days in a row, I can't get another shot off.