Harlequin drake

[Bill Dix]

D90; 80-400 VR @ 340mm. ISO 400. f/7.1 @ 1/200s. Matrix metering @ -0.7 EV. HH. 65% of original size.

Barnegat last Friday afternoon. The filtered sun from earlier in the afternoon was disappearing behind dark cloud cover about the time I took this, thus the low SS. But maybe this helped keep the dynamic range within control. I might have wished for a few things here (slight head-turn, webbed feet showing, etc.) but I was pleased to get a harlequin image with some texture to the bird. C&C always appreciated.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Soft light can make quite a difference with this species. Exposure control and eye contact look good. I don't know your sharpening routine but it could go a bit sharper for my taste, especially in the darker parts of the plumage.

[Stu Bowie]

Bill, Good exposure on both the light and darker plumage. I like the detail and colours, and the droplets add to the image. I agree with your self critique regarding a better HA.

[Bill Dix]

Soft light can make quite a difference with this species. Exposure control and eye contact look good. I don't know your sharpening routine but it could go a bit sharper for my taste, especially in the darker parts of the plumage.

Thanks Axel. I normally use Artie's recommended workflow, sharpening the jpeg after saving for web, using 3 passes of USM at 125/0.4/0, 100/0.2/0, 100/0.2/0, checking it at 100% size to make sure I'm not oversharpening. I may have been a bit timid here, because it does look a bit soft, and I always seem to lose just a bit when uploading to BPN. Thanks for looking.

[denise ippolito]

Bill, I like the pose and the details look good to me. I agree a slight head turn would be nice but this is not an easy shot to get. Congrats! Nice coloring on the bird. Do wish the water was a nicer color-but...

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Stuart and Denise. I agree about the water color. I thought about trying to change it in PP, but decided to leave it as is. The sky had turned pretty grey by the time he perched where I wanted him (and even then, he didn't select the best rock).

[Justin Reznick]

The harlequin looks fantastic Bill. In a perfect world I would like to see a a more interesting environment, perhaps lit with some golden hour light. Great capture of a gorgeous bird!