We have a small group of these birds on the local marine lake at the moment. These pesky sawbills are tricky to get close to but are slowly getting more accustomed to people after there extended residence. The lake is used for wind surfing and has wooden landing stages so I decided to go an lie down on one amongst the gull and cormorant guano and a thick layer of frost to try and get a few photos at water level. It was a very long wait before one came close. Not an idea light direction as it was coming straight down the lake from the left and made it tricky to get the green tinge on the black head.
Taken with 7D with 500mm lens with 1.4TC at ISO400 F7.1 and +0.6EV at 1/1000.
Looks like your long wait paid off, Richard! Good sharpness, nice head angle, and a beautiful background. I like the way the light is striking the bird, though his head had to be turned just right for this to work out. I would be tempted to move the bird lower in the frame. Well done.
You handled what was really a poor light angle quite well. Had the light been from the right you would have been famous for sure :) This species has been pretty much of a nemesis for me :( :)
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,
Red-breasted Merganser
Reply With Quote
