Common Merganser
D90; 80-400 VR @ 370mm. ISO 800. f/7.1 @ 1/4000s. Matrix metering @ -1.7 EV. HH. Pano crop to about 60% of original width.
I've usually found these guys to be very skittish, but last night I was able to get a bit closer then usual. (I wonder if wearing a large hooded sweatshirt with my head and face hidden in the hood helped to act as a sort of blind?) Still not as close as I'd like, but one of my better mergs to date. C&C always appreciated.
Exposure control, sharpness and detail look spot on to me. Killer BG too. Maybe a bit more room at the bottom and a slight CCW rotation.
Water / BG and exposure looks great.
I also like the colors, Comp and eye contact.
Agree with Ofer regarding the CCW rotation.
Lovely photo. Very nice job on the whites and i like the nice pose. I am not sure about the D90, but I do know with the 50D that the lower I can keep the ISO's the more detail I can pick up. It seems to be a bit of a trade on ss and sharpness for ISO and detail for me. Well done. Dave
Nothing to add here except my compliments. Well done.
Well exposed, and I like the sharp detail on the head and beak. Lovely water colours, and agree a little rotation is needed.
Thanks Dave. The D90 usually does OK up to ISO 800, although here I had to run NR twice on the BG. I had been trying (with little success) to catch these guys taking off, but for this swimming shot I probably could have gotten better results at 400. Appreciate the comment.Originally Posted by Dave Leroy
Thank you Ofer, Gal and Stuart for picking up the need for CCW rotation. I hadn't noticed it, but now that I look again he is swimming slightly downhill. I'll fix the master file. With more scrutiny of the image as posted I've also noticed a bit of a halo around the head. I had done some cleanup to the BG in that area, and I think I must have had the clone tool at 50% opacity creating that soft effect. I'll fix that too when I get a chance. I appreciate your comments.
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