Spring break has just begun and its off to a good start! This was my first time outing that I used my new flash and it really helped. This was taken at Pine Point in Scarborough, ME; there were six of these long-tails swimming very close to the dock, so luckily I didn't have to use the waders this time. After waiting for them to dive I got in position laying on the dock and as they came up fired away. It was 10:30 by this time and the full sun was creating some horrible shadows, so, using some lobster traps as a blind, I set up my flash and got back in position. The flash did seem to scare them away but I managed to get some shots of the females in the group; the males were to close together. I did blow out the whites a little by the tail but toned them down in photoshop. I also used a trick Art Morris showed on my horned grebe post to restore this bird's iris. Criticism is extremely welcome! Thanks for looking!
Canon 30D - 100-400mm @ 375mm(woops!) - f/8 - 1/400 - ISO100 - fill flash (believe at -2/3, can't find where it is in the exif, on Aperture it says Flash:9 and photoshop says Flash:Fired)
The head looks a bit soft to me too - some selective sharpening on it should remedy that. The rest looks good, and I like the water beeds scattered throughout on the duck. :-)
Ditto the above comments. I have not seen this species before and really love the intense look and the wonderful exposure in this image.. Thanks for sharing Doug.
Long-tailed Duck
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