Female Harlequin Duck in Flight

[Paul Guris]

I'm trying to learn how to get relatively consistent flight shots. When I'm walking around areas where I might be doing both flight and still shooting, I always leave my settings for BIF so that I'm ready but I still blow the majority of my shots. This is one of my better efforts. I got this bird at Barnegat Light, NJ. All C&C welcome.

Nikon D90 w/ Nikkor 80-400mm
340mm (510mm equivalent)
-0.67EV, f/8, 1/2000, ISO 800

[denise ippolito]

Paul, Your techs look good. Nice eye contact. I like the rear wing position and the topside view. I wish the front wing were in a better position but this is a great image and you have very good sharpness and details. Looking forward to more.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Paul, good detail, light,sharp and well positioned within the frame. The wing position(sometimes referred to as a pancake position) is not the most desireable but I feel you did handle the image well. If this were mine I might crop a small bit off the top.
I have the 80-400 lense and it's not an easy lense to shoot BIF with...

[Jon Saperia]

Paul, great shot. Can you tell me if this is a recent shot?
/jon

[Paul Guris]

Paul, great shot. Can you tell me if this is a recent shot?
/jon

Thanks all for the comments. I'm sure I'll be going back to try to get more flight shots this winter.

Jon: This was taken last winter, though Harlequins are being seen now. There are also reports of large numbers of Common Eiders, one sub-adult King Eider, a Black-headed Gull, and the usual suspects. Here's a report from this past weekend:

[Jon Saperia]

Thanks very much. Denise Ippolito told me about that location and that January was best. We do have Harlequins on the North Shore of Boston, but I have never seen shots as good as those taken in NJ. They seem to allow you to get in a bit closer - here we have large rocky shores to scale down to get near the surf.

I am going to go in January to Barnegat Light not matter what.

/jon

[Doug Brown]

Eye contact, exposure, and sharpness all look good. I might crop a little off the top and bottom. Wing position has already been discussed.

[Peter Farrell]

Really nice BIF image, especially over the open water. Very good details and I like the lighting.
Peter