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Thread: Waiter, I'll Have the Clams

  1. #1
    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Default Waiter, I'll Have the Clams

    I'm pretty sure this is a Greater Scaup, but breakfast is a total guess; I just liked the title! :p Taken a few weeks ago in Southern California.

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    Canon 1D Mark IV, 600mm + 1.4x, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO 400, manual exposure, hand held
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    Did he actually eat the shellfish?

    His head and chest look a tad dark to me. I like the composition and the effect that the ripples have created.

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    Ah...Great stuff... Nice timing and very good detail and light!

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    Wonderful shot, great detail and composition, I also agree that head and chest are overexposed.

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Doug, exposure looks fine from here. I can clearly see the green sheen of the head, and if anything, you could maybe open the breast area a tad. Great HA to see directly into the beak, and the clam puts this over the top.

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    Exposure looks good to me too, unless you adjust the deeps separately just a smidgen, if you go too far it looks bad and I'm not a fan of that because it looks unrealistic, great catch!

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Martinez View Post
    Did he actually eat the shellfish?
    They swallow these things whole Chris!
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    IOTY Winner 2010 Chris Kotze's Avatar
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    Excellent detail, colours and well exposed.
    Chris Kotze

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    Forum Participant Richard Unsworth's Avatar
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    Hi
    Cant fault this, and it is indeed a Scaup (belly will be white), predominantly feed on Shellfish, notably Blue Mussells!

    Lovely detail and exposure, and to be honest **** right annoying lol:)

    Rich

  10. #10
    Danny J Brown
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    Doug,

    The clam makes a perfect scaup image exceptional. A fine catch! Amazing how they can digest these things. Awesome shot.

    DB

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    BPN Viewer Pieter de Waal's Avatar
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    Hi Doug wonderful light in this image. Exposure looks good to me, particularly like the detail in the open bill and green sheen on the head.

    Interesting that they swallow the whole thing with hard shell as well.

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    Doug, loved the light and the ripples. Excellent exposure. Clam adds a lot too. Yes, it definitely looks like Greater Scaup.

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    Great image and great action. Head shape is perfect for Greater Scaup.

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    Lifetime Member James Salywoda's Avatar
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    Sweet Shot! Your timing could not of been better excellent detail and pose.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Brown View Post
    They swallow these things whole Chris!
    Wow! That's gotta hurt on the way out.

  16. #16
    Rohan Kamath
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    Excellent timing sir. Interesting to know they swallow them whole. Wasn't aware of that.
    The exposure looks fine to me too. The drops on the bird add a nice sense of detail while the calm ripples mellow the image. I really enjoyed both.
    :) :)
    This is a very rare winter species here in India so a treat to see this image.


    -Regards,
    Rohan
    __________________________________________________ _
    Conservation begins at HOME... We CAN make a difference...

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    Perfect timing and great looking pose. The clam is a great touch.:)

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    Wow!!! Perfect timing. Great photography Doug.

  19. #19
    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you all enjoyed the image as much as I did!
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