Surf Scoter

[Jean-Luc Vaillant]

Could not find happiness in my shots against the typical blue background so I tried to go way low and catch white clouds in the reflection. I think I prefer a higher key neutral bg for this bird and am curious to get other opinions. Shooting with the 2x I had no choice but to place the neck at the center so the bird is a little further left than I would have liked.

JLuc

1D4, 500+2x, manual 1/800s @ f11, ISO 800, rotated -1.3 degree

[Randy Stout]

Jean-Luc:

Nice low angle, good angle in frame, good job holding the whites.

I would remove the faint lower catchlight, I think it will increase the apparent sharpness of the pupil.

I agree with your choice to go with a more neutral background, plays very well here and gives good separation from the background.

Cheers

Randy

[Levina de Ruijter]

I'm no expert, but I think this is a wonderful image: nice blacks and great colours on the bill. I like the 'beams' on the bird. And of course a great low angle. The grey-ish background works well for me. Only thing I wonder about is the blue waterdrops on the bird. I'm thinking that maybe with the neutral surroundings those blue drops are a bit of an anomaly? I may be dead wrong here though. Just a thought I had, looking at the image. But really lovely, Jean-Luc.

[Herb Houghton]

I like the light BG. The bird pops very well in contrast to it. Nice detail and colors.

[Arthur Morris]

Love the angle to the bird and the soft light.

Where?