Crow! Crow! I'm over here...

[David Stephens]

Crow! Crow! I'm over here. by dcstep, on Flickr

Camera	Canon EOS 7D
Exposure	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture	f/9.0
Focal Length	700 mm
ISO Speed	400

I was under my throw-over blind with the 500mm f/4L IS, the 1.4x TC and the 7D mounted on the tripod, shooting mainly waders and diving ducks when this guy strolled up. Soon, I couldn't fit him in the viewfinder. Here's one right before he got too close. I cropped only to use the square format.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Very nice IQ, the detail looks very good and exp looks almost spot on...Loss of some detail around the face, but not easy with all black birds so i think you have done well. Crop is very tight in front of the bird and by the tail. HA is just a touch behind where it should be (but not bad). Level looks a touch off though almost like he is walking up hill.... TFS David

[David Stephens]

Very nice IQ, the detail looks very good and exp looks almost spot on...Loss of some detail around the face, but not easy with all black birds so i think you have done well. Crop is very tight in front of the bird and by the tail. HA is just a touch behind where it should be (but not bad). Level looks a touch off though almost like he is walking up hill.... TFS David

Thanks for looking and commenting Dumay.

I think that I got the level right, but I see what you're saying. His left foot is turned away from the camera a bit and he hasn't put his full weight on it, then the water wavers in the background give a conflicting signal as to what is truly level. Still, there's no value in being "right" when the viewer sees something else, so I'll experiment with rotation some more.