I don't often see these guys out of the water, so I grabbed this shot when I saw this one!
7D, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/800 ISO 800 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, hand-held no flash
Coot out of the water
I don't often see these guys out of the water, so I grabbed this shot when I saw this one!
7D, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/800 ISO 800 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, hand-held no flash
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
Please visit me on the web at http://kerryperkinsphotography.com
nice one Kerry, a shot I'm always hoping for but have only got in terrible light. The feet look a little over bright, but serve to highlight to me the differences between US and EU versions of these birds.
Really nice detail in the feathers here Kerry. I wonder if the darker head is shadow or a colour/feather structure difference. If it were shadow I might lighten up the head a little. The bills of these birds are tough to render and they often look blown when they aren't technically. As I have mentioned before, this can be caused by natural lack of detail rather than hot pixels.
Nice shot of these usually shy birds. Coots have interesting feet and your shot shows them off nicely. I find the brightness of the beak grabs my attention more then the feet. The exposure of the feet look good to me.
I agree that it is rare to catch these birds out of the water. In a perfect world, I would prefer a frontal view rather than the rear and a more interesting location such as the bird standing on log at the edge of a wetland. Also, I find the crop rather tight all around. Finally, the red eye could be brightened a bit to make it more prominent.
Joe
Hi Kerry. Coots have really amazing feet don't they? I just got my first look/photos of a Coot out of the water last weekend, but my lighting problem was the opposite of yours-it was in full sun. I like the feather detail and the water droplets on the bird's back. Obviously, a little fill flash would have helped here, but you take what you can get!
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Kerry, you get more out of that lens than I thought possible.
Love the droplets on the back as Julie did.
If it were mine, I'd probably brighten the eye, and spending alot of time photographing waterfowl, I think the beak is perfect as John said, and I've seen the feet much brighter actually.
I love mixed warm light shots, direct and shadow so I would not want to lighten any thing and glad you didn't use a flash. Let's us know the time of day.
Great job.
Another thing I might do is lighten the text of your name, great shot, take credit for it up front, as it's hard to see but that's probably a personal choice.
A near-perfect image, Kerry. Among everything else I like it that the background behind the coot's head is lighter than it is below. I would only suggest brightening the eye.
Beautiful detail in the feathers, and a lovely golden light. I just love the feet on these guys. Nicely done.
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