A LITTLE MERGANSER ACTION

[gary ellwein]

Nikon D3s, Nikkor 200-400mm, f9.0, 1/800, iso 400. PS levels, mild dodge of dark heads, mild burn of whites and usm. I have a sequence of images which caught the brief action. I'll post some of the sequence in the next few days. C & C appreciated.

Gary

[Tom Redd]

Interesting action shot, Gary. Is there 3 birds in this photo? Nice and sharp. I would like to see the series to be able to see what all is going on.

[wendell westfall]

Gary, I like the exposure and I like action shots -- the roiling water, etc --, and I think I know what is going on, but I'm not sure. For instance, the tiny water-splash that shows as a white mark on the main bird's left forehead looked at first like an eye to me. A bit more confusing than I'd like, I'm afraid. Look forward to the others.

[gary ellwein]

Interesting action shot, Gary. Is there 3 birds in this photo? Nice and sharp. I would like to see the series to be able to see what all is going on.

Tom, thanks for the look. There are definitely three in this image. Subsequent images contain four. These guys were part of a gang of six that were actively feeding.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Gary, this one is a little problematic for me - too hard to tell what's going on. The crop seems claustrophobic to me, would love to see some space all around to give more context. Technically decent, but with the D3s I would have upped the ISO for more shutter speed in a heartbeat. The brightest white patches are very hot, with a lot of pixels at 253 and 254. Looking forward to seeing some of the others, hoping they separate a little bit.

[gary ellwein]

Hi Gary, this one is a little problematic for me - too hard to tell what's going on. The crop seems claustrophobic to me, would love to see some space all around to give more context. Technically decent, but with the D3s I would have upped the ISO for more shutter speed in a heartbeat. The brightest white patches are very hot, with a lot of pixels at 253 and 254. Looking forward to seeing some of the others, hoping they separate a little bit.

Kerry, agree with all above. I thought the bill over bill was of interest, but not very clear. I must have bradycardia ( slow heart rate ). This action unexpectedly happened in a matter of a few seconds. I look forward to the day when I have enough experience and familiarity with the camera to make split second adjustments on the fly. Currently I'm at the pace of a preflight check list. I think the next image is better.

Gary