I created this image last Saturday morning. I sat on icy snow partially hidden beside a tree for over an hour waiting for some wary Hooded Mergansers and Goldeneyes to move closer to me.
This fast swimming drake came the closest so I managed to get a couple of images. I hope that the HAP will be pleased with this one. ;)
It was my first outing with my new BushHawk 320. While it'll take some getting used to I feel it will be worth the effort.
Canon Rebel XT, Sigma 50-500mm @ 500 on BushHawk, ISO 400, F8.0, 1/2000 sec, with Fill Flash. Cropped to about 40% of full frame. Some selective sharpening (too much?) on the head. I would have liked some more detail in the head whites but the sun was very bright that morning.
I like it Stephen I think you were trying to get the eye sharp and kept sharpening the head area !!! Those guys you need to selectively work on the eye For some reason always looks funny Nothing on your part It is a very sharp image
Good exposure on the whites, Very good head angle and not bad on the dark feathers Just a little blocked on the wing area but very nice !!! Would also crop some from the top and just a tad from the bottom !!!
Nice image, Stephen. That's a pretty impressive bow wave this guy is pushing. It sounds like your mergansers are as wild as ours in MN - not like those tame birds at Vierra Wetlands. Nits about the eye and cropping suggestions have been mentioned above.
Thank you Al, Jim and Steve for the comments and suggestions. Here's a re-worked very which I hope is an improvement. Hopefully I'll learn better technique to deal with this "sharp eye" challenge.
The look of wariness on the Merganser is typical of what we normally see up here :-) You looked at ease with the bushHawk on Sunday...nice piece of equipment!
Hooded Merganser Drake
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