Hooded Merganser

[Gary Esman]

Hello, shot this morning at a local sanctuary. He was diving for fish but never seen him surface with one. I liked the background and clear wake in front on him on this shot, hope you do also.

7D, 700mm, 1/800, iso 400, f/5.6.

Thanks for looking and do appreciate any comments, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Gary.

[Grace Scalzo]

Love this one, Gary. Water patterns are interesting and bold, but the image can take it given the strong colors in the merganser. Your exposure looks great, as does that push in front of him. Only thing I could suggest is a bit more room to the left.

[Jim Crosswell]

Beautiful image Gary! I like the bow wave, water textures and how the eye colour connects with the FG/BG colours.

[Melissa Groo]

Woah, what a feast for the eyes, Gary! I love this! Great depth of field on that bill. The surge of water, the almost psychedelic water, that gorgeous gorgeous bird, all so captivating. Excellent job!

[Randy Stout]

Gary:

Glad you got some light onto this fellow. As I was leaving, there were a few dappled beams on the back pond, but still nothing to really work with. Roughly when did you take this one?

Great exposure, good detail on whites and in the crown and neck area. Excellent DOF. The water is really wild. Bow wake is great.

I tried a version to tone down the luminosity of the brightest areas of the water to help me focus more on the bird. I think it is a slight improvement.

Cheers


Randy

[Josh Clark]

Boy this guy looks familiar Gary. Great wake bow captured in front of him and the swirls of color in the BG of the water add interest as well. I like the head turn as well.

[Brendan Dozier]

This is wonderful, Gary! All been said, beautiful composition, and the water pattern and colors really make it a work of art. Well done!

[Dan Behm]

Gary,
Nice job with an extremely difficult bird to get in some descent light. the water is magical and the waters color really enriches and complement the bird nicely... well done!

[dankearl]

I love that water, just great.
As mentioned, the water surge is nice and the colors are superb.

[Gary Esman]

Love this one, Gary. Water patterns are interesting and bold, but the image can take it given the strong colors in the merganser. Your exposure looks great, as does that push in front of him. Only thing I could suggest is a bit more room to the left.

Thanks Grace, you are correct, it does need more room on the left. I believe I have enough from the original.

Gary.

[Gary Esman]

Gary:

Glad you got some light onto this fellow. As I was leaving, there were a few dappled beams on the back pond, but still nothing to really work with. Roughly when did you take this one?

Great exposure, good detail on whites and in the crown and neck area. Excellent DOF. The water is really wild. Bow wake is great.

I tried a version to tone down the luminosity of the brightest areas of the water to help me focus more on the bird. I think it is a slight improvement.

Cheers


Randy

Thanks Randy, it was taken about 11:15 or so, left there soon after.

Gary.

[Gary Esman]

Thank you everyone for the nice comments and suggestions.

Gary.

[Stu Bowie]

Gary, lots to look at here. Good swimmimg pose, eye contact, and I too like the bow wave. Melissa has the correct term for your water - psycedelic, and I like it. Interesting texture too.

[Jim Buescher]

Wonderful silky water with great reflections. Love the bow wake, he must have been moving pretty good but you nailed the focus with good eye contact and dof.

This guy must have a name by now....