Red-Breasted Merganser

[James Salywoda]

Red-breasted Merganser
Southern California

These are quick flying ducks that winter here locally as they can be seen diving underwater as they hunt for bait fish.

Nikon D300S AFS 600 F4
1/2000 F6.3 ISO 800

Thanks For Looking

Jim

[arash_hazeghi]

Awesome Jim, love the pose and details! great shot as always!

[Kerry Perkins]

Beautiful image James, very nicely done. These birds are quite a challenge and you did a fantastic job.

[Jeroen Stel]

Outstanding flight shot with wonderful details. Over here you could not even get close to these birds because they are so nervous...
well done!

greetings,

Jeroen Stel

[gail bisson]

Another winner. IQ is superb and I like the downward wing stroke. I like the water droplets on the chest as well. No nits from me,
Gail

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jim, excellent flying posture, and just love the seemingly concentration in the eyes. I like the overall detail too, especially the top view of the near wing.

[Bill Dix]

Great low flight shot, with excellent down-wing position and flight angle. Probably my eyes since no one else has mentioned it, but it doesn't seem quite as sharp as many of your flight shots - if it were mine I might either add a tiny bit more USM or go to the eye doctor.

[Marina Scarr]

Killer flight shot, James, as always. Love the down position of the wings. I think the head needs a tad more sharpening. I first thought my eyes were bad but then when I saw Bill's post above, I decided maybe it did need a touch of sharpening.

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent flight shot, James. Love the wing position and flight angle.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

James, the wing position is what makes this so good. perfect freeze and great angle. proximity to water with the reflection visible also makes a big difference.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I have looked at many in flight shots recently and thought well they can't get much better... but now I have seen this. This is first class photography the image is one to be proud of.

[Gary Esman]

Great capture of this bullet! Love the detail in the near wing.

Gary.

[denise ippolito]

Sweet James, great detail and wing position.

[Ishmeet Sahni]

A brilliant capture. I too think a round of sharpening is required. There is a hint of a reflection in the water,
is that it or is there a complete reflection??

[James Salywoda]

I agree a touch more sharpening did indeed improve it as when I downsized for web it lost some of its sharpness.....

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[Ofer Levy]

Beautiful light, colours and pose. Repost looks sharper. IQ and noise on the bird indicate a serious crop or is it the way the D300s handles iso 500..?

[Manjeet & Yograj Jadeja]

killer image

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Another great flight pose and shooting angle. I love how you are capturing the curl of the wing tips. A little NR and you are good to go James.