First time I’ve photographed a Hooded Merganser out of the water. I like the setting, but (and I don’t mean to be sexist) wonder if the image would be better if the female were cloned out. I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Canon 7DII(When will Canon come out with the R7!); Sigma 150-600 at 600 mm; 1/1000 at f6.3, -2/3 EV; ISO 1000
You could have a go at it. In almost any other pose, she’d be a nice addition, but she’s sliced, out of focus and facing the other way. He’s protecting her and their relationship and it shows, but I’d like it if she could have posed elsewhere. Silly ducks.
I often see pairs down by the edge of the river doing this same thing. There’s a branch and a rock right there and they take turns sitting on each. No luck getting shots of them though I might be able to stealthily set up the blind nearby. Might need a lot of branch pruning though.
I like having her in the picture. She was there. They are a couple. He is protecting her. While he is the focus; she, at least to me, completes the picture. Speaking of focus, I like it. Nice shot.
I have to agree with @Jim_Gavin on keeping the female in. I think it tells a nice story. I’ve never seen them out of water either, great catch!
What a nice full view shot of the Hooded Merganser, Allen, some good crisp focus and nice marking details right down to the web feet. I think you’ve got a good complimentary balance with the female behind the drake and looking the other way, especially with the complete bill and eye available. They’re a pair she should stay.
I agree with @Kris_Smith about the female (preferring to see only the male). But to clone her out (including her reflection) would be a labour of love! Maybe you can find him alone on another occasion? Great shot of the male.
Wondering… having them as a couple has a certain appeal for sure, and you can see both heads. That said, maybe she’s a little too much OOF for being a real addition. Hope you had some chances of framing them as a couple both in focus. The Drake looks good from the techs, but parts the of the OOF parts (like the far end of the log) look a bit strange, as if heavily toned down, blurred or otherwise worked on - did you do anything different than normal? Just curious 
… Cheers, Hans
Thanks for the comments, @Kris_Smith , @David_Bostock , @Hans_Overduin , @Stephen_Stanton , @Mike_Friel , @Jim_Gavin . Here’s a different shot. Here I did clone out the female, as the only part showing were the tail feathers. I like the drake’s pose in the original over this one. I guess I’d lean towards keeping the hen in as it does tell more of a story.
A fine shot (not the same image is it?) A very different story on this one, compared to the original post, the Merganser looks lonely.
When I try to answer questions like this, I always ask myself, if I were painting this on a canvas, would I add the second duck? While I am certainly NOT a painter, the concept still has merit. For me the answer is easy, no I wouldn’t add the second duck. While photographers have exactly the opposite problem of painters – our canvas is full as soon as we lift our camera to our eye. The painters canvas is empty until they eventually put something on the canvas.
I find the second duck a distraction that you just have to deal with in the field or with post processing.
