This afternoon, a friend called me that a couple of Redbreasted Mergansers were around, that seemed ‘doable’. So, I drove down to the shore and was happy they were still around. When I positioned myself in the very wet sand (the pools of water immediately formed underneath me) they swam a little away, but returned pretty quickly - granting me some shots. This is the male of the pair. I came back soaked and sticky. Ah well. Thanks fo any feedback, Cheers, Hans
Specific Feedback Requested
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D500 with 500mm f4 | 1/1000s | f4 | ISO500 | overexposed 1, 2/3 EV | handheld while lying on the beach
Well done Hans you got a lovely shot. And good for you to have such a nice relaxed Merganser that it is swimming in towards you. I really like the nice soft bg colors and soft feel to the photo. I could also see this with the Merganser lower in the frame and more of the brown sand like color above. It is a dandy.
A very cool looking bird and your usual low point of view did it justice, Hans. The image is well worth the discomfort it cost. Maybe you should get an air mattress for those beach excursions.
What a great shot, Hans. I see these in Korea, so maybe one day … I like the curve of the wave in front of the bird; it makes the picture more dynamic.
Working to get this low point of view certainly paid off. Really nice to have the merganser swimming towards you and giving you a nice head pose. Colors and detail great.
Lovely details and clean surroundings as always, Hans. The spots of color in the face and the raised tuft are wonderful touches here.
I do feel the balance is a little off in the composition. Perhaps the merganser is a bit close to the center (horizontally) for my tastes. There’s also a lot of empty foreground… so many of your images sandwich subjects between OOF foregrounds and backgrounds effectively, so I don’t mind that too much, but with the tuft reaching so close to the top of the frame, I almost feel as though there’s too much emptiness dragging it down. A minor nit, really, but it does make me pause.
