Hooded Merganser

Gallery: AvianPosted February 21, 2010212 views16 comments

I've been going through some old files this weekend and came upon this Hooded Merganser from 2 winters ago that I never posted. This was taken at Titlow Park, Tacoma a very good place to photograph waterfowl as one of the ponds is quite small and the ducks are accustomted to people being around. From the side of the pond I shot this from there is no chance to get a lower angle. This is cropped to about 80% of frame for rotation and a little bit taken off the bottom and left.

MkIII 500F4 1.4X 1/1250 F7.1, iso 640, evaluative metering -0.7 Handheld

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on February 21, 2010 at 2:08 PM

Nate, one of my favorite ducks, but I also think they are one of the hardest to capture...because of the exposure difficulty and also getting remotely close to these guys is crazy. You did a great job at both! Congrats!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 21, 2010 at 3:07 PM

Love the pose Nate and the great colors in the water. I also appreciate the details in the whites & blacks on this difficult to expose duck species.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Elwood on February 21, 2010 at 3:48 PM

Nate well done with the exposure! These birds are so tough that way. Very pleasing colors and sharp. Congrats!

Registered on January 15, 2010, 101 Posts, 396 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on February 21, 2010 at 4:31 PM

Nate,
wonderful capture! I like the tail splayed on the water and the pose of this beautiful duck. Well done.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on February 21, 2010 at 5:24 PM

Great job on the exposure Nate. Very nice detail in the whites and blacks. I really like that pose.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on February 21, 2010 at 7:42 PM

The posture of the merganser is what I like best here Nate. I can see just enough of the feet to know they must be churning to push the body back against the spread tail on the water surface to maintain the posture. I also like how well you handled the difficult exposure.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on February 21, 2010 at 8:14 PM

Nate,

This is great. I had a few this week but nothing close enough to get a great shot like this.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on February 21, 2010 at 8:25 PM

Would love to get a shot of a Hooded let alone one where it's showing off, great job Nate.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on February 21, 2010 at 9:39 PM

Love the playful pose. The dark water is great with the Hoodie's coloration. An alternate presentation might be a vertical with a tighter crop ?

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Kevin Thompson on February 21, 2010 at 10:26 PM

Great pose on this one Nate..

Registered on March 15, 2005, 114 Posts, 2639 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on February 22, 2010 at 12:31 AM

The exposure on this seems spot on, Nate!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 22, 2010 at 6:11 AM

Wonderful shot Nate - particularly like the pose with the fanned tail acting as a support

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on February 22, 2010 at 10:21 AM

There are so many attractive aspects to this image, Nate! How you managed to obtain the right exposure in this situation is certainly the most outstanding one in my mind. The detail and transition from white to brown on the breast are particularly subtle and appealing. The pose is outstanding too. Although you don't show the whole reflection, it doesn't seem to matter in this case. I think it's because the reflection is so distorted and because the close-up of the bird has so much impact.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on February 22, 2010 at 6:29 PM

Really nice. I find these guys a bit unnaproachable so you did great getting so close

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Satie Sharma on February 24, 2010 at 6:16 AM

Sweet shot, Nate. I like the pose, detail and techs.

Registered on November 11, 2003, 189 Posts, 5335 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on February 26, 2010 at 4:34 PM

Nicely done - getting close, great exposure, and characteristic posture.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments