American Coot (Fulica americana)
Gilbert Water Ranch, AZ, September 30, 2007, 8:00 am
Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 plus TC20E (2x), G 1325, RRS BH-55, Sidekick, ISO 200, aperture priority matrix meter 1/100th @ f/13
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 82% of frame
For a number of reasons I won’t go into, I haven’t posted at NPN (or elsewhere) since June of 2014. I’ve not had much time to shoot, and even less to process. But I’m trying to find time to change that and have started poking around in folders of unprocessed raw files.
For those new people who don’t know me, and for those who have forgotten, I’m mostly a bird-in-habitat photographer who doesn’t use setups and likes to keep my images natural without resorting to a lot of post processing. I’ll try to be more active again at NPN as I find the time.
Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Larger version provided.
Comments
20 commentsTop quality as usual. Love the water - could maybe use a hint more room on the bottom. Overall detail looks great. Glad to see a familiar name come back
Richard, welcome back!
As usual, a fantastic shot in every aspect - the large version really shows the detail. I look forward to seeing your photos on a regular basis on NPN again!
Love it. The thumbnail made me open it before I knew it was you because the profile doesn't look like that of a typical coot. Classic Rich Ditch - excellent image quality, lighting, exposure and something just a little bit unusual and interesting (the atypical profile). I hope there'll be more from you soon...
Glad to see you posting again, Richard. Your images have always been an inspiration. Your detail in the blacks on this one are outstanding and the pose is full of energy. I hope to see a lot more of your images and read many more of your insightful comments.
Love the detail of the bird and the ripples and colors of the water are wonderful, excellent work! Ray
Excellent details & exposure of the blacks Richard. I like the leg up active pose & clean, simple comp aslo.
No nits, very nice work
Excellent in every way Rich. I've missed your work, and your insightful critiques. Welcome back.
I like this frame very much. Very nice exposure on the blacks with plenty of detail. Pleasing water, nice pose. Not much else one could ask for.
Good to see you back, Rich. Gotta love the huge feet of those Coots. Look forward to more from you.
Welcome back Richard. This is one of the better Coot images I've seen. Nice job handling the blacks and the white beak. The greens in the water give the image the color it needs and the detail in the Coot is top notch. Well done!
I Like coots and this is is displaying a bit of attitude. Nicely capture. Thanks for sharing.
May
Beautifully exposed with a great background and pose.
Welcome back Richard
This is quite possibley one of the nicest photos of an American Coot I have seen in a long while. For me, they are very difficult to photograph in ways that show off their uniqueness and personality. You have accomplshed that quite well with this intriguing portrait.
Excellent Work!!!
Hi Richard,
Love those green feet with lobed toes. No nits here--well done
.............................Jim
Excellent image as usual, Richard. Great light and top notch techs on a bird difficult to expose properly.
Welcome back. Excellent image. Cool pose and nicely exposed image.
Welcome back Richard. I like the pose and the Coot ...it is unusual. Nice work!
Congrats Rich! A beautiful image!
Amazibg detail in the black, perfect for me
A textbook Richard Ditch photo: darn near perfect. Congratulations on the EP! And welcome back.