Golden hour

Bajadreamer

Spent this morning at one of my favorite San Diego bird photography spots, Whelan Lake in Oceanside. One of the reasons I enjoy this area so much is the beautiful sunrise colors on the water. This is an Eared Grebe in non breeding colors. Somewhat of a drab look, but the orange eyes set it off. Shot with a Canon R5, 600 mm f/4.0. Mounted on a tripod that was mostly submerged in the water, leaving the camera about 8-12″ above the water. I used a remote shutter release and focused with the LCD screen. This keeps the POV low so the golden water surrounds the bird.
SS 1/1600, ISO 1000, F/4.0, EC +1.0. Processed in PS with bird brought up in ACR about 1.0 full stops and BG brought down about 0.3 stops.