Long-tailed duck

[rajandesai]

I recently got back from Nome, AK. Thanks to Matthew Studebaker, we were able to photograph about 35 birds and 4 mammals. We found a pair of beautiful long-tailed ducks in a pond, right in the town.
I think long-tailed are one of the most elegant ducks out there; and to me this shot captures that elegance. What do you think? Any comments, suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Canon 1DM4 | Canon 800mm f/5.6L | ISO 400 |
Minimal processing using LR4 & CS6 | cropped about 20%
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[Marina Scarr]

Very pleasing image and nice that you captured this preening behavior. The tail works well to balance the image. I think I would crop a bit from the bottom.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent pose, and I love the rich colouring of the feathers on the wing (and the matching eye!). I agree with cropping a bit below, but only after applying some CCW rotation.

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot.
I love the preening pose, superb low angle, nice details, and nice light.
Very well done.

[rajandesai]

Thank you Marina, Daniel and Robert. Based on suggestions applied a little bit of rotation and cropped it a slightly differently.
This crop includes a little bit of golder grass from the other end. I thought it matches well with the plumage. What do you guys think?
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