Green-winged Teal On Golden Waters.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Five beautiful drake teals in fresh breeding plumage, and one still looking ratty from the molt...which one do you think was the only one to come out of the reeds and bask in the glory of the autumnal marsh waters? Yep, you guessed right! I still like the image though, but did I ever hope for one of the others to come out and play too!!

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/250s., f/5.6, ISO 800, natural light, handheld from my car (which gave a perfect vantage point for the reflection), small crop for comp, some specks in the water removed via spot removal tool.

[Grace Scalzo]

It's nice having a variety of plumages in your collection, and knowing you, won't be long till you photograph those other fellows. I like the reflection, thanks to the shooting angle, and excellent job obtaining sharpness at that slow shutter speed.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the reflection, water colour, details and composition. Well done Daniel.

[Greg Oakley]

WOW, that's some pretty cool looking water! Nice image with great details. I'm being picky (and could be my aging eyes), but I think there is some slight motion blur in the head area.
Very nice though....

[gail bisson]

The gold water and textures within it really make this image nice.
The bird may be a bit tatty looking but I don't think it detracts from the shot.
Nice reflection as well.
What is the little green drop near the breast?
Gail

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks guys!!

Gail, that green "drop" is a piece of duckweed stuck on the feathers. Admittedly that little piece looks a lot better when the image is viewed larger than on the web...

[Ian Wilson]

Stunning autumn light. Beautiful image despite the rustic appearance of the bird's plumage. Regards, Ian

[Shawn Zierman]

Great water colors, but even cooler plumage on the duck. Nice job leading and focusing on this moving subject. Pretty dang sharp for the stated shutter speed....at least I have difficulties getting sharp duck shots when they are moving shooting that much below your focal length used.

[mohammad reza shahab]

excellent water colors,details and reflection.