Mallard (wing flap)

[William Dickson]

Canon 1DX
f/4 500mm with 1.4
f/6.3
1/1600
ISO 1250

This is one from my hide at the loch. I thought the low sunlight, filtering through the surrounding trees, gave a good reflection for the BG. This guy was looking his best during the ongoing breeding season.

Will

[Randy Stout]

Will:

Very nice colors indeed. Good illumination of the green on the head, it often can be a challenge to get the green well lit up. Love the curls on his rump at water line. Well composed.

Cheers

Randy

[annmpacheco]

Well done, love the curl at the tail bottom, HA, and that green iridescence. Also Will the lift and symmetry of the feathers lend further interest. Lovely work.

[David N Smith]

Excellent colors Will. To the exposure and focus is spot on.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Will - This works really well. Excellent timing. Beautiful colors and the light is particularly nice.

TFS,
Rachel

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Very nice capture, William. Not only the light filtering through the trees, but the lighting on him is creating good feather definition and capturing the iridescence.

Geoffrey





http://https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (http://https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)

[Glenn Pure]

Great work Will. I too love the curls at the tail end but also the shapes created by the wing tips. Easy to forget how beautiful they are until a shot like this where they pop so well. I'm not very familiar with this species but wonder if the brown on the lower neck and the dark patch one the upper neck (where the green iridescence fades out) could go a little darker? Background and water look great and detail is excellent as usual.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely colours and pose, if this was a large crop (??) I would reduce it slightly.

[Isaac Grant]

Sweet pose here. I love the curled tail sticking out. Might be from the movement in the water but seems the shot could use a touch of clockwise rotation. I agree with Jonathan about loosening the crop a bit as well.

[gail bisson]

I agree with all of the above comments and would definitely add a bit more space on the RHS- feels tight near the lovely curly-cue tail,
Gail

[Raybel Robles]

Nice pose and details. I agree about the rotation a bit and loosing the crop.

[Arthur Morris]

Mazel tov Will. I've never seen a better flapping drake Mallard. More room all around would make it even better. It looks level to me.

with love, artie

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Will, great wingflap, and shows off the colours of the near wing nicely. I like the raised head, well exposed on the greens, and overall, looks level to me. The curled tail feathers takes this up a few notches. Another voter for more room on the RHS.

[William Dickson]

Thanks for that guys. Much appreciated.

Will