Duck season is upon us

[John Chardine]

Had fabulous light last week as the sun went down and took advantage of this handsome male Blue-winged Teal who didn't really care about me one bit.

I cropped and cleaned up the water a little. Ran NR on BG. Still some chroma noise in the bird but tolerable for ISO 1000.

Canon EOS 5D, 500/4 x 1.4 tc = 700 mm
capture date: Tuesday, 12 May, 2009 8:16 PM
exposure program: Aperture Priority
ISO speed: 1000
shutter speed: 1/250
aperture: f5.6
exposure bias: -0.3
metering: Pattern
flash: OFF

[Harold Davis]

john, i'm coming to canada!! for water like this and ducks!!! love the colors. maybe a little sharpening on the eye?

[Steve Maxson]

Amazing colors in the water, John. Also a nice pose and reflection. The two little "strings" dragging from the bill add interest to the image, IMO - though others may not care for them. On my monitor, the whites have a bit of a bluish cast. The eye looks a little odd with the long horizontal catchlight though I'm sure that's due to the light on the horizon. You might consider playing eye doctor - or not. :)

[John Chardine]

Come to Canada Harold! The eye is sharp in the RAW original but gives this impression because of the character of the catchlight, which is the horizon, setting sun and reflection in water. I will try this though. Thanks.

[Marina Scarr]

Hi John, The BG colors you have captured here are simply outstanding and rare. Love the water droplets around the bird and the "web" so to speak. If you have more space on the bottom, I think I'd give it just a tad more room b/c the reflection is so nice. I might work on the eye just a touch to give it the appearance of being a bit sharper. At least I would maybe do a before and after to compare. Thank you for sharing this gem!

[Ramon M. Casares]

Very nice, great water color, nide detail, exposure, colors and comp. Congratulations!

[Don Lacy]

The lovely color of the water makes this image for me, well done

[Daniel Cadieux]

Very pretty John, I love the "slate" head against the deep red (what caused this coloured reflection?). I would only add a bit of canvas below for the reflection which I find a little close to the edge. Well done!

[Stu Bowie]

The duck stands out so well against the very coloured water. Thr drooling from the beak doesnt distract, but I would add a bit to the bottom.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

beautiful soft light,angle and fantastic water color!!!