wood duck taking off

[Kyle Cong]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2654/4051028031_df06efaf33_b.jpg
Nikon D300 + 300 f4
1/2500s f5.0 ISO720
Hand held

[Tony Whitehead]

Nice and sharp, Kyle. Plane of focus is perfectly on the body/head. Droplets are nice. Some slightly hot highlights - probably from conversion to sRGB and saving for web. A small crop off the top to raise the bird in the frame may be worth considering.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the eye contact and BG and wish the wings were either up or down. I find the blades of grass in the lower left a bit distracting and would run NR on the BG. Keep them coming!

[Aidan Briggs]

Axel really nailed the critique on this one. I agree with him on all counts. Nice light, sharpness, and exposure.

[Rohan Kamath]

The duck looks like a comedian with that expression... Absolutely loved it... The grass doesn't really bother me but I do agree on some NR in the BG

-Cheers,
Rohan
__________________________________________________
Conservation begins at HOME... We CAN make a difference...

[Kyle Cong]

Thanks for the comments!
Unfortunately I didn't catch that good wing position. I'm wondering if it's necessary to buy a battery grip with EN-EL3e in order to get the higher contiuous shooting speed.
Also, Anyone has any suggestion on NR by lightroom? This is the only tool I have.
Thanks again!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Good timing on your part, and wonderful colours on the face! Agree about wing position, and grasses. With Lightroom you can play with the NR sliders in the "Develop" module - but you will have to do it on the complete image at the risk of losing detail on the duck's plumage.

[Desmond Chan]

Good timing and sharpness, Kyle ! Wish the wing position were better though.