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Ilija Dukovski
02-15-2010, 09:31 PM
I took this one this morning at the Charles River in Waltham MA.
What really surprised me here is that I can actually see the dark
cherry red ring on this bird. I don't think I've ever noticed
it before on one of these guys.
Cloudy and overcast, Nikon D700 300mm+TC1.4 f/5.6 1/125 Matrix AP-2/3 ISO500

Comments appreciated.
Mike Milicia
02-15-2010, 10:03 PM
Great pose, composition, and detail!
I tried to get close to these guys a few weeks ago to no avail.

Maybe tone down the whites just a tad.
Ilija Dukovski
02-15-2010, 10:22 PM
I tried to get close to these guys a few weeks ago to no avail.

I hear you, they are not the most cooperative birds.
I took this near the Shaw's in Waltham,
the river is quite narrow there so the ducks don't have much
space to swim away.
Kiran Poonacha
02-16-2010, 12:26 AM
Loved the low angle and comp here Bhai..
Stu Bowie
02-16-2010, 12:31 AM
Lovely low angle, and I like the pose. Does this need a very slight CCW rotation?
Markus Jais
02-16-2010, 01:23 AM
Beautiful shot. I like the low angle and the head turn. I love the color of the water.
Great detail in the blacks. I agree with with Mike about toning down the whites a bit.

Markus
Ilija Dukovski
02-16-2010, 11:04 AM
Thank you for the CC, I was struggling with the whites myself,
I guess they need more toning down. Thanks, appreciated.
Ilija Dukovski
02-16-2010, 11:06 AM
Does this need a very slight CCW rotation?
Stuart, I think the water ripple is not straight so it does make an impression
of tilt. I tried several rotations and ended with this one. Thanks.
Jim Fenton
02-16-2010, 11:38 AM
ILIJA...

really enjoy the colors of the water and the low angle.

I agree with Mike that the whites could be toned down just a bit.

I think that the birds head / eye could use a tad more sharpening and that the browns need to be darkened a bit. To my eyes, I don't recall seeing a chocolate variant ring neck :)

I'd be tempted to crop some from the bottom and do more of a pano with this as my eyes find the bird a bit too close to center vertically.
Ilija Dukovski
02-16-2010, 04:57 PM
Jim, thanks for the comments and suggestion, appreciated.


...and that the browns need to be darkened a bit. To my eyes, I don't recall seeing a chocolate variant ring neck :)


Well that is the question, what color is the neck ring???
Official description would be 'chestnut':

lhttp://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1500id.html

but, how is 'chestnut' different than 'chocolate'?:)

Here's the neck straight from camera raw with auto white balance.
I'm not sure if this is what it really looks like...