Wood Duck Staredown

[Mike Valencic]

This is my first post to the Image Critique forum. This picture was taken at North Chagrin Reservation near Cleveland, OH. Does the head-on angle work?

30D / 400 f5.6L / ISO 320 / 1/160 / +1/3 EV

Thanks, Mike

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/5305250685_e661c63f0b_b.jpg

[Randy Stout]

Mike:

Welcome to the avian board! It is a great place to learn and grow as a photographer.

I know that location pretty well, always enjoy seeing images from there.

I think the head on pose works well, esp. with the strong facial markings and nice eyes of a male woodie.

Sharp and well exposed.

The main point I would make is about the busy water/background. I was there in early October, and struggled with the very cluttered water. Spent a lot of time looking for a clean patch of water and getting the lighting just right on that patch.

I would do some sig. cropping here to eliminate some of the clutter, and try to tone down the bright highlights in the water that remains. Because the reflection isn't really strong, I would feel comfortable cropping up from the bottom to eliminate some of the clutter and hightlights there.

You probably can bring up the duck about 1/3 of a stop in post if you get control of the water highlights.

Hope to see more!

Again, welcome to BPN!

Randy

[Alan Murphy]

What Randy said, plus a slight CCW rotation.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Mike, welcome aboard. Nothing more to add to what Randy and Alan have suggested. Head-on angle works well here as we can appreciate the pattern on the breast better.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Welcome to Avian Mike!

A beautiful subject, and yes the head-on angle works. I also agree with the comments and suggestions above.

Don't be afraid to raise that ISO for better SS!!

Looking forward to more from you.......:)

[Rohan Kamath]

Randy has nailed the critique perfectly. Nothing else to add... I really liked the front angle. I keep coming back to this image.
:) :)


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

[Mike Valencic]

Thank you all for the comments.


Randy, I did feel challenged by the clutter in the water. I have so many images that are pretty good, ...but there is lots of vegitation or feathers in the water or stuck to the ducks themselves.


I tried tightening up the crop and toning down the highlights as well as bringing up the duck a bit.


http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5242/5309527300_9232894521_b.jpg

[Randy Stout]

Mike:

The repost is a big improvement for me. The highlights are still a bit obtrusive, but there are so many fewer, that it helps. The bird is very nice now. Couple of bright whites on my monitor, but very close.

On my version, I selected the bird, masked him and did a multiply blend mode on the background. May be too dark for your tastes, but easily adjusted.

Show us some more.


Randy

[Mike Valencic]

Randy, I like the outcome using the multiply blend mode on the background. I have never tried this before or even knew about it. I look forward to experimenting with this technique. I learned something today!

Mike