Ring-necked Duck

[Ron Sprunger]

Finally got out shooting in Arizona after time off for my knee replacement. This was at the Gilbert Water Ranch (Riparian Preserve). Sat on the bank of the pond for an hour, and had some birds come close. Maybe this one was a little too close. I cropped a little left and bottom, but didn't have any more behind. Comments appreciated. Should I have given up on the whole body and cropped to a portrait? I'll post the female tomorrow.

Nikon D7000, 200-400 f/4, 1.4 TC @550mm, 1/640 @f/5.6, Av mode +1 comp. Tripod used, no flash.

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[arash_hazeghi]

very nice light, pose details and low angle, you got some iridescence in the blacks too . the main issue is the clipped tail, it doesn't quite work without the tail, if you don't have canvas there I'd convert it to a vertical head shot

[Ron Sprunger]

Thanks for the advice, Arash. Here's the crop. Wish I had zoomed out that little bit at the time, but was so glad to be out shooting again that I wasn't as observant as I should have been.

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[arash_hazeghi]

nice I would move him just a tad to the left

[Nancy Bell]

Excellent feather detail and I like the nice, alert pose with the head feathers a bit erect. The drops of water add a nice touch. Arash has good advice on cropping.

[Brendan Dozier]

Great looking bird, Ron, love the eye and details. Repost was a good solution, nice work.

[Ron Sprunger]

Sincere thanks all for the advice. I moved him forward about 1/2 inch, cropped and sharpened to 8x10, and cleaned up the bill and head a little. Printed on Exhibition Fiber. Will do a hot mount and protective spray tonight, and put him on the wall. It's so much better because of your help. For an old novice, receiving detailed help from such talented and experienced bird photographers is a wonderful thing.

[Bill Dix]

Lovely portrait. Terrific iridescence, good detail and exposure. Repost is a good solution to the clipped tail.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Ron, lovely light which has brought out the various colours nicely. I do like the droplets on his back, and agree, the cut off tail is a pity. I may have gone with just a head shot. :w3

[Carmelo Cannova]

To bad for the tail being clipped. Very nice shot otherwise with great details.

Carmelo

[Daniel Cadieux]

First of all congrats on being able to get back out there...I'm sure the wait was tough! I'm not normally a fan of cropping so much off an image but it did work out very well both here (with the additional comp tweak you've since done) and seemingly in print too. Nice colours and I love the appearnce of the neck's "ring".

[Ron Sprunger]

Yeah, the ring is tough to show, but was best on this particular image. I do have some good full-body shots, but liked the closeness and great detail of this one. Did a better framing job on the female I'm hoping to put up tonight.

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot. The repost really turned out well. Excellent detail and exposed very well.
Well done.