Northern Pintail Drake

This photo was taken in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Conditions were overcast.

My Canon EOS 7D mkII, and EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens were resting on a beanbag on the ground. Settings were f/4.5, 1/250s, ISO 200, -0.5 EV for ETTR, 300mm. Shot RAW and processed in Lightroom.

Aside from regular processing, I cropped a 13MP image from 20MP original, cloned out a few bright areas in the water, created a catchlight in the eye, and applied NR to background.

Critiques very much appreciated - Thanks for having a look :)

Ross

I really like the motion in the flapping wings, the nice detail in the plumage and the brown BG that complements the bird. Maybe a little more canvas would not hurt for the virtual legs. TFS.

The head is nice and sharp, slight blur to the wing tips great exposure, a fine shot.
Something not quite right for my taste in the framing maybe a 4x3 portrait or more a 3x2 landscape??

Very nice

This is a very pleasing image. I love the blur in the wings b/c it gives the image an aethereal quality. Your processing is go good that the duck appears real!

I wonder if you could please share why you chose an ISO of 200?

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Originally Posted by Marina Scarr

This is a very pleasing image. I love the blur in the wings b/c it gives the image an aethereal quality. Your processing is go good that the duck appears real!

I wonder if you could please share why you chose an ISO of 200?

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Hi Marina, my objective for that shoot was to discover in dark overcast conditions how slow I can shoot a swimming duck, and what may be the result if it did a wing flap. F 4.5 (wide open) made sense to me given the distance to subject and low light, 1/250s rendered a keeper rate of about 70% tack sharp, ISO 200 completed those exposure aims for ETTR. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the degree of wing blur, and that the shot with the wings back was sharp also:).

With the aperture and speed I chose, I would have been happy if lighting dictated an ISO of 1000 or less. I can crop a bit more if ISO is low and still have a good IQ.

Thanks Marina-Ross

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Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton

Something not quite right for my taste in the framing maybe a 4x3 portrait or more a 3x2 landscape??

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Thanks Jonathan! I have room to expand the crop all around. Do you think that this 3x2 landscape frame could work in your eyes with the bird a little higher in the frame? As suggested by Lorant for virtual feet?

I think this is one of your best images.
Terrific bird, perfect amount of wing blur for my taste, whites look great.
I am more than happy with your choice of comp and wouldn't change a thing but i cansee an argument for a sliver more on the right and bottom.
Great BG and the catchlight looks perfect.
Well done,
gail

An excellent capture, Ross of this beautiful creature. Great wing flap position and nice degree of blur. The colors reflected in the water make for a very complimentary BG.



Geoffrey

Wonderful bird, flap, light, BKGR, and pose. Very well done. a

Sweet work, Ross. I love the blur, nice sense of motion. Thanks for answering Marina's query. My question is why you applied noise reduction at iso 200? Was this for the slight blurring that it gives? As far as comp goes, I personally would prefer a bit more on the bottom.

Hi Grace, when I took the shot I left ample room for the anticipated wing stretch by zooming out ... and I over did it. I compensated by cropping in post which brings out any subtle noise like adding a stop or two of ISO. I examined the background at 100% view after cropping and from the noise I saw, NR applied to the background only would smooth it out nicely. If I had not cropped, I doubt NR would have made much difference at 200 ISO.

Thanks Grace! Ross

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Originally Posted by Ross Taylor

Hi Grace, when I took the shot I left ample room for the anticipated wing stretch by zooming out ... and I over did it. I compensated by cropping in post which brings out any subtle noise like adding a stop or two of ISO. I examined the background at 100% view after cropping and from the noise I saw, NR applied to the background only would smooth it out nicely. If I had not cropped, I doubt NR would have made much difference at 200 ISO.

Thanks Grace! Ross

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With the 7D II's tiny pixels BKGRs at any ISO can look a bit tiny-pixel-funky. Try this: select the BKGR, go Filter > Blur > Surface Blur. Start at 2/3 and increase if needed. Can you say smooth as a baby's tush? From Digital Basics. Digital Basics is an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, details on using all of my image clean-up tools, the use of Contrast Masks, several different ways of expanding and filling in canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics, Contrast Masks, Digital Eye Doctor techniques, using Gaussian Blurs, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn, a variety of ways to make selections, how to create time-saving actions, the Surface Blur (background noise reduction) settings that I use to smooth background noise, and tons more.

That is a heck of an image Ross. Pin-sharp Pintail, with excellent details especially on the flanks. I like the pose and water color complimenting the subject well...and with a bit of green to add interest. I went to that spot looking for it last week but it had presumably already left. Oh well.

Excellent image Ross! I like the blurred wings, sharpness, exposure and complimentary BG.

Thank you very much everybody for your insightful feedback, tips, and encouragement!