Mottled Duck Drake

Yes, it's large in the frame. I was kneeling on the viewing deck at Estero Llano Grande in S. Texas, shooting between railings, toward the light. There were distracting elements in both directions on the log. This species, one that we don't get to see at home, has lovely plumage, and I couldn't resist a few frames when he began to preen. I liked the curve of the log against the bird, and the toes sticking out under the wing. Full-frame.

D500, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 2000, 1/320s @ f/6.3 manual. Fill @ -1.0. Posted at 1600px.

IQ is excellent on this one Bill.
I feel like it needs to be rotated clockwise.
Lovely preening pose and the 2 blades of grass add a nice pop of color.
Lovely detail in the scalloped feathers and I like the little nail that is so clearly visible.
Gail

I was wishing for more room, but when reading your caption I can appreciate the setting you were faced with. It should not be much of a problem adding a bit at left, but I can live with it as is too. I am glad the tail feathers do not touch the log. Neat view of the little nail as Gail mentions.

Good one, Bill. I see you've worked out the sharpness issue you were having. This looks perfect on my monitor. Like the preening pose standing on one foot and toes sticking out of feathers on the other.
Like the eye as well.




https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

Great looking preening pose and I like the details and the few green blades of grass. I like the tight comp and I have to admit that I am really liking the larger file size. Puts you more into the picture. Well done

Hi Bill, good feather detail, and Im glad the eye is not closed during the preening behaviour. Im glad you left the two blades of grass, and that the tail is not touching the log.

Bill:

As mentioned, the curves of bird and perch are complimentary, nice feather detail, open eye, all good.

Yes, to fiddling with adding a bit of canvas to the left.

Well seen and captured.

Cheers

Randy

Thank you all. I'll take a look at adding a sliver to the left.