wings up Northern Pintail

After my last post I trolled through my images and found this handsome guy. There was an overdose of butter light and I reduced color temp and then also a few points blue on the color balance... What I like most about this image is how the light illuminated the lower belly water drops and especially the glistening drops underneath those flared white tail feathers. Image was taken early evening at Bosque. Question? What are the ideal wing positions, wings up and wings down, does that mean that the back wing is in perfect alignment and it therefore looks as only "one" wing? And, ideally duck/birds head needs to be clear of any body or wings and not (decapatated!), Im looking forward to hearing your responses...

DPP, crop, levels, color temp, balance, sharpening, NR

1Dx
600mmII
ISO 800
5.6
1/2000

This is fantastic! Light, pose, and details are great! Pintails are so elegant and this frame shows their elongated forms perfectly! As for you're question, I don't there is ever an ideal wing pose. It's certainly nice to see at least some of the second wing as that helps gives the image some physical depth (your wonderful image, for example). Full bank shots are always money, but it all depends on the context and composition of the entire frame.

Fab frame Ann..Love the feather detail and colours throughout. Personally I like wings full down, and wings full up a close second, if the birds are flying past you. It depends on the type of bird and also the direction of the flight path. This one looks good though, I think the BG 'fits' the bird perfectly...

Will

Great frame. Sweet light. Nice wings up pose and great background. I think wings up and wings down are the best. This is nice because you can see both wings.

This is excellent Ann! Great light and the complimentary colors of thre BG and the pintail are wonderfull.
Great wings up position.
My favorite wing position is all the way up or all the way down. Always nice to see the far wing - but only if the bird is NOT past you. Your image shows the far wing in an approaching direction so adds some nice depth to the image.
Definitely want the head clear of a wing or other intersecting object.
This image is a beauty!
Gail

Sweet frame. Can't complain about the wings in this one. Love the wings-up position, but all-down is OK too in my book. Complementary colors in this frame are gorgeous. Always hate it when folks say "one of your best" - I'm thinking, how about all the others? -- but this is way up there with the best of them. Well done indeed!

This is better than the first one, but only 1,000 times better. Killer bird, killer light, and a BKGR to die for. And super sharp. This wing position looks just fine to me.

with love, artie

ps: I almost did not look at this one confusing it with the first one, but I noticed even in the thumbnail that there was no black band merging with the bird!

ps: in a perfect world the far wing would have been raised a bit more and a bit more forward, all for a slightly better view ...

with love, artie

Beautiful pose, beautiful light, beautifully sharp. Really great image Ann. I love this one. Ideally the rear wing would be slightly more raised but otherwise this is just about perfect in my book. You've got some really great ducks in flight images. Congrats. I do think the whole image is too orange, including the bird. I know we all dream of shooting in that sweet light, but I think it is too strong. Did some quick global adjustments and to me a Pintail in perfect light should look more like this. Gray and white with some warmth to the plumage surrounded by a beautiful warm background. I know others may disagree re reducing the yellows and red, but I really do think that in these situations that there is too strong of a cast on the bird and it has to be reduced. I am sure others disagree. I also brightened the image .13. You would have to go to the raw to get the whites perfect while importing so I did not bother getting them spot on but this is pretty close. My repost is on top.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Isaac Grant

Beautiful pose, beautiful light, beautifully sharp. Really great image Ann. I love this one. Ideally the rear wing would be slightly more raised but otherwise this is just about perfect in my book. You've got some really great ducks in flight images. Congrats. I do think the whole image is too orange, including the bird. I know we all dream of shooting in that sweet light, but I think it is too strong. Did some quick global adjustments and to me a Pintail in perfect light should look more like this. Gray and white with some warmth to the plumage surrounded by a beautiful warm background. I know others may disagree re reducing the yellows and red, but I really do think that in these situations that there is too strong of a cast on the bird and it has to be reduced. I am sure others disagree. I also brightened the image .13. You would have to go to the raw to get the whites perfect while importing so I did not bother getting them spot on but this is pretty close. My repost is on top.

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Thank you Isaac for showing me the difference and letting us know what you did. I think I am beginning to see color casts a bit. It becomes so obvious once i see your processing comparatively, so thank you and I intend to keep at it!

Isaac, Your reposts are always appreciated. When you post the original and your repost, please indicate which is which. Assuming that the top one here is yours I have a preference for Ann's warmer version.

with love, artie