Mergansers evening swim

[Janet Heintz]

I took this back in 2006, was playing around with some of my old photos.
I remember this evening so well. Sitting at the edge of the reservoir it was so quiet, when from out of nowhere these mergansers just came swimming by.
Not a sound.
I over sharpened and over saturated, then played around with the hue a little.

Enjoy
All Comments Always Welcome
Janet

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Janet. I like the hue and the pano crop. Also, I especially like the vignetting and the bush's reflection.

[Dennis Bishop]

I like the scene, the panoramic format, and that you took the shot with the lead merganser just entering the reflection of the yellow leaves. However, I'd change a few things if it were mine.

Crop -- The line of ducks and the yellow (leaves and reflection) are the main features that catch the eye. I'd crop from the bottom to move the ducks out of the vertical center so they were in a divine proportion with respect to the height of the image. A crop from the left would put the edge of the yellow and the lead merganser in divine proportion horizontally. The crop also makes the mergansers proportionally larger.

Flip Horizontally --As my eye enters the image from the left, it's drawn to the yellow on the right and doesn't remain in the image. If the image is flipped, my eye naturally goes to the right, but the yellow brings it back to the left to start over. The image keeps my attention longer.

Spot Healing -- The white in front of each merganser was so bright it was distracting. Perhaps toning it down some, instead, would work.

[Janet Heintz]

Thank you all for the comments, Dennis, I see what you mean about the sun spots in front of the Mergansers. Not sure about flipping the scene though. But I'll give it a try.
Janet :)

[Jay Sheinfield]

Wonderful scene, Janet. I like this as presented, but I might open up the shadows in the LLC and ULC.

[denise ippolito]

Janet, I like the mood here. I might evict the dark thin in the lower right corner along with the couple of lighter spots, I too might tone down the bright spots in front of the ducks as suggested by Dennis. Nice pano and scene.

[Diane Miller]

Lovely! I agree with the crop from the bottom and spot removal.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Janet, I love the colors and muted tones of the image and the line of ducks does have a feel of unexpected interest. Good discussion on your image, I would add that the little spots of light in the water could be removed if you have the patience. I have seen a lot of mergansers in various locations this year, always a treat!

[Arthur Morris]

I like the mood and the soft light. I agree with a bit off the bottom but the flipping never makes sense to me. I actually prefer the original left to right version.....

[Anita Bower]

This image reflects the peaceful experience you had when you saw them. A simple line of ducks. The bright spots in front of the ducks and above them along shoreline can be easily removed by cloning them out. I cropped from the bottom and increased contrast and brightness to give the image just a little pop. Thanks for sharing.