Mallard on Snack run

[Randy Stout]

This mallard drake was imaged yesterday at the local bird sanctuary. First sunny morning in a long time. Had the privilege of shooting with a group of friends. There was a strange environmental condition where an occ. kernel of corn magically appeared on the ice, and the mallards couldn't resist checking it out.

D4 600VR f/5.6 1/3200 ISO 800 Manual Gitzo/Wimberely

Post: Selective sharpening. Added canvas to top of frame. Cleaned up a little debris on the ice. No saturation changes.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Joe Senzatimore]

Beautiful position caught. Might lighten up the eye just a bit. Fantastic detail.

[Bill Dix]

Great pose, background. I like the comp, but might also imagine a tad more space on the right. Funny about those kernels

[Karl Egressy]

Great image, Randy. The shooting angle is excellent, so are the colours and details. Corn works well for this guys.

[Grace Scalzo]

So you baited! We should discuss the ethics of this endlessly. Seriously a fun image, great pose, nice colors and light.

[dankearl]

Funny, I don't bait ducks, there are always other people (and kids), doing it for me at my local ponds!
I look for kids feeding the ducks and try to get in the best position.
Nice flight pose, I also think the face could be lightened a bit.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Great incoming pose and the green shows the great mettalic like glow

[Nick Palmieri]

Great pose. Exposure and colors look good. Eye looks a little dark to me. TFS

[Frank Schauf]

Wonderful flight pose, Randy.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Very nicely done Randy! Great timing to get the wing position, and as usual your exposure is spot on.

With shots like this, I think there might be some more corn on the ice in the next coming days! ;)

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, lots of striking colours on Mallards, and love the incoming pose with the extended neck. This is a serious question, - did he land on ice, or was there water? If he lands on ice, does he 'ski' for ever ?

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the comments, much appreciated.

Several folks mentioned about the eye being dark. It looks pretty typical for my local birds, even a bit lighter than usual because of the strong light.

Stuart: He was landing on the ice. Lots of crashes for sure!

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks for the feedback Randy. Now a man of your skills, you surely have some ' landing moments' captured.

[Gary Esman]

Sweet shot Randy! Great wing position and the angle is superb. I think the eye looks good. I might take a tad off the bottom.

Gary.