Lesser Scaup drake

[Bill Dix]

Another from Manasquan Reservoir several weeks ago, to pair with the Scaup hen I posted last week. C&C always appreciated.

D7000, 700mm, ISO 800, 1/1600s @ f/7.1 manual.

[Lyle Gruby]

Looks just as fine as your other ones! Like the bluish high-key , nice detail, well exposed darks.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Ah...that a sweet low angle. love those. very nice head turn. everything else is terrific as usual. those water droplets...I always love them. Keep 'em coming.

[Arthur Morris]

Killer low angle. How did you get so low on a river? Do you use NIK Color Efex Pro?

[jack williamson]

Great low angle, like the water drops on the duck and the wake in front of the bird. There seems to be a halo on the back of the head.

[Marina Scarr]

The low angle at which you photographed this lovely duck is what really brings it to life. Love the water droplets and the subtle BG.

[Karl Egressy]

ERxcellent low angle shot and nice head turn, Bill. I wish we could have this low angle around here.

[Bill Dix]

Killer low angle. How did you get so low on a river? Do you use NIK Color Efex Pro?

Thanks Artie. Actually this is a reservoir - the Manasquan Reservoir, not far west of Belmar on the Jersey Shore. (But keep it a secret.) I was delighted when I stopped by here a few weeks ago, to discover a place where I could get right down to the water's edge, and have some lovely waterfowl nearby. I plan to go back again when the weather's conducive. I do not use NIK Efex. I sometimes use Topaz Detail, which does help to bring out detail on bright areas, but I didn't use it here.

[Bill Dix]

Thank you everyone.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Artie. Actually this is a reservoir - the Manasquan Reservoir, not far west of Belmar on the Jersey Shore. (But keep it a secret.) I was delighted when I stopped by here a few weeks ago, to discover a place where I could get right down to the water's edge, and have some lovely waterfowl nearby. I plan to go back again when the weather's conducive. I do not use NIK Efex. I sometimes use Topaz Detail, which does help to bring out detail on bright areas, but I didn't use it here.

Hey Bill, Be sure to invite me next winter. I asked because the bird's feathers, especially the dark tones, look very crunchy to me as if there was too much Detail Extractor or as if the dark tones were lightened too much. I would love to see the untouched original so that I could try to figure out why. I am surprised that I am the only one who noticed that.

[Bill Dix]

Hi Artie. Topaz Detail is easy to overuse, as I gather NIK Efex Pro is, resulting in some oversharpened look. But that's not the problem here. I'm not seeing the crunchiness you noted, but I'm sure your monitor and your eyes are better than mine. I've posted the image straight from the RAW file, simply converted and resized for posting with no PP at all. You'll see that the histogram looked pretty good with most of the data in the rightmost quadrant and no clipping, but I did brighten the bird just a bit before posting the OP. I also cropped significantly, so the OP is only about 45% of full width. (And also rotated slightly, ran NR on the BG and USM on the bird.) I'm sure the IQ in the dark areas suffered somewhat from both the brightening and the large crop. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I would be delighted to have you join me at Manasquan next winter. I've only been there this one time, but hopefully before next winter I'll have more chances to explore it.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Bill. I am pretty sure that the funkiiness that I am seeing is a result of the large crop and the lightening. And do note that my eyes ain't such good either! See you in Manasqaun!