Banking hen in the snow

[Randy Stout]

Taken this am. Light snow, intermittent sun, windy.

D4 500mm AFS f/4 @f/6.3 1/2500s ISO 1000 hand held

Post: Selective sharpening, crop from left and top, detail extractor on whites

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Nick Palmieri]

What can I say. Great wing position, great flight pose and the snow puts it over the top. Very nicely done!

[Lyle Gruby]

Absolutely beautiful. Love those curved primaries, nice separation from head and rear wing, colors look great. Falling snow puts it over the top for me.

[Diane Miller]

What they said!

The variation in the size and focus of the snowflakes adds interest and the OOF snow at the bottom is a great base. The lighter area top center is reminiscent of flare (although it probably isn't) and is something I'd try to bring down, but it could be tricky. There is enough room to crop most of it, but that wouldn't be my first choice.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks folks. I appreciate your kind words.

Diane - the lighter area at the top of the frame is the sky showing through the tops of the trees. I wouldn't crop anymore from the top, but it would be pretty easy to tone it down slightly. Thanks for your observation.

Cheers

Randy

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Awesome image Randy. I like the banking pose, the perfect eye contact, wing position and sharpness of the bird. TFS.

[dankearl]

Super light and a cold winter feel.
Tough to make snow work.
You did very well, the duck is sharp, nice flight pose.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Love the blue and the flying snow! sharp where counts and nice composition!

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent details, exposure and the snow adds to the drama!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, absolutely nailed. Superb inflight pose with the forward wing position, and the speculum pops from the winter BG very well. Yes, the falling snow takes this up a few notches. Well captured.

[Gary Esman]

Randy, great wing position, sharp, nice to see the back of the wing here. Great Michigan winter scene. Very nice.

Gary.

[Bill Dix]

Gorgeous shot! Love the forward wing position, terrific detail. And of course the snow that makes the image. My eye is drawn to something quirky about the tip of her bill -- maybe the black tip coincides with a snowflake. But doesn't hurt the fine image.

[Sandy Witvoet]

Absolutely stunning!!! Best Mama Mallard EVER! (especially in the snow!) Agree with all above ... and with Bill... take that little "goober" off the end of her bill.... PRICELESS!

[Marina Scarr]

This is one of my favorites, Randy. Love the snow and the way the snow has lit up the under belly. Really top notch.

[jack williamson]

This is a gorgeous shot Randy! The duck is awesome and the snow really adds to this. Great work.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.

The stuff on the end of the bill is snow accumulation.

It is always interesting shooting while its snowing. The amount of snow was quite light yesterday, but it tends to be exaggerated in the images. I had dozens of images ruined by snowflakes over the eye or face, so was pleased to get a few keepers!

Cheers

Randy

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Glorious ethereal look to this image. The glowing light, snowflakes, backlighting and great movement. I love it