Bufflehead take off

[gail bisson]

Canon 1D MKIV
F600 II and 1.4X III
ISO 800
F 8.0
SS 1/3200. On tripod.
Cropped to pano and added canvas on the right.
The whites were 235 to 245 on the head so although technically not blown I had to do a fair bit of recovery with DE and burning.
PP :Crop, NR on BG, levels and DE to head at 25% and DE to body at 2% then USM to Jpeg at 0.3 pixels and 40%
Comments and critiques always learned from and appreciated with thanks,
Gail

[dankearl]

Nice one Gail, I am surprised he is not splashing at take-off.
The whites do look right on the edge, they are so hard to get right.
You did get the colors on the head.
Nice running pose and a bit of eye contact.

[gail bisson]

Hi Dan, this is frame # 4 after take off and the splash was cut off by the edge of the frame so I cropped it out.

[Dave Leroy]

Well done to get such a nice sharp flight shot at that focal length and off a tripod. I like the running pose. A full view of the wings would have topped it off.

[Nick Palmieri]

His feet look great like as if he is running. Nice capture, i think the whites look fine. I wish the BG could be toned down a bit but overall very nice capture.

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent take off of this speedy duck, Gail. The water patter and colours add a lot of interest.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot.
I really like the position of the feet. To me it seems like it's running in mid air.
Great comp, whites look good, and nice details.
Well done.

[Marina Scarr]

Super running pose. Like your pano idea but would try taking a little more off esp on top.

[Colin Gilyeat]

Gail, very nice shot of a veryquick bird. The backgound looks a little bright to me, and I think I'd take a little more off the top of the image.

Colin

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, love the running pose, especially that the buffelhead is just above the water. The light has brought out the colours on the head so well, and agree, taking a bit off the top wont harm. I can also see a version with the buffelhead slightly back to the left. Im fine with the BG as presented.

[PhilCook]

Looks more like levitation than running with no water splashes, whites verging on hot but nice sharpness and liking the sly eye contact