Gadwall.

[Karl Egressy]

I just switched to a shorter zoom lens when this guy came in for a few shots.
Thanks for looking.

Canon 1D MIV
Canon 70-200 f4.0 L IS + 1.4x at 280mm
ISO 400
f7.1
1/1000 s

[vishaljadhav]

My Favourite Duck
The details on the duck are nice, i like the blue reflection in the water
IMO the image needs a CCW rotation of 2 degree, the rocks in the bg are bright and i may be tempted to tone them down a stop or 2 , you may try a version with this

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Karl, good low shooting angle, and a good HA from the duck too. The slightly open beak an added bonus. I feel the sharpness is on the edge of just becoming 'crispy' but only on the finer plumage. I agree, some CCW rotation will work. I know that you cant do anything about the rocks in the BG, and blurring them would make the BG unnatural.

[Jamie Medford]

I like the pose of the bird, with the bill slightly open. I agree that rotation to straighten it out would be a good idea. Not always easy to get a nice clean background.

[Richard Unsworth]

Fascinating complexity in natures design brought out in great detail hear.

[Nick Palmieri]

Nice pose. Possibly just toning the bright rocks down a bit would improve it. Nice job!

[Randy Stout]

Karl:

Handsome bird, love the butch 'hair cut', hints of blue in water. I do agree about the rotation and toning down the BG a bit. It is a bit of challenge because of the bold shapes and shadows.

Also agree with Stuart about the sharpening starting to look a bit harsh on some of the finer feathers.

Cheers

Randy

[Karl Egressy]

Thank you all.
I did a slight rotation, darkened the rocks by using linear burn, applied less sharpening as you suggested.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of duck with great details.I like the pose with open beak,blues in water and composition.
Love the 3D effect the the wall has given.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

Re-post is better Karl. Techs look good and the details are perfect now. A little distracting with the BG though but darkening and your solid techs make up for it. Well done

[jack williamson]

Even though the repost is better I still find the bg too bright and cluttered. The duck is awesome, love the hairdo and the blue reflections in the water.