Bufflehead, male

[Tim King]

Took this photo in March of 2012 when the water levels were normal and you can get an eye level photo of ducks.
This year the levels are down about 18 inches or more in some areas.

50d - 300mm F4L IS + 1.4TCII - camera resting on winterized vegetation and mud : )
ISO 200 - 1/1250 - f8
35% of original frame.
Slow moving water and windy.


Best.

[vishaljadhav]

Fantastic image
The level of the shot is nice, low eye level.
Very beautiful light and nice exposure and classical details. The water color is fantastic

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

a VERY ARTISTIC IMAGE Tim, like the POV, the sharpness and colors!!!

[Bill Dix]

Beautiful shot. He seems to be smiling at you. Wonderful low POV with great water. Exposure is great, catching the iridescence nicely. I might be tempted to tone down the highlights in the bg just a little bit.

[Karl Egressy]

Dreamy looking water and nice pose. I would try to open up the dark area in the head to show the beautiful colours.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Exposure and details are stunning, Tim. Considering that this is 35% of FF on a 50D, I'm quite blown away by the quality.

[gail bisson]

I agree with Sid!
Nice low POV.
I would add some canvas on the LHS to give the tail a bit more room,
Gail

[Nick Palmieri]

Wow you certainly got low. IQ is well maintained. Nice job.

[dankearl]

About the perfect Bufflehead photo.
The colors are very nice, excellent POV and IQ.
The colors on the duck look just right to me, not overdone and very attractive.

[Marina Scarr]

WOw, was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this image. Love the colors, the low angle, the light and the water. I would give it a sliver more space on the left and top. I like that water about to drop.

[christopher galeski]

Beautiful image Tim,like the pose,he does look like he is smiling at you,good low angle,nice light,agree on a bit more room on the left.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent IQ...I would not have guessed such a large crop with that camera body. Perfect low angle, and the colours are appealingly rich. There is a tiny straight line at very top center edge that makes me wonder if you cloned something there?

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Tim, love the light in this, which in turn has really brought out the colours on the head so well. Overall, the duck is well exposed, and love the water and BG. Another vote for more room on the left.

[Tim King]

Here is the FF from RAW to jpeg untouched. I'm just guessing that it's 35% as the bird is really small and is a tight-ish crop.
As long as the bird is exposed well and is sharp then it should give the illusion of a 70%+ as I have 15mpix to work with in RAW.
But I think I would have a different criteria if I had a higher end camera and lens...but I can't complain.

Yes Daniel, I cloned some BG clutter. Good eye.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[Frank Schauf]

Great picture, nice deep shooting position and great eye contact.

[Shawn Zierman]

Great image Tim. I agree with every compliment given. I also agree that in the OP, a bit more space on the left
would be ideal. I also enjoy the spacious full frame image you've provided.

[Sandy Witvoet]

Lovely..... sweet bird and great image.... can't add much to what's been posted above. Great work.

[Jon Swanson]

Very nice shot Tim!