There was a flurry of interest recently when one of these ducks showed up here unexpectedly and it's nice to see a photo of one (it moved on rather quickly, so I never got a chance to see it). I'm seeing noise in the water above the bird, and feel the bird is in a awkward position in the frame. You might try for more of a pano crop to see how that works. I struggle with Scissor-tail Flycatchers when composing. Those really long tails are a challenge.
I'm fine with the crop, but take that FWIW since I often ask for cropping advice. The light looks like it was tough and there's a lot of noise. I'd especially hit the water with noise reduction since a little softness there won't hurt the image. I'd suggest a bit of extra sharpening on those body feathers. The edges should take sharpening pretty well.
I love original composition as you know but this one is a bit off for me. I like sharp detail and the head area is soft, the subject is too tight in the frame and the angle is steep. Now, there might be a shot here somewhere but bring the eye into sharp focus and give the subject room to breath. Keep at it,I like what you are trying to do and the colors vs use of gray scale could be sweet. Imagine strong colors against a black and white background - just thinking out loud ..lets see some more.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 04-04-2013 at 03:59 PM.
Long Tailed Duck Drake - Barnegat Jetty
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