Drake Wood Duck - 100th Thread

[David Salem]

Captured this guy last winter at a local pond. He was flying from one pond to another as I sat shooting other Wood ducks and Wigeon. I like the head color and the bubble on the end of his bill.

Wanted to say thanks to all the members here for their helpful and honest critiques. Always learned from and appreciated.

1DMKIV---700mm---f6.3---ss1/3200---ISO500---HH@4:10pm---25% crop

Thanks as always for looking.

David

[Doug Brown]

One fine flight frame David! Great wing position with a good look at the blue on the far wing. Nice eye contact too. Sharpness and exposure are perfect. I might desaturate the BG a little to highlight the saturation of the bird even more.

[dankearl]

Superb flight photo.
I think it is a bit bright and could come down just a tad.
Doug's suggestion about desaturating the BG also would be nice to try.
Exceptional as is, just something to think about....

[David Salem]

Thanks Doug and Dan for the comments.
Doug, I like the idea of desaturating the BG , I tried it and liked it. Makes the duck pop even more. Thanks for the tip.
Dan, I brought down the brightness a touch with levels. Thanks also.

[arash_hazeghi]

what a sweet shot in great light! excellent details. I like the repost with BG toned down. great job

[Bruce Spell]

Repost is a huge improvement on this one! Well done

[gail bisson]

The "duck man" strikes again!
The repost addresses any issues I had with the OP.
The light and IQ are excellent,
Gail

[Girish Prahalad]

superb image! like the repost with respect to BG.
excellent IQ & colors on the bird.

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent flight shot, David. The repost with the desaturated background looks better.
Love the flight pose, colors and the sharpness.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, a great flight pose captured here, and in exquisite light. Just love the detail and colours on the wood duck, all well exposed too. Sharpness spot on, and your repost takes your image to another level.

I have a wood duck at my local pond in Pretoria. Do you think he will either fly or swim out into the sunlight - not a chance or I would have posted one.

[Gary Esman]

Awesome flight shot David! I actually prefer the original over the re-post. The re-post to my eyes does not look natural. It takes on that the sun is hitting the duck but not the background. If I would have never seen the original I may not think that way, but I did. The head looks a little soft, maybe some selective sharpening. Very cool. Gary.

[Jeannean Ryman]

David, that is one sweet shot! I like both versions. Also, congrats on your 100th thread. Nice post to mark the occasion.

[Troy Lim]

Repost looks great...a keeper...TFS.

[jack williamson]

Great sharpness and color on this duck, the bg looks very good in the repost.

Jack

[Randy Stout]

David :

Excellent woody capture. LIke the angle in frame, pose, drops.

I think somewhere between the two posts would be about perfect for my tastes, with slight leaning towards repost brightness end.

Congrats.

Randy

[Karen Forderer]

What a great action photo. I love the colours on the bird and I prefer the background in the repost.