Does This "Looking away" Work for you?

[Amol Khedgikar]

Wood Duck. What do you all think?

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Amol, great subject for OOTB. I like the perspective a lot and the background above the duck's head is especially nice. What were your camera specs?

[Amol Khedgikar]

Thanks Cheryl. This is my first post in OOTB

Pretty much as shot except the crop and some levels.

It was 5d3 and a 100-400 @ 400mm, F5.6, ISO 1000, Handheld.

[Diane Miller]

Ah, yes, the south end of a northbound duck.... It works for me, especially here, but I'd like to compare it to a version that isn't so tightly copped.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Thanks for the specs, Amol and welcome to OOTB I hope we see more of your work here!

[Christopher Miller]

Welcome to OOTB, Amol! Hope to see more of you over here. This definitely works for me with the beautiful colors of the duck and BG, and that lovely pattern on the duck's head.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Amol, welcome to OOTB and what a great first image! It works for me in a big way and it's just perfect for this forum. I hope we will be seeing more of your images.

[Nancy Bell]

Welcome to OOTB, Amol. This is excellent and a great OOTB approach! Love the visual emphasis on the colors and shapes of the Wood Duck and that dreamy water. I like the center placement as the pose is near symmetrical. Did you photograph this in the Dallas area? Just want to know if it is a place I can add to my Dallas-list of places to photograph. Looking forward to more of your posts!

[Amol Khedgikar]

Thank you all.

@ Nancy- yes Most of my recent shots are from Dallas area- WHile not a great place for birding , Dallas has a few places for birding (Not necessarily photographing them). The best of all of them has to be Sunset Bay at White rock lake. This was shot there .. its currently a paradise for American White pelicans..

@ Dianne- This is the version you requested - Hope you like it Some patch work done in the left top corner

[Diane Miller]

Yes!! Now I get the lovely feel of the duck floating in a great environment! The added water, right, left and bottom has a beautiful character, and the added space on top shows what he is looking at.

Good work! Looking forward to seeing more from you!