Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

[Joseph Przybyla]

I captured these Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida. Slight cropping to get to the 16x9 size. Two partial ducks cloned out of the top left and right to show only the three.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 70-300mm 4-5.6 VRII AF
1/2500
F11
ISO 2500

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the sharpness, flight angles, various wing positions, setting, separation of the ducks and composition. Good cloning work. Very well done Joe!

[Marina Scarr]

Since I forgot to welcome you to BPN and congratulate you with your first post, I will do so now on your second post. A big, warm welcome to you, Joe. We are neighbors. When I saw your thumbnail, I had a pretty good idea this image was from Circle B.

I think you did a great job of getting all the ducks sharp and with different wing positions. Pushing your ISO really gave you the DOF and the speed you needed. I am feeling the image is a bit bright and the blacks are lacking some detail...most likely b/c this image was taken later in the day when the light was higher. I did a shadow/highlight layer which I think helps.

Looking forward to meeting you in the field one of these days!

[John Rowell]

Really nice job of capturuing all three ducks. Nice sharpness and overall detail. I think Marina's repost adds impact to the image.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Following Marina's suggestion I re-worked the image to bring out more detail in the blacks but rather than using a Shadow/Highlight layer in Photoshop I used the adjustment brush in Lightroom masking the three ducks. I bumped up the clarity, knocked down the highlights and opened the shadows.

[Marina Scarr]

Nice improvement, Joe!

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent flight shot. Re post looks absolutely superb. Beautiful colors,nice details and composition.

Regards,
Satish.