Ring Necked Duck

[Bob Serling]

I shot this yesterday at the lakes in San Diego where I believe Artie is taking his IPT today. I wanted to avoid the thundering hordes :-). This is one of the few wildlife areas in the county where you're allowed to feed the birds, so if you position yourself with the sun at your back, then throw a little seed into the water, the ducks fly in to get it.

Canon 1d Mk IV, EF 300mm version 1 f/2.8 with 1.4 TC, f/6.3, 1/3200, ISO 800.

I appreciate your feedback and critiques.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Beautifully sharp well exposed but I would be inclined to try for a tad more detail in the darkest blacks. I like the pose and close proximity to the water - a very nice shot.

[John Robinson]

I,ll second what Jon says. Still useful shot though.
John

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the flight angle, sharpness, exposure and water in the FG. I would run some more NR on the water and try to get some more out of the blacks in the neck. Nice image Bob.

[Bob Serling]

Thanks everyone.

Jonathan and Jim - I'm new to any real level of post processing, having just subscribed to Photoshop. I understand NR, but for bringing up the details in the head and neck, what do you recommend? Can it be done with Photoshop or would I need something like the Nik detail extractor?

Thanks a lot,

Bob

[allanrube]

Try shadows/highlights.

[christopher galeski]

very nice take off pose,agree with the others comments.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Bob, well placed in the frame, and I like that the duck is flying just above the water. Love the yellow eye.

[Bill Dix]

Terrific flight angle, and nice water patterns. Good critique above. I might have been tempted to give him just a little more room all around. Curious to know what kind of seed attracted them. I was attempting to shoot this species yesterday, and couldn't get them to come in close. I'll admit that tossing some breadcrumbs into the water occurred to me, (if I had had any breadcrumbs).

[David Salem]

Wow Bob, very nice flight shot. Love the unique pose and the detail is all there. One of your best posts so far!! Well done

[Bob Serling]

Hi Bill,

I use the cheapest mix they have at my local pet store. I think I was using some left over songbird seed from our feeders, but just about any mix will do.

Bob

[Doug Brown]

Very dynamic flight pose with good eye contact and sharpness. I will echo Jim Crosswell's critique; NR on the water and more detail in the blacks.

[Bob Serling]

Thanks Doug, Jim and everyone else who pointed this out. I really appreciate the help. I'm going to have to crash the books on Photoshop so I can learn selective NR and retouching. I tried bringing shadows up in LR, but that's global and it gives the overall image an artificial look.

[Doug Brown]

Thanks Doug, Jim and everyone else who pointed this out. I really appreciate the help. I'm going to have to crash the books on Photoshop so I can learn selective NR and retouching. I tried bringing shadows up in LR, but that's global and it gives the overall image an artificial look.

Try the local adjustment brush in LR; it's the tool on the far right just below the histogram.