In the Spotlight

[Doug Brown]

I photographed this handsome Wood Duck drake while photographing with Miguel the other day. When the birds emerge from a shaded area and the sun hits them just right, you get a really cool spotlight effect against a dark BG.

Canon 1Dx, 300mm f/2.8 II + 1.4x III, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO 800, manual exposure, hand held

[Randy Stout]

Doug:

He really does pop from the dark background, with brilliant colors, nice sense of depth provided by the shaded breast, excellent eye contact.
Maybe a sliver more room all the way around for my taste.

Cheers

Randy

[David Salem]

Beautiful image Doug. That dark BG really makes this handsome drake pop foo the screen. Nice head turn and your usual solid techs. Very nice,

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Doug, striking colours exposed perfectly, and what a great angled swimming pose. Cant argue regarding how well he pops from the darker BG. Great eye and thinking to seize the moment.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Fantastic colors Doug, amazing amount of detail and excellent comp.

[Robert Kimbrell]

The background really works, also like the dark water in the foreground. Your exposure really brings out the colors.

[Holger Leyrer]

Wow, what for a colorful bird. The dark BG fits very good. The exposure control is perfect. Love the sharp details and the low angle.

[Doug Brown]

Appreciate the feedback everyone!