Darkness is my friend.......

[dankearl]

Shooting in very low light produces the very best images for me lately, the ducks swim in the darkest, most colorful water
it seems and careful exposure really brings out richer color at high ISO for some reason.....

1/800. f5.6, 600mm (300 f2.8 w/ 2x), iso6400, D610
PP in ACR, NR on BG only with Topaz denoise. No NR on Wood Duck.

610_7178bp.jpg

[Ross Taylor]

Hi Dan,

Funny you mentioned that. I have been hoping for an overcast day to go find my own dark puddle with a duck in it!

I absolutely love this image! The colors are wonderful, and the bird really pops.

One little detail: I would consider to burn the two brightest white areas (on the bill, and the vertical white line just right of the neck)

Thanks for the inspiration!

Ross

[Bill Dix]

This is a beauty! Wonderful colors and great detail for such high ISO. Super BG. Nice job on the exposure. I went out yesterday afternoon, on an overcast day with the same thought in mind, to a pond where I've seen Woodies in the past. Alas, no ducks.

[Karl Egressy]

The dark image works here, bringing out rich colors, Dan.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Nicely done. The rich colours really make for an appealing image.

[Colin Driscoll]

Lovely image, such complimentary colors throughout.

[gail bisson]

Really nice Dan. Colors are so nice and rich.
IQ is topnotch. Hard to believe you were shooting at ISO 6400.
I wouldn't mind a bit more room on LHS but as always, comp is a very personal taste issue!
Gail

[Grace Scalzo]

An inviting image to view. Well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

nice image Dan, I like how his bill is in the water, if mine I'd put more space on the right between the tail and the border of the frame

good processing and handling of NR.

TFS

[adrian dancy]

Over all a lovely image of a stunning bird in a lovely setting. The colour graduation on the head is particularly impressive as is the over all detail. The whites look to me as though they have been blown particularly on the bird's vertical stripe. I'd also be inclined to lessen the NR on the focal plane to reveal the water in focus.