Touchdown

[Glenn Pure]

Taken at a dam a few minutes walk from home. The bird is a male Australian Wood Duck and very common. The contrast and tonal range on the original was quite extreme so needed some selective adjustments to achieve this result. Crop is about 40% of the frame area. I have a bit more on the left and quite a bit on the right. Had to tilt the image significantly to get this level. Unfortunately, I didn't get the full reflection. Thanks for looking and any comments.

Technical: Canon 80D with EF 100-400 MkII at 286mm handheld. Manual exposure 1/2000 sec, f7.1, ISO 1000. Processed in Canon DPP 4 (digital lens optimiser @ 50, sharpness = 3, crop, lighting adjustments, default NR) then exported 16 bit TIFF to Photoshop Elements with Neat Image NR plugin. Very light NR applied to birds in focus and stronger NR to background. Selective lighting adjustments to birds to bring out detail in whites and blacks. Sharpened in PSE (Sharpness tool) after final size reduction.

[Colin Driscoll]

Good timing Glenn. Nice sharp head and eye. Overall the bird could do with a bit of a lift IMO. Maybe levels and some dodging around the head? Not sure if it's an illusion but there does seem to be an odd patch of blur on the upper breast to the right of the neck.

[Tim Foltz]

Glen, very unique duck, pose is spot on and I think the image is sharp, the tiny feather details might be throwing others off in certain areas.
There is a bit of wing blur on the ends, would have liked the forewing a bit sharper, a faster SS would have been beneficial.
But all in all I like it, nice.

-Tim

[gail bisson]

I always love being introduced to a new bird!
I love the golden water and the perfect moment of landing giving a lovely splash. Head is nice and sharp.
I would crop this as a true pano, getting rid of most of the reflection and adding a bit on the LHS. The pano would really enhance the feeling of forward movement.
The ruffled feathers on belly and chest are very nice. I might wish for a slightly better near wing position.
Well done,
Gail

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Nice Shot I like the action and catch light on the eye.

Thanks for sharing

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Glenn, well timed for the touch down, and love the colour of the water. Overall well exposed, and sharp where it counts. Im with Gail on the comp, and I too would crop up from the bottom to just below the feet. I always feel either a full reflection, or no reflection. Yes, you will be left with the reflection of the legs, but no big deal.

[Glenn Pure]

Thank you Colin, Tim, Gail, Krishna and Stu for your thoughts on this one. I've done a pano-type crop, which I think is an improvement. For Colin, I've lifted the bird a little as per your suggestion - I think it's an improvement. Hope you all like the repost.

[Colin Driscoll]

Definitely better all round Glen