Head On

[Brian Sump]

This Woody Drake came in almost too close. They're often shy in our area but not he and his little lady.

Would've liked a touch more vertical head angle by him but still kinda cool.

R5
840mm
Handheld
ISO 5000
1/500
f6.3

LR and PS. Removed 3-4 white specs. Rotated and cropped vertically for presentation.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Good colours and details, sorry I really dislike the chopped off wing.....why??

[dankearl]

I think the comp works well as a closeup.. was this is shade? Colors look good.

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the composition and the color, soft calm water. sharp. I think the NR has gone a bit too strong from the plumage but not bad for ISO 5K

TFS

[Paul Burdett]

I'm fine with the composition as presented. The cut off wing forces the eye to the head/neck area, but I understand where Jonathan is coming from. Why 840mm if it was so close? Love the details, sharpness and killer BG.

[William Dickson]

Very nice Brian...I like how the DOF and the stare on the bird draws the eye immediately to the head....Beautiful colours throughout...Fab BG, which blends well with the subject....Without knowing, I would never have guessed this was at ISO 5000....Nice POV and the chosen crop is ok with me...

Will

[Daniel Cadieux]

Comp works well for me, this is obviously meant to be a close-up portrait so the body needs to be cut somewhere and its at a right spot for me IMO. Great colours of course with these guys, and appealing low angle. Neat BG, I kinda wish it was yellow/orange all the way to the back of the head, but I suppose this gives a bit of a spot-light effect from behind.

[Brian Sump]

Appreciate you all's comments as always!

Paul - I have never had a Woody come this close on the water. I was expecting a longer range shot :-)

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Mr Sump .... i am gonna love the color fire work and the color work of yours and the kit .
Stunning IMHO !!!
Crop is what it is ... could be better and I would have preferred more DOF , as sharpness falls off quickly and I would have liked to see the beak in focus .

Processing is top notch ... a peach as Jon like to say at times .

TFS Andreas

[Brian Sump]

Hi Mr Sump .... i am gonna love the color fire work and the color work of yours and the kit .
Stunning IMHO !!!
Crop is what it is ... could be better and I would have preferred more DOF , as sharpness falls off quickly and I would have liked to see the beak in focus .

Processing is top notch ... a peach as Jon like to say at times .

TFS Andreas

I appreciate your feedback Andreas. Tried several comps and without cutting off the lines on the body or cutting the water wake, nor creating weird space issues with the head and eyes this seemed to work best. Sure there is an adequate alternative out there somewhere.

Very glad you enjoy the colors. RE dof, I pushed this just about as far as I could. Not much more room with techs esp considering he was swimming in and out of brighter light so I found myself spinning the dials in Manual mode as quickly as I could, on the fly to expose properly.

Agree with you though, some more dof would be nice. Points well taken.

[Andreas Liedmann]

..... maybe you can try the wonders of Topaz