This male dropped into the pond while I was photographing the scaup from the last two days. He didn't want to do anything
beyond float around, but I was happy to get him when he paddled onto this patch of golden water. The color results from
golden reeds in the distance.
This was my first truly low-angle crack at this species, so I'm happy with this result.
Canon 600mm f/4 I II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/3200 at f/7.1, ISO 800
Processed in LR CC. Bit of selective exposure drop on the bird's flanks. Also cloned a few tiny spots on water's surface.
Hi Dorian ... solid image . Colors do look nice , as does the low shooting angle .
Not too fuzzed about the overall tones in the subject ... the lighter parts could go a bit deeper and parts of the darker parts could go a touch lighter , IMHO .
The dark breast does show not much structure and detail ... like being smoothed . I might be wrong .