Hottentot Teal

[John Deakin]

OK, so its not in flight, sorry folks, if only.......... :) I will keep trying though.

I have tried on many occasions to capture the Hottentot Teal and always had a problem with getting detail in good light. Yesterday I was sat in reeds, (wish I could have got lower :( ), and captured this image which is the best I have to date of this beautiful Teal in decent water. Your comments are very welcome and appreciated.

Captured with :-

D3
500 VR
F9
Matrix
1/400
ISO 640
Aperture priority
Wimberey on tripod
Minor crop and PP

John

[Joe Senzatimore]

Nice light and detail. A lower angle would work very well but still an opportunity not to be passed up.

[Fabs Forns]

Of course a lower angle, although we would loose the gorgeous silver water behind him, It's all a trade off, isn't it?

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

This is a first for me John. Beautiful bird with excellent detail and eye contact.. The ripples in the water add a great deal to this image . Thanks for sharing.

[Mitchell Krog]

John, that water is incredible, mercury in appearance and lets not forget the great bird too ;) VWD.

[Vincent Grafhorst]

Great details on the teal here John, a lower angle would indeed have given this image more impact. The water ripples do add to the shot, but personally I would desaturate the blues/cyans a bit.

[Linda Robbins]

What a gorgeous duck. The water is simply beautiful. As mentioned, a lower angle would be preferable, but I have to give you credit for the effort of hiding in the reeds! I think a S/H adjustment would bring out even more detail in the dark areas of plumage.

[Gus Cobos]

I like it as presented John.
I like the colors in the water...good show...:cool:

[John Deakin]

Thanks very much to you all for your comments and suggestions, appreciated.

Linda, I will look at the S/H and see if I can recover more detail, although my PP skills are quite limited :(, when I have tried in the past I have totally wrecked images, less is more I am advised :)

John