I spent some time with this moulting male Northern Pintail in the last hour before sunset. I had turned away for a moment and turned back just in time to catch this wing flap. The bird was basically full frame and I had to add some canvas on the left behind the near wing and at the bottom. There was also an unattractive dark line through the birds heat across the top of the image that I removed. I didn't have many options in terms of composition unless I wanted to add a lot more canvas,also, since I haven't been able to shoot much at sunset or sunrise, I'm a little unsure about how to best optimize images in those light conditions. Overall I'm fairly happy with how this turned out.
Exposure wise I'm surprised the whites look a little hot with your exp compensation, that is what I would have set. Crop wise I would like a little more at the bottom PS work looks very good and I feel this is a very fine image !!! Big Congrats !!!!
Hey Dave, I love the pose and the sunset coloring and those water droplets really make it special---nice detail, too. Agree with Alfred that the whites are just on the edge but it is a great image.
Northern Pintail(moulting male)
