Common Goldeneye female

[Paul Kusmin]

I was able to run out the other day after work and grab about 45 minutes of daylight before it got too dark.
The pond is awesome in the afternoon for shooting as the light is just right.
Quite happy with this shot all in all.

D300 + 500mm f4 AFS + Gitzo tripod + Jobu BWG-Pro head + Flash

Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 500 mm
ISO Speed: 250
Exposure Bias: -1 EV
Flash: On

:)

[Ben Egbert]

Beautiful shot. I am jealous, I saw 30 or so Barrows goldeneyes today, but never let me get close enough. Great detail, perfect head angle, spectacular background. All in all a fine shot.

[Bill Dix]

Wonderful shot. Good detail and molten gold BG. Nicely done.

[Brian Barcelos]

Paul, this has to be one of the most stunning duck shots I've seen. That BG is to die for man. Perfect HA and the water droplets really add to it. Congrats

[Randy Stout]

Paul:

Very nice capture, nice techs. Might consider a small crop up from the bottom.

What is providing the color here? Our trees have lost all their leaves, so not much in the way of color anymore.

Did you tweak the color temp. at all in post.

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Crosswell]

This is a beautiful image! Melted gold BG and sharp. Very well done!

[RakeshDhareshwar]

This is an absolute wonder capture . Love everything here . Sharp and perfect . The only thought which came up was whether the BG is overpowering here ?? Dont know if a muted BG would enhance this one more .

[Harshad Barve]

This is so beautiful , lovely compo and details , water colors are killer here
TFS

[Paul Kusmin]

Paul:

Very nice capture, nice techs. Might consider a small crop up from the bottom.

What is providing the color here? Our trees have lost all their leaves, so not much in the way of color anymore.

Did you tweak the color temp. at all in post.

Cheers

Randy

Randy, it's a combination of reflected sun and a row of yellowy willow trees.
We haven't lost all our leaves yet here on the west coast.

White balance was set to cloudy and i did saturate slightly but the water is all natural.

[Suzanne Huot]

Super sharp image amazing B/G colours

[arash_hazeghi]

Really dreamy colors in this one, love the sharpness and look back. well done, congrats

[Mike Lentz]

I like!! That would be one I'd like to have in my waterfowl gallery! Thats my finest compliment.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Beautiful color and lighting and excellent detail in the blacks. Love the pose and composition. Many thanks for sharing Paul.

[Anand Kavalapara]

Wonderful background and excellent balance of flash and ambient light.

[Mike Fuhr]

Great colors here -- I must say I'm not usually a fan of fill flash but this is one of those instances where it was applied wonderfully. Nice work!

[Danny J Brown]

Terrific shot, Paul. All has been said above.

[Chris van Rooyen]

All's been said, just adding my congratulations!

[Juan Aragonés]

I can understand why you are so happy with this image... it is just fantastic! Not only the superb color of the water but also the great eye contact and the water drops on the feathers. Really beautiful photograph :-)