Ring-necked Duck

[WIlliam Maroldo]

SonyA700~Sony70-400G@400mm~ISO1600~F5.6~1/800 sec~manual exposure~Hand Held~2-8-2010~ Houston, Texas~CS4
comments and critique welcomed. regards~Bill

[Lance Peters]

Lovely!!! Tack sharp were it needs to be - great detail in the blacks, Love the eye.
Squareish crop works for me.
Good show!!!

[Ray Rozema]

Great detail and exposure. How close were you and if close how did you manage to get so close?

Thanks Ray

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Thanks guys. Pretty close, maybe 10 feet. The usual method; I remain motionless and wait for the birds to swim closer. regards~Bill

[Bill Dix]

Eye and feather detail absolutely spectacular. No apparent noise at 1600 ISO. Well done indeed! Is this a captive bird?

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Bill; not a captive bird. I use manual exposure under soft (low contrast) lighting conditions, such as the overcast conditions here, and purposely overexpose quite a bit. I shoot knowing full well that I will need to recover the whites in post-processing, as well as reduce exposure. If I get too carried away I won't be able to, and I have sort of developed a feel for what will work.
As a matter of fact, under high contrast light, such as direct sunlight, recovery of whites is usually extremely limited, and I just don't rely on the technique at all. I pay attention to the "blinkies"! regards~Bill

[Lance Peters]

Bill; not a captive bird. I use manual exposure under soft (low contrast) lighting conditions, such as the overcast conditions here, and purposely overexpose quite a bit. I shoot knowing full well that I will need to recover the whites in post-processing, as well as reduce exposure. If I get too carried away I won't be able to, and I have sort of developed a feel for what will work.
As a matter of fact, under high contrast light, such as direct sunlight, recovery of whites is usually extremely limited, and I just don't rely on the technique at all. I pay attention to the "blinkies"! regards~Bill

Just to clarify here - I believe Bill is referring to --- Pushing the histogram as far to the right as possible without getting any blinkies!! (To some the term Overexposure could be interpreted another way)

[Oscar Zangroniz]

This is what I call in your face portrait Bill. Well exposed, eye contact and HA.
congrats

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Bill and Lance for the helpful exposure tips. Bill - I was imagining you shooting this in the Herman Park Zoo. This is truly amazing for a wild bird shot. Congrats again.

[Gail Spitler]

Bill - very, very effective portrait. Love the sharpness for both the feathers and the water droplets, and the exposure is perfect.
Cheers
Gail

[wendell westfall]

Beautiful, sharp image, Bill . . .

[Katie Rupp]

Wow, I'm impressed with the detail, the exposure and how you captured the subtle colors and sheen. Congrats!

[Mark Young]

Beautiful shot. There is so much to like about this image. I really like the exposure, detail and composition.