Mallard in a dream( common bird project)

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

40D. 400f5.6 at f/6.3. iso 320. 1/1250s. exp. comp +1 over evaluative. Pulled back a little in raw conversion.

As common a bird it can be. I like trying to do something different with the Mallards. Not that I have a lot of success...but I try. I decided to give a shot to the color wash thing Fabs showed us how to do a while back. Adams Serra's egret image had a bit of that too.

It might be hard to believe but the white wash OOF foreground is actually a tame Mute Swan :-) He was very close to me so I decided to shoot through his back&wing feathers. Waited for this pose and then clicked. The bands in the upper BG do bother me a bit. They are reflection of a pier.

All C&C welcome.

I am going on vacation back home to India tomorrow. So my posts are going to be limited over the next few weeks. I wont be doing any bird or tiger photography there as the duration is short. Have fun.

[Chris Hansen]

Kaustubh,
I like your rendition of the mallard.It appears as if it is in the fog. Composition wise it seems to centered to me.I might also crop a little off of the bottom.

god bless,

chris

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

I am liking this ''common bird project'' more and more, I have been seen some very nice images of these birds that we call ''common'' or ''dirt'' birds.

I enjoy seen your work and this one is no exception, like the mood you captured here but would love to see the eye a bit more, may be you have one showing a nice profile?

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Juan, no unfortunately not. The Mallard was going away from me. Thx for the kind words.

Chris, I have tried cropping some from right. But since the head is tilted, it felt a little too tight. Moreover the bird is also angled left to right. But lot of these are personal preferences. Thx for giving me the input. Cropping from bottom reduces the color wash effect a bit I felt.

[RakeshDhareshwar]

You have achieved the deamy effect here . But I find the bird a bit too centered . BTW do mail me when you are here . Will definetly try and catch up with you . I am based in Mumbai .

[Stu Bowie]

Kaustubh, lovely mood, and I like the overall BG. The bands in the upper BG do not distract whatsoever. If anything, I would just take a bit off the right. Have a great trip.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I was wondering, too, where the 'fog' came from. :) I like the behavior, angle and soft light and wish for a bit eye contact.

[Steve Canuel]

I like the look. As Chris mentioned, it looks like fog. Have a good visit home.