I took this last week while laying on my stomach for a couple of hours under some camo. (I think my back still hurts!:D) I do wish I had more room on the bottom, but this is what I have.
Nikon D90
Sigma 150-500 @500
ISO 400
f/7.1
-2/3 EV
1/60
Nice low shooting angle, pity about your back! Because of the ripples in the water and the relatively weak reflection, I don't think you need any more room below.
Well exposed, nice head turn, complimentary BG colors. I might consider a bit more sharpening on the eye. They often look a bit unsharp on woodies because of reflections off the water, even when rest of head is good.
I'm not sure how skittish these guys are in your neck of the woods in regards to flash...but I feel some fill would have done wonders to this image's colours. Although you are wishing for more room below, I would actually crop some off the bottom. As Randy states, the reflection isn't that strong and the bird's placement in the frame is rather centered. This would give your comp a bit more interest. You could also experiment raising the colour temp...I feel yhe image a bit "cold".
I love the low angle, and how the water smoothes out into a beautiful OOF BG. I also love the subtle head angle towards us!
P.S. That is a slow SS you had...don't be afraid to raise the ISO to give yourself a bit more to work with...
Randy, Thanks for the tips. Your right about the eye, for some reason it is difficult to keep the eye sharp. Thanks!
Daniel, I did have a flash on, but it was just out of my reach w/o a extender on. I'll check out the color temp again. I usually keep my images fairly warm.
I like the exposure, the low angle and the way the water blends in the oof bg. It's nice to see how the Sigma performs at 500 (pretty decent albeit 7.1) and pretty good at 1/60. Well done.
Wood Duck
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