There was an exp. mistake here, but I think it still turned out to be a nice tranquil image. I like the simplicity of it, and the eye seems to flow through it easily with the lines the reeds make. There was mud stirred up in the lake after a rain storm, which created a nice brush of color through the duck’s reflection.
Going for simplicity, I brought down the levels for the duck even more to go almost complete silhouette, just leaving a little highlight at the tail. Cropped out another duck off top, removed a small clump of reeds just below the tail, and increased saturation.
7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM +2.0x
1/2000, 5.6, ISO 400 manual exposure, evaluative metering
Hi Brendan,
I love the smoothness and tranquility of the image - nice light balance.
It's only a picky thing, but have you tried to remove the diagonal grass stalk at the top of the frame.It detracts from what is a really nice shot.
Thanks Richard & Pat. Here's the repost.
I was debating about removing the reed above and some others. After posting last night, I also noticed in the LRC, the reed reflection coming out of the duck's reflection might look to some like an arrow sticking out of its neck! That wouldn't be so tranquil! Took that out, and a two others below the tail.
Brendan, I like it without the upper reed. Beautiful colors and I like the warm brush stroke of color in the water as well. The only thing I would change is darkening that one small reed up front. Your image creates a soft mood showing the lake when all is quiet.
Nancy
Duck Tranquility
