A Mallard drake from Humber Bay on Lake Ontario in Toronto. I never used my Better Beamer much when I shot film, thought I should take it out and give it a whirl the other day.
Original capture had a tilt to it - I think I have corrected it here? Also applied a gradient background blur.
Nikon D200
80-400 VR lens @ 300mm (effective 450mm)
ISO 200
f8 @ 1/250 sec.
Flash with Better Beamer @ -1.7
Nice job getting pretty even illumination of the green on his head. Often difficult to do.
Like the talking pose and the great display of orange legs/feet
If you have the room, I would crop down from the top and add some on each side, a little cramped on the side.
Was this originally shot as a horizontal?
The alignment looks good.
I might try a version with the highlights toned down just a bit to reduce the subtle flashed look.
Thanks for comment Randy, much appreciated. I did shoot this vertically. Will try your suggestion on adding a touch to the sides and a bit off the top for an alternate version of this image and toning down the highlights.