Straight Down the Barrel: Ring-necked Duck

[Daniel Cadieux]

Taken in Lakeland, Florida. Thanks to Captain Shadle for suggesting this place...it was very productive and I will surely revisit if the chance arises. This is as low as I could get at this location - a bit of an awkward position as I was laying flat parallel to a sloping bank with one elbow and one foot slowly sinking in the water's edge It was pretty tough to go from 40D (now in a coma) to 1D MKIV (borrowed from Artie) to 30D (backup):eek:.

Canon 30D + 100-400L @400m, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/1250s., f/6.3, ISO 800, +1.3 EC, handheld, about 80% FF.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Nice capture Daniel, love the colours in the background too!

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

I should publish the picture of you slowly sliding into the lake!

Nice bg colors as Andrew mentioned, like the even light on both eyes, the bill detail, slightly off center positioning of bird.

Yes, a fun place for sure!

Cheers

Randy

[Brendan Dozier]

Real nice head-one image, Daniel. Love the super low angle, eyes, and BG. You are entering the realm of Kaustubh with this one! Well done!

[Clemens Vanderwerf]

Great image. Love the BKGD and colors. Could not been more straight down the barrel than that.

[Jim Crosswell]

Beautiful image Daniel! I like the low angle, sharpness and BG. Any gators join you on your slide into the water?

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Daniel, terrific in every way...low angle, BG, head-on pose, water texture...great to actually see the ring. Loved it. Getting this angle on a sloping bank is tough on the neck. Very well done.

Duck tad higher in the frame might emphasize the low angle more.

[Ofer Levy]

Nice low angle and BG. Agree with Kaustubh regarding moving the bird higher in the frame. Would also like to see some detail on the black parts of the face which look blocked on my monitor. Looks like the critical focus was on the beak - not having the eyes very sharp weaken this image IMO.

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the low angle and soft light but I agree with Ofer that eyes/head looks soft.

[Peter Farrell]

Beautiful image, Daniel. I like that you got both eyes and think they look fine as they are. I agree that the BG colors are fantastic. I would be tempted to darken the small highlights on the chest and tip of the bill.
Peter

[Kiran Poonacha]

Thats some pose DC.. loved the stare..

[Greg Basco]

Daniel, really nice angle, great smooth water and BG, and I like the off-center comp as well. Looks like the 30D does pretty well at ISO 800

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Pieter de Waal]

Like the overall effect of this image Daniel, colours, water and BG come together nicely. Like the little wave in front of the Duck which completes the image IMO.

[Doug Brown]

Perfect shot for the monthly theme. The water looks fantastic and the low angle paid nice dividends. Agree with the others that some extra sharpening of the head would help.