Gadwall Drake.

[Karl Egressy]

I took this shot on Sunday.
I spent the entire day dedicated to duck shooting and three different locations in Toronto.
Sunday is the best to go to town, week days HW 401 is a mess.
Thanks for looking.


Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Manual Exposure
Tv 1/400
Av 9.0
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM +2.0x
Active focus was on the tip of the beak.
Sitting on the ground at the edge of the pond, monopod and RRS monopod head.

[Randy Stout]

Karl:

Great low shooting angle, like the water, drip, head angle and exposure.

The duck looks a bit soft to my eye and I would try a bit more sharpening.

I also think a bit of CW rotation is in order.

Look forward to more from your duckathon!

Cheers

Randy

[Alan Murphy]

Randy said my thoughts. Besides needing sharoening and rotation, I would place the bird lower in the frame. The water drop adds a lot.

[Karl Egressy]

Randy said my thoughts. Besides needing sharoening and rotation, I would place the bird lower in the frame. The water drop adds a lot.

Thanks Alan and Randy.
I had to redo the whole picture from scratch, therefore it looks different.
I followed the advice regarding placing and sharpening. Also, I darkened the bird selectively using linear burn in layers at 10%.
Unfortunately I can't do the rotation, I dont have any horizontal or vertical in the picture.

PS:It looks like the colour is differen now. Maybe I was more aggressive on contrast or saturation.

[Randy Stout]

Karl:

This is a significant improvement.

re: straightening - sometimes you just do it by eye. I rotated it about 1.5 degrees, and liked it, but you can adjust to taste.

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Buescher]

This is a subject that has to be sharp to show off the intricate patterns in the plumage, you did that well in the repost. Maybe something between the OP and the repost for the color. Like the pose, lighting and the water drop.

[Josh Clark]

I like the repost better to as well Karl. I like the water drop coming off the beak. Nice job in showing the detailed pattern throughout the plumage.

[arash_hazeghi]

nice low angle I think it needs more sharpening

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful image. The repost is certainly a big improvement. Great low shooting angle, great head turn, and nice detail.
Well done.