Autumn mallard - fall colors

[Randy Stout]

This mallard hen obliged me by swimming through a nice patch of autumn color at our local bird sanctuary this AM.
Felt rather seasonal to me.

D700 600VR 1/1000s f/7.1 ISO 800 Gitzo/Wimberley II

Post: Water clean up, noise reduction on the water, selective sharpening. This is a significant crop (50%) so ultimate IQ somewhat limited, but thought the colors and the birds coloration went well together.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Randy, the IQ looks good from here, and you have placed the mallard nicely in the frame. Good to see the reflection, and of course the water colours are exquisite. An opportunity well used.

[Humberto Ramos]

Hi Randy,
At this size the image looks great to me, love reflection and the BG.

[Grace Scalzo]

You are right Randy, it is seasonal and I will add "lovely". The hen is nicely set off by the colorful water and the patterns in the water are beautiful. This is a great reminder not to overlook our more common subjects, especially when there are sweet colors surrounding them.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Great shot Randy - hey guess who is off to the local park tomorrow.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent, the BG colors really make this stand out, I would put the bird slightly higher in the frame. I suspect you can crop tighter with D700 and still retain excellent details

[Randy Bronkema]

Great shot Randy, I like the BG and the reflection it has a nice feel of motion to it..

Randy

[Josh Clark]

Even for a significant crop as you indicated the IQ held up very well. The water colors compliment her very well, I like that aspect of it. I also like the drop of water on the side of her bill. Perhaps a bit too much space for me on top and in front of her. Though saying it was a big crop taking anymore off might have reduced the IQ of the image. That being said, I think this works very well as is. Was this by chance taken at KBS?

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful image. Love the colors, real nice light, and great reflection.
Well done.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for your input. I was shooting for a small in frame concept here, thinking that the water was interesting enough that the duck served as cherry on top, versus this being a straight duck shot.

Cheers

Randy

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks everyone for your input. I was shooting for a small in frame concept here, thinking that the water was interesting enough that the duck served as cherry on top, versus this being a straight duck shot.

Cheers

Randy

I agree Randy duck goes well with cherry sauce ...mmm