I got this one last winter, they are just showing up here now.
Canon 7D 1 - 400 5.6, HH, 7.1 at 1/1600 ISO 400
My buddy, the state migratory bird biologist, calls them "God's Duck" and they are majestic.
I really like to oof hen behind him, and the "dark" around both birds. This was just as the sun was coming up and not post processing. PP was just a slight crop and adding some brightness. I wish I knew had to make subjects stand out like this.
I wish I had not cut off the top of his head in the reflection but it doesn't bother ME that much, you?
As always, please make comments as it always results in a better image.
Nice image Stan! The head reflection is so close to being in the frame that I want to see all of it. I added canvas and created a head reflection with PS and liked the result. I would clone out the two white dots in front of the ducks. Still a beauty as presented.
Last edited by Jim Crosswell; 11-22-2011 at 10:42 AM.
I really like the contrast between birds and bg/fg in this one. Very well done. I do see some noise in bg and fg so may want to take care of that also. Nice poses also.
Great Shot! I love the light. I really like the play between the tack sharp male and the soft female. As far as the shadow, I might try to soften that a bit or crop it a bit (maybe exclude the head).
Nice shot....I like the light here and the dark BG. good job on exposing. Small area looks hot but might be a jpg issue. these situations are tricky. I dont mind the cut reflection. You need a round of selective sharpening
If this was captured early morning, a warmer white balance might make it look more dramatic....and true to reality?
Maybe it's my monitor at work but I can't see any difference so I'll look at home in a couple days.
Did you just adjust the temp? Certainly sounds like a good idea to try, thanks for your efforts.
And thank you all for you comments. I'm going to add just a touch of canvas and see what it looks like as well.
Open the same thread in two tabs, scroll in one to my image and then look side-by-side. I (a) applied a warming filter (b) removed a catchlight (c) applied selective sharpening. masked areas that would have looked oversharpened (d) also removed the tiny white speck on the left side
Love the way these guys emerge from the darkness. I'm not often a fan of oof bg birds, but this one works handsomely. Kaustaubh addressed several of my issues (catchlight, temperature). Wish it were possible to tweak a little more out of the dark tail, but probably not possible. I'd be tempted to take just a slivver off the bottom so one doesn't look for the whole head reflection.
Morning pintails
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