Black and Blue

[dankearl]

The thread about buffleheads got me looking back at files.
I liked this one because the water matched the Bufflehead.

1/800
f5
iso400
420mm (300 w/ 1.4)

DSC_5205nx2.jpg

[Mital Patel]

beautiful duck. Nice on Expo and sharpness. may be a little more lower angle would have been made a great drama if the location allowed you to do so.

[Randy Stout]

Dan:

I really appreciate your bufflehead shots, since I can never get within shooting range of them!

I particularly like the fine detail showing on the breast from the light angle, drops and nice display of the various colors on the head.

I do find the brightness of the water does compete somewhat with the bird. I am on my work monitor, which doesn't handle dynamic range well, so perhaps less noticeable on a good monitor!

Cheers

Randy

[Doug Brown]

Ditto what Randy said, except for the part about being at work. Looks like you ran out of DOF at the tip of the bill. Do you have a frame where the head is turned slightly away from you?

[Sachin Saraf]

Ahh...this is one well executed image..details in white are excellent and also shows colors on head nicely..Well done.

[Mike Milicia]

Excellent comments above ... only additional thought is would like to see a bit more room on the right.

[gail bisson]

I really like this. I am happy with your low angle and really like the exposure on the whites and blacks. I would never have noticed the DOF issue with the tip of the bill until Doug pointed it out. Nice eye and water droplets.
Gail

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot. You really nailed the exposure on this difficult little duck. Great detail, love the water drops, and great shooting angle.
Well done.

[Christopher Ciccone]

Everything I would like to have said about this has already been said - exposure (detail in those white are perfect!), eye contact, razor sharp IQ, all are great. I do wish the tip of the bill retained the same sharpness, but otherwise, I would be very proud to have taken a photo like this.

[Carmelo Cannova]

This is a fine shot of a very difficult bird to approach. One of my fav duck.

Carmelo