Gadwall Drake

Gallery: AvianPosted April 19, 2011186 views15 comments

I was working on a publishing project late last week and ran into this photo made a couple springs ago and thought I would share it with all of you. I found a pair of gadwalls foraging along the edge of this pond. Luck went my way this day, as the ducks were feeding they were coming my direction, and just as they came within good photo range they decided to stop for a extended preening session.

Canon 40D, 600mm, 1/2500 @ f8, ISO 640, cropped slightly on the right
side and top.

All your comments and suggestion are very much appreciated.

Ken Archer

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 19, 2011 at 7:45 PM

Love the preening pose Ken. Great look at this male's plumage patterns. I like the vertical comp and the sharpness, detail, and DOF are good. Well done.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on April 19, 2011 at 9:04 PM

Super light and detail and a spectacular pose to boot. Wonderful shot! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on April 19, 2011 at 9:24 PM

Well seen and composed, Ken. The large version is very sharp and tons of details on the plumage. Nice light and angle and the green waters are a good contrast. However, I see some noise in the background in the larger version.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Heironymus on April 19, 2011 at 9:49 PM

Ken,
Well done. Super detail and exposure.
I Wish for the same in a landscape format. Portrait mode gives no room for the bird to swim.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 36 Posts, 1110 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on April 19, 2011 at 10:20 PM

Ken, Supurb detail in the feathers. Colors of the bird are spot on and I like the color of the water. A bit of an unusual comp going vertical with this and it's growing on me but wish to see a landscapre version as well. Just seems a bit tight to me. Otherwise this is over the top Ken.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on April 19, 2011 at 10:46 PM

Gorgeous look at the detail of his feathers, Ken. This really shows how beautiful Gadwalls are despite their relatively conservative color scheme. I agree that some noise control is in order, particularly for the bg above the bird's head and that a bit more room would be nice but despite those nits this is a great image.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 19, 2011 at 10:50 PM

Ken - excellent detail, great pose, and like the vertical crop. Maybe a bit tight in the frame, though..
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on April 19, 2011 at 11:05 PM

love the plumage detail and pose on this Gadwall, Ken. while I like the vertical comp, I do think it could use a tiny bit more room to breathe on both sides.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on April 19, 2011 at 11:25 PM

Ken this is a stunning specimen wonderfully photographed. Outstanding detail and great interest in the behaviour capture. I noted you said you only cropped from the right and top, so I'm guessing that aside from adding canvas, you can't do much in terms of adding some space around the gadwall as suggested. I assume the bottom of the reflection is not in any of your pixels? Such ponderings aside, this is a really pleasing image.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Holguin on April 20, 2011 at 2:30 AM

Real nice pic. I really like the pose and the light is excellent. Nice feather detail and great background. Well done.

Registered on January 25, 2011, 44 Posts, 294 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Canning on April 20, 2011 at 9:00 AM

Lovely detail with the splayed feathers, very nice.

Here's a thought, the head / LHS looks slightly dark relative to the rest of the image, maybe a gradient exposure increase starting in upper left and moving somewhat diagonal across the frame could be beneficial.

Registered on February 10, 2004, 88 Posts, 549 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 20, 2011 at 2:52 PM

Wonderful, Ken. Superb pose and feather detail.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on April 20, 2011 at 7:23 PM

Love the preening pose Ken, especially with the position of those wing feathers. The bird does seem a little tight on the sides to me though.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Canuel on April 20, 2011 at 10:07 PM

I really like the feather patterns and the light on the fanned out feathers.

Registered on September 12, 2010, 53 Posts, 660 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on April 21, 2011 at 4:01 AM

Wonderfully detailed Ken and perfect timing. Do you have any in landscape format?

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments