Tufted Duck

Gallery: AvianPosted December 6, 2014156 views5 comments

Lac Léman, Switzerland
D300s 300mm f2.8 ED VR2 with 2TC series 3 attached
ISO 400 1/1600 at f /8.0 EV 0.00 WB Manual Centre weighted average
Hand held
Tiff file original 100% crop
Photoshop PS6

I tend to see these birds in black and white so I chose one earlier in the year for an appropriate subject to test my new glassware and software. Bright sunlight illumination added a further important challenge. On the final image I chose to go no further in searching out more detail in the cheeks. A closer crop would doubtlessly improve the impact of the subject. Abundant noise and chromatic aberration were unwelcome obstacles.

Your crits. and nits are most welcome

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on December 6, 2014 at 10:02 AM

Great capture. I think you handled the blacks very well. Even if the water was that blue, I would desaturate it slightly, as it overpowers the image a little bit. Regardless, a fine image.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on December 6, 2014 at 4:34 PM

Very nice image David. You handled the exposure beautifully while offering up the iridescent purple and a fine look at the tuft. I would follow Jerry's lead and make the same suggestion concerning the water. Nicely captured!

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on December 6, 2014 at 8:06 PM

Good exposure with nice detail in the darks. Nice pose, with just enough head turn to show off the tuft. Agree about desaturating the water a tad.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by David Rowe on December 7, 2014 at 10:08 AM

Thanks Jerry, Chuck and David for your thoughts on this image. Figuratively speaking I needed to take a few steps back and review the final image. The blues look far too ‘Mediterranian’ and the saturation needs to be reduced. As a rule I find my final posted jpg images darker than I would have preferred and this one is no exception. For my next posts I will back off on vibrance and increase the illumination of the backgrounds.
David

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on December 10, 2014 at 11:43 PM

What a cool reflection. Sweet portrait of this beauty David. Excellent exposure work. Seems a bit centered, perhaps a bit more room on the right side.

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments