Ruddy Duck

Hi All,

Last one from 2013. Shot this fellow in the same place as the coot. All the ducks there were extremely wary of people due to hunting pressure, and the ruddies were one of the only species that would swim somewhat close to the bank, even if I were dressed in full camo and hiding among the reeds. Always had fun watching them dive.

In post, I just cropped a bit for comp., ran a levels adjustment on the bird, resized, sharpened the bird, and reduced noise on the BG. All C&C welcome.

Techs:
D3s
700mm; this was level as shot, which makes me think I was using a tripod or a beanbag
1/1600
f/5.6
ISO 800

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@feelingruby

1 Like

Gorgeous looking water and excellent detail in the duck, Lyle. Nice light as well. Looks like 2013 was a pretty good year.

A very good image indeed. I am tempted to get more room on the bottom for the reflection but I think it’s really good as presented. I love the touch of blue just behind the duck.

Very nice capture of this colorful duck in sweet light and a nice low angle to boot. Lots of detail on the head and breast. I like the composition too, but find the contrast a little too much especially with the directional lighting. Ducks are always fun to photograph for the challenge they pose in getting close by.

Wonderful point of view. I am enjoying the colors of the water and the texture of the water. Good level of saturation. Would be interesting to see the image with slightly less contrast.

Thanks all. I noticed that darkness in the mids before posting but got lazy after a levels adjustment didn’t fix it. Here’s a version with the darks and mids in the body dodged using a Darks 4 mask. I do like this version better.

Beautiful colors almost mimicking the duck. Really like the shallow depth of field on this as well. Add in a few drops of water on the back and the tip of the beak and a blue water trail and you have a winner. The dodged blacks do look better.