Bufflehead

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

The winter ducks are arriving in west Tennessee. I saw this bufflehead yesterday at the neighborhood lake.

Specific Feedback

Any thoughts on cropping and detail?

Technical Details

Canon R7, 200-800mm
ISO 800, F9, 1/4000s, hand held

Processed in DXO PureRaw 3 and Photoshop.


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Really nice job bringing out the colors without destroying the whites, Allen. These are tough birds to get. The second image doesn’t look level though it might be. However, since there’s no horizon, I think you can safely rotate it counter-clockwise quite a bit.

Allen, perfect handling of the whites, while still catching the iridescence of the colours.
Nice poses and water, and bright eyes.
Well-done!

Really nice portraits of this bufflehead Allen; think I prefer the second pose myself. The dark water really helps him stand out nicely. Cropping and detail both look fine to me but I was thinking the overall exposure could be increased a notch or two if possible, without blowing out the whites.,

Hi Allen - I’ve looked at this again, and I agree with Dennis that it’s a bit off-level - seems to need a couple degrees CCW.
Still a fine image!