The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This resplendent male was strutting his stuff on the river today. A younger male was also vying for her attention - but he was being ignored, as his plumage and moves just didn’t cut the mustard.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome. I’d like him to be sharper, but wild mandarin ducks in Korea are very skittish and difficult to get close to - I was lucky that these didn’t see me for a few minutes.
Technical Details
D500 + 150-600mm 1/500 f11 ISO 2000
After basic adjustments in Lightroom, Denoise and light touches to tonalities in Photoshop.
Hi Mike, a striking capture of this male. The colors and pose are quite nice. Also cool that the female is included in the image. I think the dramatic coloring of the male offsets any drop off in sharpness which is slight to begin with. TFS.
I have never seen a Mandarin duck, but have always been envious of those who have the good fortune to live in places where they live. A great shot. Love the pose and, of course, the striking colors. The female looks like a hen wood duck.
Very nice, Mike. It’s hard to go wrong with this species and the sharpness is adequate. Good job on the exposure as well. It always strikes me when I see one of these posted how close they are to Wood Ducks. the females are nearly identical and while the colors differ on the males, the pattern is very close to identical. If they’re hanging out in that area, just sitting still on the bank might get them closer.
You gotta love these colorful ducks. He really does seem to be strutting his stuff in this shot. The female even looks like she might be interested or maybe she’s just blowing bubbles.
If you hadn’t told me that was a female Mandarin, I would have sworn it was a wood duck. Glad you were able to capture this one before they saw you, Mike.
Thank you @David_Haynes@Dennis_Plank@Ed_Williams@Allen_Sparks and @Jim_Gavin for your comments. I’d love to see a male Wood Duck one day! They seem to have more green on the head and a red eye. Also very beautiful. The female was definitely interested, keeping close to this guy and avoiding the other one. I’ll keep an eye out for them, as they have decided to nest here I think while many of the others have migrated.
