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Northern Shovler Drake
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Northern Shovler Drake

by Kevin Colton

Gallery: AvianPosted April 16, 2011215 views7 comments
The Northern Shovler Drake was taking off the main pool of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in Seneca Falls, New York. It was photographed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 400 f2.8 lens at 1/2000 f2.8 ISO 400.

Comments

7 comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 16, 2011 at 11:23 PM
Nice!!! Shovelers are quite shy, so tough to catch.
Great action with the water splashing. Nice colours, but the irredescent orange seems over-saturated.
I'd personally clone out the OOF light reeds in the lower left, and the OOF BG stuff around the neck.
Very well-done! :toast:
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on April 17, 2011 at 12:32 AM
Very nice lift-off shot, Kevin. I agree with Sandy on removing some of the distractions. The legs look okay on my calibrated monitor.
Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on April 17, 2011 at 9:47 AM
Kevin, I sure like the lift off pose of your drake shoveler. The splashing water and the fact the feet are still under the water give this image dynamics. For me though I think this image could be stronger. The comp is too tight IMO, it needs more room on the left since the duck is going that direction and I would crop some off of the bottom to minimize those reeds at the bottom. Looking at the larger version I see some softness, you might be able to do more selective sharpening on the bird without bringing in noise. I see a thin, light halo around the duck that can be eliminated by carefull selecting the duck and making sure that none of the background is included in the sharpening mask. And the legs of the shoveler do look over saturated on my monitor.

I suggest commenting on other member's images, they will learn from what you say and by commenting on other images would will find that you will learn more too because you will learn to emotionally distance yourself from your own images and will see the issues present in them more clearly.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on April 17, 2011 at 11:21 AM
Very nice shot- You've got the right moment with the wings up- Excellent exposure and sharpness- Well done, Fabio
Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments
Comment posted by Alan Murphy on April 17, 2011 at 11:48 AM
I'm conifident that you shot this in horizontal, so I would crop it horizontal and leave out most of the reflection. Awesome detail and pose.
Registered on December 3, 2003, 192 Posts, 739 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 17, 2011 at 2:45 PM
I go along with Mia's comments on this image Kevin. Especially the commenting on other's images suggestion. You learn a lot from getting your own images critiqued, but even more by critically looking at other people's photos and breaking them down as to what works and what does not.
Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Walters on April 17, 2011 at 6:16 PM
Great takeoff. Like the splash of water underneath.
Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments