Wood Ducks

Very nice image - something different. The pose and angle of the male is great, and the female less so - but getting them both in the frame is great.
I'd personally clean the image up a bit, cloning out the bits of reed around the female, and also that little dark blip to the right of the male's leg.
Then, a bit more contrast and sat would make this pop!
Sandy

Wonderful birds, awesome colors and a soft quality of light on this one- Great job, Fabio

I like this a lot Ray. The male and the female's position work for me. The OOF twig on the other side of the female is a distraction for me.

Nice pose. Thought it was a painting when looking at thumbnail. I think I would clone out the twig on the right.

Very painterly, I like it as is. If you clone anything out then its no longer real, just my 2 cents. Ron

It does look like a painting, Ray. Wonderful POV. The male is so sharp. To me it does look just a tiny bit light, so I might try Sandy's suggestion of just a big more contrast and saturation to see how that looks.

Ray a piece of real art,i like it just as it is,great!

Keith.

This is the best Wood Duck photo I've ever seen. (I'm talking about thousands of wood duck photos, I love these specie, and I have a pair of wood duck in my farm, as ornamental duck)

Very neat and clean shot with excellent colors, posture of ducks, composition and background. Thank you very much for sharing.

Wonderful composition. Great detail and background.

Love the comp with both birds included, characterful perch. The bg is so clean it looks unreal! That makes the bits of sticks and stuff more distracting. Love the detail and that the colors are not over-saturated, but it seems just a little flat or something. A touch of contrast in a levels layer?? With those adjustments, this image would be a knockout.

Thanks you all for the very nice comments and the helpful critique, I really appreciate it. This was my first opportunity photographing a Wood Duck drake so I was very excited to find him posing on this perch. Repost is a slight adjustment to the color and contrast. I'm not much for cloning (don't really know how). Hope to have a change to photograph these birds again in a clearer setting.
Thanks- Ray

Beautiful composition, Ray. My only nit is that the grass behind the female is a bit distracting.

I love the additional depth of colors in the repost Ray. Nice to get the pair in the comp together- if you could manage the clone as has been earlier critiqued, the image would be greatly enhanced IMO.

Ray,
What a great capture. Looks like a post card. I'd do a little bit of cloning work particularly on the branch going through the females head but I rather like the bird positions and that perch is terrific. Sandy recommends a bit more saturation and I agree but not much more. Excellent exposure. Nicely done Ray.

Great shot Ray - love the perch and the background really highlights the male

Great interest with both male/female on this unusual perch, I like it Ray.
Only suggestion for improvement would be the cloning work as mentioned.
I could show you how, but then I'd have to shoot ya

Very nice.