Subject: Male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
Advance Submission: JULY 2025
Location: Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area
Shot: April 2025
Photographer: Grace Dunklee Cohen
Gear: Canon R5, RF 100-500, Handheld, no filters
Images included - 3: Version for review, with supporting Original and Head Crop images for reference
Just happened to capture this fellow mid-quack, so I’ve included a crop that shows the serrated edges on his bill (lamellae) that function like a sieve.
I chose a tight crop to highlight this duck’s magnificent patterns and rich colors. Besides cropping, I lightened shadows, toned down the highlights, and cropped out a few distracting pieces of plant and duckweed before running through ON1 NoNoise AI 2024 for slight noise reduction and sharpening.
Finally, I slightly intensified the highlights and sharpening in the eye.
8 comments posted
Doug Fischer
Glad to see you also included the reflection. Wood ducks are one of my favorite bird subjects. Perhaps a little more saturation would be nice to show off the vibrant colors. If possible try to shoot animals at eye level .. try to be at their level as much as possible. When feasible stepping back and using a longer lens can help reduce the angle some.
Posted: 07/04/2025 03:01:38
Grace Cohen
Hi Doug - I actually felt the colors were a bit intense and dialed vibrance back a bit thinking the brighter colors might not be believable. Hah - guess the joke's on me. I'd never seen Wood Ducks up close until the trip I took this past May. I was on a boardwalk so I couldn't drop to eye level without startling my "prey", but I do understand the value of shooting at eye-level when possible (Even keep a foam kneeling pad clipped to my belt for just such a purpose and use whenever feasible). Now I'm actively looking to shoot all ducks - with my Canons, of course! ;-) Posted: 07/23/2025 00:22:56
Gerhard Geldenhuys
Beautifully captured and post processed. Focus and exposure well handled. A good looking specimen. Posted: 07/06/2025 08:48:18
Dr Isaac Vaisman
Grace, the wood duck to me is the most precious and elegant of the ducks. He is posing for you. It is sharp and the colors are vivid. I think the portrait crop (original) brings out more interest showing the fine details and taking away the distracting background. Posted: 07/08/2025 23:22:31
Sarita Yeola
Great photo of this beautiful male wood duck. I really like the reflection. I agree with Doug's suggestions. Posted: 07/14/2025 14:57:19
Gloria Grandolini
Grace, feels like a porcelain duck - great colors and textures. And I really like the reflection. Great work. Posted: 07/21/2025 00:20:47
Grace Cohen
Thanks for your kind feedback, everyone! I never had interest in ducks until I shot Wood Ducks this spring. I had no idea they could be so colorful and finely detailed. But now I'm "on the hunt!"
Posted: 07/23/2025 00:15:53
Jerry Baumann
I really like the photo. But I think the bright, sharp reeds behind the duck distract and take away some of the punch. I wonder if possibly brushing a bit of lens blur plus contrast and clarity reduction, plus reducing the highlights a small amount - on the reeds area behind the duck - would eliminate the distraction? That together with punching up the duck a small amount could really be dramatic. Posted: 07/29/2025 03:30:11
