Such a dignified gent...

[MiniChris]

Was out and about today and came across this very old gentelman. I don't have a clue how long ducks live, but this one, if compared to human years, would be in his seventies or perhaps older. Which do you like the best, and why?

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Chris,

No one seems to want to comment. You have stumped us with this. Yes, a grand old gent. I am not sure the difference other than a tighter crop on the second. I think I prefer the second for that reason - the eye is more in my face - looking back at me.

The exposure is very good given the wide range of tones and I assume the blue on the head is white balance issues with this area being in the shade. This is hard to deal with but as there is no other blue in the shot you might be able to use Selective Colour to adjust but again I find this control hard to use.

Is there any way you can get more detail in the white under the chin - so to speak, a bit blown out?

I am just being picky. I do like the capture here. You can got the essence of this bird. Well done.

[MiniChris]

You hit on both the problems with this shot. The back side of his head was more shaded than the front and I didn't have my polarizer with me to compensate for the intensity of the sun on the white part. I tried to use a white card for a bit of fill on the shaded side and think it did pretty well. I saved the RAW data for later when I have my new set up...I think I may even go back and see if I can find this old fella again.
I did a B&W for the monochrome competition using the second crop and I think, too, I like it.