Canvasback Surprise Exit

[Jeff Dyck]

I was photographing a pair of Canvasbacks at last light while lying on my belly at one of the small ponds near the Interpretive Centre at Oak Hammock Marsh, when the pair decided it was time to go. Settings were not ideal for a bird in flight and lying on my stomach limited my range of motion, but I managed a couple frames of the drake with the head in focus. Cropped from horizontal.

Canon 1DIV -- Canon 800mm F/5.6L IS + 1.4X II TC -- f/8 @ 1/400s -- ISO 1250 -- Manual Exposure -- Hand-held

[Randy Stout]

Jeff:

Why do they always take off when we aren't ready for them?

Tremendous sense of action, excellent shooting angle, little soft on head, but still an effective shot. If you have more on the right, I would add a sliver more, even at the risk of going a little more squarish on the crop. More shutter speed would have been nice, but you obviously didn't have a lot of light and were working them while swimming.

Cheers

Randy

[Joe Senzatimore]

Considering the conditions , you did well. just a bit soft in some critical areas , but still works well. Good reflexes on your part.

[Dave Leroy]

A great looking shot even with the touch of softness. Lovely colors and shooting angle as well as action. I second a bit more room on right if available.

[Rachel Hollander]

Jeff - beautiful light and colors. Good points and suggestions made above.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marina Scarr]

Very pleasing image. Love the action and the light. Head not tack sharp but still works. Love the wings up, the water splash and especially that one webbed foot on the water. Agree on adding a little space on the right and maybe a tad off the bottom. With this particular comp, there is so much space on the bottom that I feel my eye being lead to that space first, instead of the bird. Great job on reacting quickly in a tough situation.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Very dynamic action and love the splashing!! Great light, and low angle too. I'd sharpen the head more for web presentation, and perhaps also add some saturation to the water (the blues seem muted here).