Canvasback in flight

[Isaac Grant]

Since there have been a bunch of duck photos posted lately, I figured I would post this photo as an example of some of the advice that I have been giving. Get low to the water, shoot straight down the barrel on the sun angle and when the sun is low in the sky. What you get is a perfectly lit bird with little to no shadows and super details. That makes all the difference in a photo in my opinion. We should always be aiming to make a great photo and not settle for something that is just OK. Very often the difference of a few feet one way or the other can be a major difference in the final output. And as I always stress color, exposure and details, they too must also be spot on.

Nikon D850 and Nikon 500PF. ISO 1000, F7.1, SS 1/5000. I needed a fast shutter speed to freeze the action but also to get proper exposure on the ducks that are very white with dark backs and heads.

[dankearl]

Beautiful light, ton of details, excellent position except.....
The downstroke needs enough of an angle to get the far wing separated and a bit in front
for the perfect position in my opinion.

[Isaac Grant]

Different downstrokes for different folks. :S3: I much prefer dead parallel to the back of the camera and full downstroke.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Very nice image. Like the background colors.

I like the head angle and wing position

TFS

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the light, wing position, BG, low angle, details and composition. Excellent image Isaac.

[John Mack]

The downstroke pose is nice. The is tack sharp. Like the blue water background.

[kevin Hice]

Real nice Isaac. All looks great . Love the detail in the wing. Thanks for the suggestions trying to pick up on a few things. Again great capture.

[Juan Tolentino]

Hello Isaac, excellent image and excellent advise. We all know that images like this one require a lot of patience and persistence since there's only a small window during the day when this condition present itself. Now for you to have the skills, the gear, the duck flying in the same line with you and the sun with a perfect down stroke and being able to capture this image, that's something very special. Congrats. TFS.

[David Salem]

Like I have said before, it's "ALL" about the light and it's angle to the subject. It makes "ALL" the difference in a shot and it cannot be reproduced in post production. Many people think they can "fix" an image and somehow make it look like this. It can't be done!! It has to be captured "In Camera" to get this kind of lighting, color and detail.
There is "NO" substitute for direct low sun hitting your subject.
I gave a presentation to a Photo club last week and I stressed the importance of the light angle being perfectly behind you and straight at the subject. There were 200 photographers there and many of them hadn't really totally grasped that concept. I went back over it and told them "It wasn't just one of the things I was here to teach them, It was the most important thing I was here to teach them!!. I have a joke with a few friends, including Isaac, and a few of you may have been wondering what we are talking about when we congratulate each other on a nice frame and then we use the acronym "DFC". This is a reference to the catchlight in the eye and it tells the story of the light angle to the subject. When the sun is directly behind you, pointing right at the subject, the catchlight is "Dead Flipping Center" of the eye!! Look at this killer Drake Canvasback in flight!! It's As good as it gets, and it's DFC all the way!! Great capture Isaac!!

[Mike Poole]

Nailed this one Isaac with the perfect downstroke, and the level of detail from these D850 shots is just insane. Personal preference would have been the bird angled ever so slightly towards us showing a bit more far wing, but as you say, that's down to personal preference, as if this was mine I'd too be very happy with it and showing it off to its fullest.

Excellent capture

Mike

[Isaac Grant]

Mike I am telling you that the second I saw the d850 files on my screen I instantly decided to switch. Not a split second hesitation. There simply is no comparison. I have been shooting a lot of waterfowl and have thousands of files of ducks. Each one is more detailed than any shot that I ever got with Canon. I can post another 50 more of Canvasback or a bunch of other species and they are all crazy detailed with beautiful image quality. But I would warn that it is a good light camera. When the sun is out the files are to die for. Above ISO 1600 I am not impressed at all. They are very noisy. As I do the vast majority of my shooting is direct morning and evening sun it is the perfect tool for me. I do have a long string of shots of this bird flying by and more angled but I prefer this pose. Maybe will process another more angled one one day. I should also briefly mention that the AF is just better than the 1dx2 that I had and stays locked on like a champ. Combined with the tiny, almost joke of a 500mm prime lens (the 500PF) it really makes shooting these kind of shots almost easy. Just have to be in the right place at the right time and nail your opportunity when it presents itself.

Dave as always your insight is appreciated and as we have discussed many many times I fully agree. The light is the key to turning a nice shot into a wall hanger. It is the key to bringing out beautiful details and image quality.

[annmpacheco]

Like all above, ditto Isaac, super frame, superb!

[Chris van Rooyen]

Technically flawless image. Cannot really add anything - a D850 in the right hands rock:cheers:. I'm seriously considering getting one as a second camera if I can scrape the bucks together...

[Isaac Grant]

Chris, beg borrow and steal if you have to but get a D850!

[Dorian Anderson]

Yeah, the is killer, as others have said. The more I see coming out of the 850 - from you and others - the harder it is to stay put with my current gear. Fortunately/unfortunately, I have no financial option and no decision to make!

[Isaac Grant]

Thanks everyone. Dorian, scroll down until you see my post of a Lesser Scaup on the water and then a couple days back more for a Canvasback on the water. In the right light the d850 delivers outstanding results. I will post a bufflehead shot next just to demonstrate the insane resolving power of this camera. I have said a bunch of times how good the files are. And of course you know that you and I spoke about this issue before I switched. Not a single one of my Canon files over the years has the image quality that I get out of every d850 file. Getting robbed was the best thing to happen to me :bugeyed:

[Dorian Anderson]

Question is: Are we at a point where we're going to be saying, "that's a nice frame, for a Canon shot"?.........

[Isaac Grant]

That is hysterical Dorian. You literally had me laughing. In my book from an image quality perspective, the D850 is unmatched as a wildlife camera. Who knows man it may change and swing back towards Canon again. Right now everything else is looking up at it. But that really gets you nothing other than an opportunity to get great image quality. We still have to do all the rest. Find the birds, get close, get them in killer light and so on. I was looking through old files as I was considering entering a contest and the more I looked at files that at the time I thought were just beautiful image quality, the more I saw differences from what I am getting now. In comparison they are less detailed, are muddy and messy looking. But we both know full well that you can make (and you have made) tons and tons of fantastic images with any system. As a total aside I do feel more confident with the Nikon system. The AF is better and I feel a bit more confident in my abilities when out in the field. Kind of like entering a gun fight and knowing you have the best gun. Gives you added confidence. Who knows if that leads to actually making better images but that confidence counts for something.

[Juan Tolentino]

Question is: Are we at a point where we're going to be saying, "that's a nice frame, for a Canon shot"?.........

Lol....isn’t Canon coming out with a new body soon? Don’t worry about that Dorian because your shots are really, really nice......wait for it.....for a Canon shot. Lol. I’ll put it another way, if you can make those nice images with your Canon gear, imagine what you can do with a D850? Just Kidding!!!


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[Arthur Morris]

Since there have been a bunch of duck photos posted lately, I figured I would post this photo as an example of some of the advice that I have been giving. Get low to the water, shoot straight down the barrel on the sun angle and when the sun is low in the sky. What you get is a perfectly lit bird with little to no shadows and super details. That makes all the difference in a photo in my opinion. We should always be aiming to make a great photo and not settle for something that is just OK. Very often the difference of a few feet one way or the other can be a major difference in the final output. And as I always stress color, exposure and details, they too must also be spot on.

Nikon D850 and Nikon 500PF. ISO 1000, F7.1, SS 1/5000. I needed a fast shutter speed to freeze the action but also to get proper exposure on the ducks that are very white with dark backs and heads.

Modesty is a wonderful trait. Not to mention that I have been pounding on light angle for 30+ years, have been pushing the D850 while you were still preaching how great Canon AF was, and yes, the 500 PF is definitely deadly.

with love, aretie

[Isaac Grant]

Artie I never once said the Canon AF was great. I said people were using it wrong and not to it’s full potential. Big difference that I don’t understand why you don’t seem to grasp. Otherwise thanks for the critique on this Canvasback shot.

[Arthur Morris]

Artie I never once said the Canon AF was great. I said people were using it wrong and not to it’s full potential. Big difference that I don’t understand why you don’t seem to grasp. Otherwise thanks for the critique on this Canvasback shot.

I need to go back to the video tape on that. At the very least you were defending Canon and saying that you would never switch :)

with love, artie

[Isaac Grant]

Don’t remeber doing that either Artie. Who is Canon anyway :w3

[Alex Becker]

Very late to the party but this is really nice Isaac. I love the details, exposure, wing pose, and catchlight. Beautiful background. Glad the switch is working out so well for you. The 500 PF looks really nice. I think I will stick with my 300 PF +/- 1.4 TC and keep saving up for a 500 or 600 f/4 for the reach. TFS

[arash_hazeghi]

looks like you are having great success with this combo , really like the light and details here, perfect wing position too