This is my first attempt at sneaking up on ducks. Did not go so well as they saw me coming from 300 yards away. I even had my cammo poncho. I tried hiding in the bushes for a while, not budging, but the ducks were having none of it. There were wood ducks, goldeneys, mergansers, and whatever this one is (some kind of Grebe?) The only reason I got close enough for this shot is because he dived and I quickly crawled on my belly to the edge of the river when he couldn't see me, then got him as he surfaced. Still too far away which is frustrating. I thought the whole point of a longer lens was so you didn't have to get so close, but it seems that I need to be within 20 feet to get any kind of quality. Or maybe that's just the difference between a zoom and a fixed focal length lens. Anyway, I did like the whole color scheme here, and the bird is cute. The bird would have been lit better if it had turned it's head slightly away. The sun was coming up almost straight downriver, so not much choice about that.
Did a few rounds of USM, levels adjustment, cleaned up the eye to bring out some of the color and catchlight, BG NR.
Device: Nikon D5000
Lens: VR 150-500mm F/5-6.3G
Focal Length: 500mm
Focus Mode: AF-C
AF-Area Mode: Dynamic
Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/1000s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: +0.3EV
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 800
Attachment 127790


