Flight of the Yellow-Billed Duck

At this location, the Ducks literally 'race' down through the lagoon at high speeds, as they like to follow the course of the water. If they have the wind behind them, they are going at some speed. Unfortunately, most times, they are flying nearer to the opposite bank. The BG in this image is part of the golf course on the opposite side of the lagoon. As this fellow was quite far, I didnt want to crop too much, so Ive left more than enough space. This angle shows off the green speculum nicely. Taken early morning at the Milnerton Lagoon in Cape Town.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 300mm F/2.8 +2X TC = 600mm
1/2000
F/6.3
ISO 640

Hand held

I like the loose composition, sharpness, setting and BG. Nice image Stu!

Hey Stu, nice to see another diverse habitat/environment for these birds to fly in, plus I also like the scale ratio here too.

TFS
Steve

Just enough detail in the BG to give an indication of habitat etc. Lovely green on the speculum showing up too. Nice one.
JohnR

Lovely Stu. Very 'natural' looking image. The details and colours on the duck are nice. The BG blends very well.

Will

I like the small in the frame presentation and the great background, Stu.

Excellent flight image and background. Nice detail.

Beautiful compostion and colors.

Thank you all for the feedback.

Hi Stu, bird small in the frame is tough, but you got it well done here. The bird is tack sharp and the multi color BG is great. Loi

Lovely shot Stu, at first I wondered if the duck was a little small but the detail is so good and the colour palette all makes for a very pleasing image.

Stu all been said above, must say I agree with the points raised, great stuff.

Keith.

Stu - Another great flight image with excellent colors and sharpness.


TFS,
Rachel

Agree with Jonathan,nice capture.

A Nice small in the frame capture Stu. The flight angle caught the light on the speculums perfectly and makes the image pop against the nice natural BG colors. Well done