Sticking the landing

This mallard hen was captured yesterday at the local bird sanctuary. Nice weather, and great company, as a bunch of the local photographers showed up by chance. Lots of tall tales and laughter. I shoot alone 90% of the time, but this is a fun group.

D500 Sigma 150-600 Sport, f/6.3 1/4000s ISO 1600. Hand held. In retrospect, had plenty of light by the time this image was taken, to back well off on the ISO. Had been shooting in the shadows and early morning light. Note to self: keep checking parameters as conditions change !!

Cheers

Randy

Great pose, feather detail and perfect timing on the capture. I might lighten the eye a bit.

Perfect timing with great wing position. Great that she chose to land parallel to the focal plane. Your "note to self" applies equally to me, and probably to all of us.

Pretty comical pose here. Great head angle and detail on the bird. The ice makes this one.

A 10 score on the landing! I love the full wings back position. The tail sweeping the ice is pretty neat as well. ISO 1600 is not too high in today's camera's IMO, better too much than not enough:S3:.

I love shots like these, and although I always feel a little guilty laughing when I see it done in front of me, they do make great shots. All good here with the wing poses and the light, another winner

Mike