One of my photography buddies, Roy Van Loo had sent me a picture of a pintail that had shown up at the local bird sanctuary. The weather has been very dreary, and the forecast was worse, but I slipped out this AM to see if he was still there.
It was too dark to do much flight photography, but after a while, this handsome fellow showed up, and I was pleased to have a few minutes to work with him. He was hanging around with a bunch of mallards, so hard to get a clean shot, but eventually got lucky.
D4 600VR f/5 1/1000s ISO 1250 SB900 with beamer Manual Gitzo/Wimberley . I was as low as you can get at this site. I had gone to f/8 with a slower shutter speed earlier, but he was moving around enough that I elected to bump up the shutter speed again.
Post: Added canvas to the left, cleaned up the ice a bit, selective sharpening. No noise reduction. Cleaned up the catch light a bit.
Without the flash, no chance for this one.
I hope for more dynamic poses in the future, but was tickled to finally see one.
Excellent! If you don't show up then you DEFINITELY won't get the shot, so it pays to show up. Great looking duck, nice clean background and I love the ice.
Randy, very nice indeed. loved the ice. and very good flash work. I think DOF coverage is fine as you got yourself in such nice position w.r.t the bird.
I dont have many Pintail shots either. They are very skittish here. Tomorrow morning is looking good and I havent been out in a loooong time. Hoping to get to the lake a find a Pintail. I know a few hang out there but are usually too far for my 400. hoping tomorrow will be the day one gets close enough :-)
I just love these elegant ducks. This is a handsome drake, and a nice profile of him. Good, unobtrusive flash work. Sometimes you just can't get as low as you might wish, and its better not to go through the ice on a cold day.
This is just stunning, Randy. Glad you did go out after all! Such beautiful detail, love the pose, don't even mind the head looking straight on. Just pops against that soft sweet blue. This is pretty marvelous. How I wish it were mine...
It wasn't luck Randy. It was persistance! And your persistance paid off with a nice portrait. The low angle works well, and you chose the right amount of fill flash.
Beautifully done. Really stands out from the very nice ice blue background. Great use of flash, really brought out the details and coloring of the head. Good post-processing work as well. You really did a remarkable job for "just showing up".
Isn't it a rush to see a new species!
I love the polished bill and the slight purple iridescent area on the head and the herring bone patterned feathers.
No nits from me!
Lovely,
Gail
You really nailed this Randy, just sharp and detailed as can be and nice to see one on ice.
We have a lot here, but they are really wild and tend to stay out in the wetlands.
I envy your close up look.
Hi Randy, congrats on getting your first of this species, and it seems that you worked out everything nicely due to the conditions. Angle is fine, sometimes we just cant get any lower at certain locations, and I do like the overall detail and purple sheen on the head - good use of subtle flash. I think you have brought out the sharpness perfectly, as the lower plumage can become crispy if overdone. Yep, you pretty much nailed this. Hope you get to see more.
I really appreciate your input! Such a handsome fellow, I feel very fortunate to have him show up for me.
I did forget to mention that I used a little corn on the ice to get his attention. It was cold enough that the birds were all hunkered down by one of the bubblers that keep the ice open. Unfortunately, they didn't consult with photographers when they placed the bubblers, and they are in terrible spots re: lighting and BG.
So, to get them to move my way, I used a bit of corn. This is allowed at this site, in fact, they sell corn at the visitors center, so I don't feel bad about its use, but should have disclosed it earlier.
I have toyed with the idea of a D800e, but something tells me this feather pattern my cause a bit of moire!
My First Pintail
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