Drake Cinnamon Teal (1000th post)

[David Salem]

As most of you know, there is something special about sitting in a field and observing the natural world around you, and capturing a special moment with our cameras can extend that moment beyond our memories. Digital photography is wonderful.

I wanted to say thank you to all the members here for there honest critiques and there genuine words of encouragement. Appreciated

This is the best learning site I have found for photographers of all skill levels to better themselves and there work. I have learned a ton over the last year on this forum and it has helped me to be more aware of many aspects of photography that I either took for granted or wasnt aware of. Thanks again to everyone.

I posted a shot of a sitting Drake Cinnamon Teal a few months ago and quite a few members responded that they haven't seen these ducks posted here to often. On that post I said that my goal was to try get a good in flight banking shot of a drake to show the beautiful colors of this species. Finally!

1DMKIV---700mm---f6.3---ss1/2500---ISO800---HH@8:15am---25% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. Appreciated.

David

[dankearl]

David
Superlatives are common here, but this is just a top notch flight photo of a difficult extremely fast subject.
Just a bit tight in the frame, but that is such a nitpick.
Extremely hard to get a photo like this, a big congratulations from me, just superb.

[David Salem]

Thanks allot Dan, Appreciated. You are right, these guys are real fast and if you dont see them coming from a distance and get locked on early, forget it. These guys will test your patience. I played with a few different comps but the colors and the eye are so detailed that a smaller crop still looked good but didnt show the detail as well. I knew it was a bit tight but wanted to highlight the detail in this one :) Thanks again

[Arthur Morris]

I cannot even imagine creating a flight shot of a duck one-tenth as good as this one. Stunning: bkgr, sharpness, pose, feather detail. Thanks for your kind words about BPN and mazel tov on 10K.

[gail bisson]

and congrats on 1000!
Nice and sharp. Great looking eye.
Thanks for all your comments and thoughtful critiques as well,
Gail

[jack williamson]

You nailed this one David, color, sharpness, wing position, ha all are superb.

[Doug Brown]

Gorgeous shot David! Congrats on your milestone!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, firstly big congrats on your milestone, and Im sure you will go on to many more. This banking pose shows off all the colours so well, good DOF throughout, and sharp too. Very well captured.

[Karl Egressy]

Wow, David you have a winner here. Such a stunning image of this great looking species. I love everything about it!!!!!!!
Congratulations on your 1000th and thanks for your comments.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi David. Great light, exposure, pose, colors, sharpness, and background! Outstanding in every way!

[Marina Scarr]

Congratulations on the milestone and just a big a congrats on this over the top flight image. WOW!!!

[Bill Dix]

What a super shot to celebrate your milestone. Love the colors, sharpness, flight position. Congrats on all counts. And thanks for your input on BPN.

[Dave Leroy]

LOvely textbook flight shot showing all the wonderful colors. Good for you and a fitting tribute for 1000. And thanks for the explanation for the tight crop. It is always good to know reasons for doing things.

[vishaljadhav]

WOW
This one is a stunning image of a teal, i have seen teals flying and they are always very difficult to get in focus, you have nailed this one spot on
The details are superb,
Congrats on your 1000th post , you have been a encouragement for newbies like me

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Fantastic flight shot, David, and what a cool species. Love the pose, the details and the light. Thanks for your participation and congrats on the milestone.

[Robert Holguin]

Superb flight shot!!!
Excellent pose, excellent details, and great comp.
Very well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

A very colorful image to celebrate. Great topside view and a nice BG, good details as well.

TFS and keep up the good work!

[David Salem]

Thanks very much everyone for the nice comments. Appreciated

[Richard Unsworth]

Sometimes we are lucky to see things in nature that are beyond beautiful. This shot is beyond good as well.
Best flying duck shot ever! Congrats on milestone, and thanks for input.