Sort of my nemesis bird ... I'd seen them quite a few times, but always too far to photograph. This time I had two things going for me: I learned about patience and there happened to be more males than females. As I approached the edge of the pond, they all swam to the other side (expected). I lay down on my belly and got comfortable for a bit. I noticed that out of the 14 total, only 5 were females. That left 4 unpaired males. I'm not one to use calls much (I'm not experienced and never know if it's too much, or not enough, or what birds responds to ... etc), but I used my iBird app to send out the female Hoodie call. That got their attention and slowly they came over to investigate. Once they got within range I was able to get some shots, with this one being one of my favorites.
Shooting info:
Nikon D800 | 500 f/4 + 1.4
1/500" | f/6.3 | ISO 2500
Grizzly bean bag for support (full review here)
Great to get the open beak and the head turned towards you. I love the smooth water and BG. Well done on getting good detail ESP in the shadows area's, very nice Miguel.
Great job on working these ducks, Miguel, and it looks as though your technique and patience has paid off. You have a lovely calling pose and water. Nice low angle.
Excellent shot...loved the open bill-raised crest pose and the clean BG. You can add some color sat and if the reds near the eye are getting too hot, add a mask there. You also got the purple cheek patch.
Other than that, I have two suggestions (a) use of a slightly warmer white balance and (b) move the bird a little to the right in the frame.
Beautiful shot!
Love the calling pose, excellent details, shooting angle is just amazing, and wonderful background.
Your patience paid off very well.
Well done.
Wood Duck
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