"Lift Off"

[David Salem]

There are basically two different types of ducks, divers and puddle ducks. Diving ducks, like Ringnecks, Canvasbacks and Scaup all feed by diving deeper into the water to catch crustaceans, clams and other small invertebrates while puddle ducks, like Mallards, Teal and Shovelers dabble at the surface and just below to filter small plant and animal matter.
The way they fly is also very different. Divers need a runway to take off, and usually start with a running and flapping type of take off to build up enough speed to get their bodies airborne.
Puddle ducks, like this drake Shoveler, are able to bolt almost straight up in an awesome burst of power. This enables them to evade predators that may try to catch them in the smaller shallower areas that they prefer to feed in.

1DX---840mm---f6.3---ss1/3200---ISO800---HH@ 7:45am---30% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[David Salem]

Forgot to mention, as I know some of you will ask, the head is not the normal green color due to the light angle. Just like the speculums on the wings light up in the right light angle, so dose the head, or the lack there of.

[Jim Keener]

Breathtaking. Did you capture this at San Jacinto Wildlife Area?

[David Salem]

Thanks Jim,

No, This was taken at wildlife area in Irvine. This will be one of the locations that we will using for our upcoming waterfowl workshop this winter. Lots of great opportunities for beautiful waterfowl and shorebird shots.
I know from meeting you that you are interested in learning BIF technique so this workshop might be right up your alley.
Thanks again

[Bill Dix]

Great take-off shot, David. Sharp where it counts, great action and color. The fact that the wing tips show motion blur even at 1/3200 just illustrates the amazing burst of power he's using in take-off.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dave, thanks for the intro, and what a great take off pose - it shows off your intro perfectly. Love the forward wing position, sharp where it counts, and I understand about the light angle showing off the colours. ( Its the same with the speculum on our yellow-billed ducks ) Love the take off splash. Although Im fine with this comp, I can see a traditional landscape comp too.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Very nice light and great pose. I love the colours and the splashes. I would like to see more space on top if you have it. Nicely done David!

[David Salem]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Stuart, I chose a square comp for this one to keep the focus on the duck and the water splash.
Thanks as always.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi David, nice rich colours and the trailing water emphasise nicely take off. Is this with expanded points or all zones with one area highlighted? Personally I'm OK on the height space, just like more to the right to fly into, perhaps an 8 x10?

TFS
Steve

[David Salem]

Steve,

I almost always shoot BIF stuff with the Centerpoint and the first expansion, which gives me four focus points around the center point on a 1DX.
I have tried shooting with just the Centerpoint only but it's just too Flippin hard.

Thanks

[Steve Kaluski]

I have tried shooting with just the Centerpoint only but it's just too Flippin hard.

Indeed, although that is all I had on the 'incoming' owls, just positioned within the options, however the tracking, acceleration etc is different from side on to head on.

All the best.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

I haven't posted here on BPN in quite a bit, but this image just got me back on! What a fabulous shot. Not only is it hard to get this timing down, but you got one heck of a wing position - especially relative to the head.

For those of you that don't know David well, he is quite versed with duck behavior and was able to improve my keeper rate 10-fold with a couple of tips when I shot with him earlier this year. Being in a great location is part of it, but having his insight into behaviors is out of this world.

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent take off captured, David. Beautiful colors, nice wing position and flash of water.

Regards,
Satish.

[Arthur Morris]

Beautiful image. The speculum of a drake shoveler is one of my favorite feather tracts in the avian world and you have killed it here.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent dynamic pose and the water drops between the feet and the water makes it great

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Thanks Miguel, Im glad those few tips helped you out.