mallard in ballard

[Enrique Patino]

taken a local pond today learning how to "dial in" my new 7DmkII



7Dmkii, 700mm, ISO 400, 1/2000 @ f/6.3

comments and suggestions welcome

[William Dickson]

I like this Enrique. I like how the dark BG and water blend with the colours on the duck. Good low angle. The Mkii looks like its going to be the business. I get my one in a couple of days Thanks for sharing

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Enrique, good low angle, and a nice angle from the mallard too. I like how the light is cast onto the duck. Just interested to know if the surrounding BG was already dark, or have you darkened the BG to make the duck pop. I would tidy up the double catchlight.

[Enrique Patino]

Hi Enrique, good low angle, and a nice angle from the mallard too. I like how the light is cast onto the duck. Just interested to know if the surrounding BG was already dark, or have you darkened the BG to make the duck pop. I would tidy up the double catchlight.

I go back and forth regarding the second catchlight ... either way

the BG was exposed like that... in order to get the bird right, I had t use the setting that produce a dark BG. thanks for your comments

[Marina Scarr]

Killer light on this female mallard. Your light and low angle really brought out the beauty of this duck.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image beautiful lady in the spot lights. Very nice dark BG, low shooting angle and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Mike Poole]

Give me an interesting duck shot over an average eagle any day! This is a lovely use of light and a great example of turning everyday subjects into something worth multiple views.

I'll be getting a 2nd camera soon and its good to see what the 7d2 is capable of - looks like it could complement my 5d3 well

Mike

[Daniel Cadieux]

Very nice! I love the low angle, pano crop, and sweet warm light. About as nice a hen mallard image we can get!

[Shantanu Ambulgekar]

class image ..I like the eye level shoots..though I am not able to get them more often ..Can you please through some light how you got the black BG? Image looks punchy and standing out very nicely because of that.

Regards,
Shantanu

[gail bisson]

Love the black BG and spotlit effect.
The 7D MK II looks like it is a winner!
Gail

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice! I love how he is under the "spotlight" against that dark BG. sharp with excellent exposure. well done Enrique!

[vishaljadhav]

Beautiful exposure and a sharp image
one of the best female mallard images i have seen
very nicely done

[Enrique Patino]

Thanks again for your comments.

class image ..I like the eye level shoots..though I am not able to get them more often ..Can you please through some light how you got the black BG? Image looks punchy and standing out very nicely because of that.

Regards,
Shantanu

I used spot metering on the bird so that the exposure needle was right around the middle. It might have resulted in it not being ETTR. Because the BG is a nearby bank not directly lit by sunlight, it comes out dark like that... I usually do some "lightening of the darks and taming of the brights - some contrast work on the mid-tones (which is most of the bird as the rest of the image itself is dark and super dark tones) on the bird only... masking any effect on the BG.

[David Salem]

Great looking frame Enrique. The dark BG really showcases this hen nicely. Well done.