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Thread: Mallard in flight

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Default Mallard in flight

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    For once we had decent light the other morning so off to the local frozen lake to see what was about. Not too many species, but I did like the way the sun was lighting the Mallards heads. I flipped this shot round, for me it just seems to work better (cheating?). Not the classic wing position, but you can't have everything (well, some on here seem to manage it regularly!)

    Canon 5d3
    500mm f4is
    ISO 1000
    1/3200th f4

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    Great light as you mentioned, the bird is sharp from beak to tail, except maybe wingtips. Liked the streamlined body shape as well. I don't think the LR orientation would make any difference in terms of appeal. I do think this can be cropped a little from the top though. Nice to see the water droplets on the belly. The highlights on the feathers (I was going to say fur ) on the legs and shoulder can probably be toned down slightly in post, they look blown out..

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Mike:

    Good critique from Nikhil, although I actually do feel many images 'read' better when the subjected is headed to the right, since that is our normal reading pattern. Pretty subtle difference, but I have flipped a few action images for that reason and often prefer them flipped.

    I love to shoot over snow or ice to get that great fill light, and many of my favorite duck pictures are from the winter.

    I might consider softening the subtle line in the background that goes down to the head.

    Cheers

    Randy
    MY BPN ALBUMS

    "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy" Sir Isaac Newton

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    Nice flight shot against pleasing background. The wings seem to have some yellow color cast unless it is the natural color.

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    Beautiful light and I like the clean BG and the gliding pose. Very sharp!
    They're pretty ducks that often get overlooked because they're so common. Whites look a bit blown as mentioned - might be worth trying to recover by started with DPP (if you haven't already tried that). TFS.

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    Superb flight shot in beautiful lights with beautiful colors and nice details.

    Regards,
    Satish.

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Mike, well exposed on the head, those greens really look great, and I like the visible droplets. I do like the colour of the BG, and just get back out there for a better wing position.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    I am a bit late to the party but agree about the whites and the wing position.
    The image is still very appealing because of the color palette,
    gail

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