Pacific black duck saluting me!

[Paul Burdett]

This was taken at Lake Apex, around 85 kms west of Brisbane. I focused on this Duck and waited for the right moment, as I saw that it started to raise its wing. At the time, I was thinking of Artie's comment on his podcast regarding the anticipation of something the bird might do, and waiting for the right moment to release the shutter. I'm happy with the result.
Canon 7D mkii, 100-400 lens at 349mm, f5.6, 1/320th sec, iso100, manual exposure hand-held.
Cheers.

[Randy Stout]

Paul:

Nice timing to get the full stretch. Well exposed, good eye contact.

Just for personal taste I would consider cropping down a bit from the top to play up the pano like stretch pose.

The eye/head don't seem quite as sharp as the scapulars. Where was your point of focus?

A higher ISO would have allowed more dof while still keeping the shutter speed up.

The foreground is a bit cluttered with beach debris. Might tone down the red leaf a bit so it doesn't draw ones attention so much.

Cheers

Randy

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Randy. Thank you for the constructive feedback. I agree with the crop suggestion...It's something I did consider when editing the image, but decided on the 10x8 crop. I'll try it anyway. Not sure I agree regarding the head/eye...seems sharp to me, and my focus point was on the eye. The iso/dof connection puzzles me, as dof is related to aperture (unless you mean I could have chosen f6.3-f8) Also, I'm ok with the debris in the foreground...it's part of the environment, although I know others feel differently. Cheers.

[Paul Burdett]

Hi. After considering Randy's comments further, I decided to do a quick re-edit. Pano crop...head/eye sharpen and some cloning of the foreground debris. Which do you prefer?

[Randy Stout]

Paul:

The reason for the higher ISO would be to allow you to use a smaller aperture to increase your DOF. Sorry, I wasn't clear on that point.

I like the cleaner version, but it is truly a personal choice.

For my eye the increased sharpening is a plus. Often when the feathers are wet, they appear less sharp. Because the perception of sharpness of the eye is so critical, I sometimes will sharpen just the eye a bit extra, separate from the feathers, etc.

If you have a sliver more canvas on the left, that would be an option as well.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Paul, I like the low perspective here, and well timed for the wing stretch. The angle of the wing shows off the colours nicely. Although Randy mentioned it in his last comment, the first thing that I noticed, is needing more space on the LHS.

Your repost works well.

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Randy and Stu: Thanks for the feedback...I must admit that I now prefer the repost (although the cloning was a quick job and not the best). I did have more on the LHS, so might go back and fix that up too. Randy: point taken regarding the dof/iso..cheers!

[Dorian Anderson]

Fun image, looks pretty good, particularly the nice light on that striking facial pattern. That diagonal shoreline is tough though. Include it and the bottom looks cluttered/unbalanced, but crop it out and the bird is probably too close to the bottom of the frame. Pick your poison!

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Dorian,
Interesting comment...I will think about that diagonal and my poison...it's amazing how people see things differently. Cheers.

[Arthur Morris]

Not surprisingly, I love the repost but you cropped some stuff from the bottom and it is now way too tight there. Unlike Randy, who made lots of good points, I see no need for more d-o-f. I love the sharpness and all the detail. I have been seeing lots of great 7D Mark II images lately ...

Great bird as well.

with love, artie

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Artie. Thank you so much for the feedback. I will go back to the original raw and play around with the crop again. I received the BIF basics pdf from Arash yesterday and have been absorbing the info presented. Also, I have just been reading the interesting comments regarding the Canon 400mm DOii IS lens on your blog, as I have been researching this lens. However, as much as I would like to upgrade my gear (and not dig into my superannuation!) I (as you have said) want to maximize my skills with what I already have...the 7D Mkii and 100-400 lens. Anyhow...at 65 years of age I have plenty of time (lol)...health permitting, to consider gear upgrades. Cheers.

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Paul, Best of luck on all counts young man :) Do get in touch via e-mail when you are ready to get some new gear.

with love, artie

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Artie. Young? you flatter me...actually my brain is still 35 and apart from Tinnitus for the past 4 years I'm in relatively good shape. I wasn't sure regarding buying new gear from B&H in terms of me being here "down under"...but I guess that's not an issue. However, the conversion from USD to AUD is poor at the moment. $USD50 is now around $AUD78...so if/when parity next comes then it may be the correct time for me to buy. Meanwhile I'm enjoying being on this forum and reading your blog. We're off to Tasmania on September 2 for two weeks...spending some time on Bruny Island, where I'm doing a guided bird walk. There are a number of endemic species only seen on Bruny...so really looking forward to doing that. Next best thing to being on one of your trips (well maybe not...lol). Cheers.