This male was following a female around the pond, and would often extend its neck - seemingly as a sign of interest. But is was most often too far, or too obscured by the multitude of mallards in the way. I went back a few times in the hopes of capturing this behavior as a close up full-frame in-camera vertical. Bingo, it finally paid off! I may create a version with a bit more room below, but overall I was rather satisfied with this.
Canon R6 + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/1250s., f/8, ISO 3200, natural light, handheld, FF, eye work including enhancing the faint catchlight.
Hi Daniel glad that you finally managed the shots you wanted to get .
I do like the vertical comp and the little bow in front .
Nice color and tones ... the flat light helped to keep things simple .
Overall I think is quite tight ... for me the image needs more room all around , at the bottom the most of it .
I agree with Andreas about th flat light really being a friend here. I like the comp too. I know it is a bit tight, but I am fine with going in tight on these type of portrait images. I like your choice to go vertical here.
I think this is the first duck close up I have seen you posting with this crop....And I must say it works good for me....It shows the extended neck perfectly ....Fab detail, HA and POV....Nice one Dan.
I think this is spot on. Love the close view, extended neck, and crisp details. The lean and associated skeptical look really make this memorable. Money!
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