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Thread: Wood Duck in Flight

  1. #1
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    Default Wood Duck in Flight



    LaSalle Marina, Burlington Ontario, Canada

    Nikon D300 ,Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR


    1/1000s f/4.0 at 400.0mm iso320
    Hand held, no flash, 80% of FF, basic PS, levels, sharpening

    I spent an afternoon shooting with some friends at LaSalle Marina, with the highlight of the action being the Male Wood Duck. I had lost sight of the little guy, waiting patiently for him to return to our area. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a duck in the air, incoming, and directly at me while sitting down low on the cold concrete. (20F and wind a howlin!)

    After I fired a few frames at it, a smile came over my face when I realized it was our buddy, and fortunately, the D300 got a good lock on the subject in motion. This lens / body combo seems to have been built for each other, and I could not be happier to be out shooting with fine equipment.

    take good care, and thanks for looking.


    Last edited by Raymond Barlow; 01-21-2008 at 12:14 AM. Reason: cleaned up the slight halo.

  2. #2
    Alfred Forns
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    Nailed the little guy Raymond !!! Great bg Very sharp and well exposed Not sure if going to a higher ISO (more ss) would have help with the wing tip !!! One fine flight image Big Congrats !!!

  3. #3
    BPN Member Tony Whitehead's Avatar
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    Cool image Raymond - I agree that the D300 and 200-400 combo is great - a big step up from the D200 for flight shots. I really like the blur to the wingtip. At this res I am having trouble seeing if the head and eye are critcally sharp - there seems good focus on the bases of the wings but the eye highlight and beak look a bit fuzzy to me. I often stop- down 1 stop with flight shots to give a bit more latitude with DOF as the backgrounds are often quite distant. There is a prominent sharpening halo over the head.
    Tony Whitehead
    Visit my blog at WildLight Photography for latest news and images.

  4. #4
    Fabs Forns
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    Great flight image!

    We've been going for them at Santee Lakes since yesterday, met many BPNers too :)
    The blurred wingtips gives it a sense of motion.

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    Really nice Ray. Ive been hoping to get some frames of this species in flight. You have done well here to get a nice BG and wing pose.

  6. #6
    Judy Lynn Malloch
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    Excellent flight image Ray; Love the fight pose and the superb coor and detail.

  7. #7
    IOTY Winner 2008 Chris van Rooyen's Avatar
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    Amazing looking bird, wish we had them here:D Great flight shot, I like the blurred wingtip. Sharpness is exceptional, I would have liked slightly more shadow detail under the tail (very small nit really)

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