Wood Duck
Hello, I have been lurking here for a while. This is a great site with tons of useful info and some amazing photographs.I took this picture at 3:22pm it was sunny with a few clouds. He was a fast moving little guy and keep me running. I had a hard time with blowing out the whites or losing the colors.
1/400
F11
ISO 400
1000mm
No flash
Canon 1DMII, 500mm F4IS, 2x Converter
Hi Michael !!! Glad you decided to post !!!!
Interesting crop As presented would take some from the top For my taste would like go tighter or remove the converter and fame the entire duck. The light was form your hard right making the duck's back dark. These are difficult to shoot and need soft light to keep detail in the black and tame the whites
From a tech point of view would suggest to shoot wide open I know you are told to stop down for sharpness but it won't help you if there is motion blur. You were actually shooting at 1300mm with the camera crop factor and your shutter speed was 1/400 sec Not a strong combination
Also would try letting the duck swim into cleaner water. If they don't cooperate might try some bread..... does seem to change their attitudes !!!!!
Hi Michael, Welcome to BPN!! Nice first post. Love the wood ducks. Cant wait to see some more from you.
The wood ducks in this area respond to cracked corn and it is better for them then bread it is also easier to keep fresh as bread goes stale fast. I tote around a five gallon container that i picked up at the local hardwarestore for a couple of dolars and it came with a lid.
The local Agway store sells cracked corn in 25 and 50 lb bags for a couple more dollars and it will last a couple of trips to my local area.
John
For industrial quantities agree the cracked corn would be best !!!! For a casual feeding they will appreciate the bread
If you have enough ducks you can move them around with the cracked corn It is a strong motivational factor !!!!!
Originally Posted by john crookes
From what I understand, cracked corn and bird seed make great beanbag filler too.
Thanks for the input Alfred. I plan on going back on my next off day to try this again. I do keep cracked corn here for feeding birds in the yard I will take some and give it a try. I Have to tell you I am only a every other weekend warrior photographer, but the enjoyment I get out of it cannot be explained. I do thank everyone for the information they have posted here and other forums.
Thanks!
Michael,
I didn't see it mentioned but you might want to desaturate the red eye. DO a selection, then adjust using the Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer (PSCS) or similar method.
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