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Thread: Mallard Sledding

  1. #1
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Default Mallard Sledding

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    Had a chance to go to the local bird sanctuary this afternoon for a bit. I literally had just planted my tripod, had not had a chance to check any settings or take any exposure readings, when this fellow came crashing in from my left. He did land, after a fashion, but must have slid for 15 feet on his breast before coming to a stop. Really funny.

    I did the only thing I could under the circumstances, I pushed the button, with the old settings, and hoped I might get something.

    D700 600mm f/5.6 1/2500s ISO 800 Manual exp Gitzo/wimberley

    Post: CS5 The original was significantly underexposed because the settings were from the last time I was out, a bright day. It was much darker today.
    Increased exposure, adjusted the curves in ACR, selectively sharpened, minor crop for comp. Image quality suffered from the underexposure, but the low noise of the D700 helped. No noise reduction done on the image.

    Makes me laugh.

    Advice and comments appreciated.

    Cheers

    Randy
    Last edited by Randy Stout; 12-30-2010 at 09:28 PM.

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    Dang Randy, awesome shot, wow what a pretty duck, Great job on the "save"; looks very nice; has me thinking of making the trip down on next saturday!
    Let me know if you are going to go! Wish we had some of these "slidders" down here!
    Cheers
    Don

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Don:

    There continues to be a lot of activity there, mainly mallards, american black ducks and of course trumpeters.

    The weather forecast is pretty grim, with mixed freezing rain and snow. Certainly could change by then, as it has been quite variable all week.

    I may pop in if the weather is decent. You should definitely check the weather before you head down.

    Cheers

    Randy

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    Thks will do, maybe give me a shout on friday evening if you think you will, it's along drive, especially not knowing the lay out etc. Remember i'm refering to 10 days from now.. long range forecast is not looking too bad, this weekend looks ugly for sure!
    cheers
    don

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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    Randy, I absolutely love this capture. The action is great, and the humor puts it over the top for me. I think I might prefer less of a pano crop and the bird not so much in the middle, but it's difficult to tell unless I have something to compare it to. You did a great job getting this under the circumstances. Congrats!

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    Too Funny!:D Love the feet kicking back. let's hope for good weather my schedule is getting lighter again by the end of the week.

    Gary.

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    A useful shot showing unusual behavior. Despite not having the perfect settings, you've cobbled together a winning image!

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    Love it! A very special and different capture of a common subject!
    Excellent detail!

    Seems to have a blue and/or cyan cast.
    I tried a Color Balance adjustment with +20 on the Cyan/Red slider and -20 on the Yellow/Blue slider and looked better to me. Try it and see what you think.

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    BPN Member Don Lacy's Avatar
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    Randy, Just seeing the thumbnail put a smile on my face:)
    Don Lacy
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    Awesome +++ Randy.

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    Gotta love this one:D
    Do ducks often slide on their bellies on the ice?

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    Lifetime Member philperry's Avatar
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    Terrific grab shot Randy. Great instincts to just react and get the picture.

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    Great shot Randy. :p

    Chad

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    Randy
    I often go to a lake near home and photograph (and feed corn) to the mallards. It's about the only lake that has a small opening and it fills with hungry birds. I enjoy the time there and have gotten amazing images. With that said....this is awesome. I've seen some interesting landings.....but not one quite like this.....it's a winner on all accounts.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone.

    I came very close to deleting this when it first came up during ingestion, so underexposed.

    Mike, I agree about there being a cast. I don't mind a slight blue cast on winter/snow images, I think our mind interprets the blue as colder. I will however try a version without the cast.

    Chris - I don't think he was trying to slide, just messed up the landing. First he bounced off his bottom, and then pitched over into this pose.

    This image helps me remember that a technically perfect, but boring image isn't nearly as powerful as a technically flawed image with something unique happening. Now if I can just do both on the same image, I might have something there. :)

    Cheers

    Randy

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Awesome pose Randy! I'd be interested to see what the unprocessed file looked like.
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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Doug:

    I am at work, but will try to put it up later today.

    In one word however: dark!

    Randy

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    I thought maybe he had been watching penguins :D

    Must have been hilarious to watch.

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    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
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    Great recovery, Randy (for both you and the Mallard). I love the pose and the way you caught the curved tailfeathers and feet. The little bit of noise and blue cast are secondary to the great action you captured.

  20. #20
    Danny J Brown
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    Randy,

    This curly-tail came in for a rough landing and you must have been happy to have captured it so well. His little snow covered paddles are funny the way they are sticking up in the air. One of my favorite shots lately on BPN so thanks for sending it out.

    DB

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Randy, funnily enough, I was at a bird park the other afternoon too - but in searing heat, so no chance of capturing anything like this. :) Very well captured for a 'grab' shot, and just love the 'swan lake' pose. I like the way you have brought out the colours, and if anything, I would maybe move him back to the left a tad.

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    Randy, what a hilarious moment. Very well captured..and yes, great save. I am liking the crop as presented. TFS.

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    BPN Viewer Pieter de Waal's Avatar
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    Hi Randy , wonderful piece of action captured here and well done on the recovery.

  24. #24
    Michael Bertelsen
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    Great shot Randy,

    I don't mind the blue color cast , one of my best selling winter landscapes has a heavy blue color cast.

    Its nice to see I'm not the only one that has trouble with that slippery stuff.

    Cheers,

    Michael

  25. #25
    Bryan Hix
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    That is a funny shot. It looks like a greeting card cover. Love everything about it.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone for the comments.

    My wife took one look at this one and said:

    Mallard Pilates! Apparently there is a pilates move very similar to this!

    Cheers

    Randy

  27. #27
    Rohan Kamath
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    I loved this image and the story behind it too... Made me laugh... I actually liked everything about it.
    :)


    -Regards,
    Rohan
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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Brown View Post
    Awesome pose Randy! I'd be interested to see what the unprocessed file looked like.
    Doug: Here is the untouched, original file.

    Randy

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Great save Randy. Turned out to be a wonderful image...glad you took a chance on it:)

    What makes me laugh most are the two curled tail feathers!!

  30. #30
    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Randy Stout View Post
    Doug: Here is the untouched, original file.
    Thanks Randy. Pretty impressive recovery!
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    Landscapes Moderator Andrew McLachlan's Avatar
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    Hi Randy, now there's a different pose! Good timing and post production work!

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    Awesome pose and great pp work! Well done.:)

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    BPN Viewer Mark Young's Avatar
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    The action is priceless! It made me laugh as well.

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