We finally got our February thaw so I headed out to a local pond to see who all had survived the winter. To my surprise and delight, there amidst all the Canada Geese and Mallard ducks was a pair of Wood Ducks! I couldn't get the male to come out and pose but I got the female and will head out again in the morning to see if I can get them swimming. I really was surprised by their arrival - I never thought I'd get such a beautiful pair of ducks at my neck of the suburbian woods!
Canon 40D, EF 5.6 400L
f 5/6 @ 1/800, ISO 200
Manual mode, pattern metering, late afternoon sun
Added canvas to the left side and color corrected the pink cast to the image in PS.
I'm not wild about the perch either, Randy, but she only stood still for a moment or two and then the pair flew off to the other side of the small lake. I was so surprised to see them here that I would have taken the photo if they were sitting on top of someone's car!
Julie; Very good detail and exposure, and I have no problem with the "perch". I think cropping a bit off the top would help (there is negative space there I can't quite justify). I'm pretty sure it could just be me, but the colors seem somewhat desaturated, and I think the overall tone needs to be warmed up slightly.
Now I'm expecting more bird images from you Julie! regardsill
Thanks, Bill. I had a weird late afternoon pink cast to the concrete so I did pull back the magentas and reds - probably could use a touch more golden color added back in. As this was my first sighting of the birds I was having trouble remembering their exact colors in pp so I'll look again today and see if I can get the color balance right.
As for the crop, I put the eye in the upper left ROT's and that's the crop I came up with but I think you're right - a bit off the top wouldn't hurt!
Julie, I also have no problem with the perch. The cropping looks good to me too as I would crop it the same way if it were mine. I particularly like the way you have captured the iridescence on the speculum.
Nice capture, Jules. I can only wish I had a pair of wood ducks nearby and within reach. Good suggestions above about the color and cropping - certainly a bit off the top wouldn't hurt. I wish you luck with the pair in the water - can't wait to see them.
Oh goodie Julie, heres hoping you get them up early and out swimming in the morning. Beautiful pattern on the breast, like the yellow lined eye and the speculum. TFS ann
Female Wood Duck
