First duck pics

[Bjoern Drabeck]

Hi all,

my name is Bjoern, I am new to these forums. Not too long ago I got myself a D80 with an 18-200VR, which might not be great for the typical bird photography, but for the ducks at the nearby stream it should be sufficient. Anyway, over the next few days I will post some of my first examples, and am glad to receive constructive criticism.

Thanks in advance,
Bjoern

[Doug West]

Welcome Bjoern,

First, don't worry about your camera. In my book, its more important to know what
to do with the camera.

Okay...the pic. I'll tell you what I learned from Artie...

1. Time of day. By the strong shadow, I'm guessing it was early in the afternoon.
Try for later in the day or early in the morning.

2. If its possible, try and get as low as you can. Being near eye level with the duck
will make for a stronger image.

3. Then there's always the head angle. Try and wait for the moment when the bird is
looking at your general direction.

4. Sun angle. Have the sun at your back...like Artie says, your shadow pointing at the
bird, and you're good to go.

The picture itself is nice. Its sharp. If possible, I would remove that one weed. Maybe
a levels/curves adjustment to brighten up the image a little.

Doug

[Gus Cobos]

Bjoern, Welcome to BPN. I like your duck. Doug covered all the points very well...:)

[Alfred Forns]

Big Welcome !!!! Excellent first image !!!

Doug did a fine job of covering the improvements You did come up with a good exposure and interesting behavior !!!

For ducks you got lots of possibilities and remember food is a strong motivator When photographing in strong sunlight you can always move the ducks to the shade All shade will give you very nice images.

For next post remember to list the tech information It does help to see what you were doing !!! Looking forward to many more !!!!

btw if you send me your first name I can do the update Trying to have all members with full name or last and two initials Thanks

[Bjoern Drabeck]

Hi everyone, and thanks for the feedback and compliments :)

Sorry about the lack of info:
Focal length 170mm, 1/400s at f/5.6, white balance 5300K

Btw my full name is Bjoern Drabeck

thanks,
Bjoern