The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
A cute little mallard was feeding by itself on the edge of Allequash lake and was remarkably calm in the face of me in the kayak and a fishing boat that went by. I never get close to ducks so I was happy to be in its company. I shot a few stills, but this one is the most engaging to me because it is turned slightly my way. The lily pad shows just how actively it was eating. It reminds me of a bib.
You can see feeding behavior, hear quacking and laugh at the antics of lots of other ducks in this 5 minute video -
I’m curious to hear your reactions to it. It was a bit of a difficult mix for me since I wanted music, voice over and some of the ambient sound I recorded in the field. I use a combination mono and stereo microphone and like how immersive it can sound. Like everything, sound has its own learning curve so feel free to give me pointers if you know audio.
Specific Feedback
Processing and cropping ideas welcome.
Technical Details
Handheld with probably a Speedwell 1 stop ND & CPL in place
Lr for denoise AI & some sharpening. The usual S-curve in the basic panel with the sliders. Photoshop for distraction removal. Lr for a final crop.
The video was shot at the same time and edited entirely in DaVinci Resolve.
Interesting video, Kris. I’m afraid I can’t comment much on the audio since I don’t have any experience. The only thing I’d mention is that there was a deep background rumble that sounded almost like traffic (probably wind noise) that I think could be toned down.
As for the still of the mallard, I really like the pose, light and detail in the duck. I think it might benefit from being cropped a bit on the bottom and left. In particular, there’s a yellow lily pad in the lower left that keeps drawing my eye and I think cropping just above it and a corresponding distance from the left would make the duck pop a lot more.
yeah that’s the fishing boat I mentioned. no way to control him or where he was going, but I thought I’d leave it in since the sounds of the duck are so cute. I did my best to mitigate it, but I’m not an expert. Some techniques I tried left things sounding strange - basically eliminating or reducing the lower frequencies. I can play with it more.
The Mallard still is a nice view with good lighting, but I find the light on the water competes a bit. Might be easy to select the subject here and soften contrast on the water. Or else crop so there is less water – or both.
Wonderful video, nicely assembled and edited. I’m impressed by the stabilization. A mix of the camera’s capabilities, your steady hand, some kind of support and editing? It struck me that you might have a small drone do some of the work – that could allow some very cool moves, but the subjects might not tolerate it.
Thanks @Allen_Brooks - the kayak is a nice vantage point for a lot of things. It’s on the same level for waterfowl, turtles, etc. Not sure if I’ll get out in it again this year, but I am watching for good days.
Thanks for the input @Diane_Miller - the stabilization is definitely a combo - the camera’s IBIS and three different methods in DaVinci Resolve. The G9 MK2 that begins shipping next month has even better stabilization (7.5 stops for long lenses versus I think 5 in my original G9) so I hope for even smoother video. Getting that in a kayak is a big ask so it won’t be entirely gone, but it will be better. Have thought about a drone, but it’s just one more thing to bring with me and restrictions are getting worse and worse every year so many drone photographers have decided it isn’t worth the effort.
