Mallard Ducks making themselves at home on the shoreline of the Valdez Bay, Valdez, Alaska. The grass was still green but there was fresh snow and ice all around. This was as close as I could get without putting a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter on the 100-400 and the light wasn’t very good so I didn’t do that. The result was an environmental scene with a variety of poses and action which I kind of liked.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
I had to use a wide aperture to get some decent shutter speed and it resulted in one duck being OOF. Would it be worth the effort to remove that duck or does it matter very much?
It’s a very nice scene. The sharp birds look very good, and I like the one flapping its wings. Very surprising the grass is still green. For me, the scene is a little too busy and lacks something to anchor it, so my eye keeps wandering without landing anywhere. I’d personally favor cloning out the OOF duck. It also looks like you need to CW rotation. Looking forward to more from Alaska!
A very nice scene, Gary. I’d keep the soft duck. It’s not too badly out of focus and if you removed it there would be no cause for the ripples it’s created. Also, my eye goes to the group and doesn’t linger on it long enough to care that it’s soft.
