The ubiquitous Mallard, seen on every pond and every lake across the country. Early morning light lit them up and I had a great spot to shoot these two drakes. I loved the soft water they were paddling in. They were content and quiet and had this section of pond to themselves. They seemed to be auditioning for the camera. Shot the first week of April.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D7100, NIkkor 200-500mm @ 270mm, 1/2000, f8, ISO800 . The portrait shot @ f10 1/800 at 440mm. Tripod used for all.
The portrait shot was so clean I thought I needed a medium vignette, too much? Does the texture weeds work for you in #2?
They are ubiquitous, but still fun. I particularly like that all the photos show those curly duck butt feathers. So characteristic of this species. And the shimmering green is well done. Sometimes it’s hard when the sun angle makes the feathers look black. The middle one has enough floating on the water to be interesting and the water dropping off the bill is a nice touch. As far as the vignette goes, it doesn’t bother me, but neither is it necessary IMO. Overall a nice presentation of a familiar subject.
Well done on the exposure of the ducks. The weeds work fine for me in image #2, whereas I think image #3 is my favourite due to the perfect still water. Cheers, Hans
Hi Stephen, very nice captures of these mallards. I think the third is my favorite as it shows the green head so well and I love the reflection. As Kris said, I don’t think you need the vignette but it’s not bothersome.
