I saw the wood ducks swim by the water patterns created by a fountain and thought, “this could be interesting! I wonder how I should capture this and what settings should I use?” This is what I ended up with before they swam off.
Specific Feedback Requested
What settings would be best in a situation with fast-moving water and slow moving birds? How can I improve this photo in post-processing?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
EOS 5DMIV, EF 500 with 1.4 extender
ISO 1000
Shutter 1/4000
F 6.3
This is really cool, Sandy. I think you did an excellent job. How you managed to get the whole string parallel to the focal plane is amazing. I do think 1/4000 is overkill. You could probably back down to 1/2000 or even further and get just a bit more depth of field. the ducklings are all acceptably sharp, but just a little more might have made them really sharp since they’re so close. A very creative image and well handled.
This is a neat photo Sandy and I like how the water in the foreground and background are both OOF and frame the main actors. I would be tempted to increase the contrast a bit, but always have to test things before I say its an improvement, ha ha.
A very nice family portrait in difficult exposure conditions. There are a lot of specular highlights which actually complement the photo. A little less exposure in a little more depth of field and it would have been in perfect focus.
The scene is priceless and a parent with ducklings always makes for a nice image. The image seems a little grainy in the larger version, I assume this is because of the ISO value and maybe a being crop? Judging from what I see, and referring to your question as well, you could have managed this with 1/1000s , which would have dropped your ISO’s. The scene itself would not be affected with less cropping (in case you did, that is) - which may also resulting in an overall improvement in IQ. I may be tempted to try some noise reduction in Topaz and see what that would do. Okay, don’t get me wrong, despite all the remarks, I like the image a lot … Cheers, Hans
Thank you - It is very cropped. I’ll play with it a bit and repost. It’s always fun to photograph when nature presents a challenge, as this fountain did.
… Cheers, Hans