Finally! A Wood Duck!

PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
edited April 2, 2014 in Wildlife
Hi Everyone,
I have seen some of the most beautiful wood duck photos on this forum--heck, fabulous duck photos period. These below don't compare to those, but I am thrilled to have them, because I have only once before gotten a chance to photograph a wood duck, and that was WAY before I met Harry, so you can imagine the quality that photo didn't have. We do have wood ducks here on Avery Island, but they are extremely skittish, and like to swim in the far reaches of a pond, and then fly off at the slightest hint of a human. All suggestions welcome and appreciated! Best to all, Pam

1)

2014_0330_Wood_Duck_Avery_Island-3-L.jpg

2)

2014_0330_Wood_Duck_Avery_Island-5-L.jpg

Comments

  • DarkShadowDarkShadow Registered Users Posts: 93 Big grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    Very Nice, great capture! This is one of the first times I seen a wood duck posed on a tree.
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  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    DarkShadow wrote: »
    Very Nice, great capture! This is one of the first times I seen a wood duck posed on a tree.

    Thank you so much! And I can tell you, it didn't stay on that tree for long. Best, Pam
  • fool4thecityfool4thecity Registered Users Posts: 632 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    They are probably skittish due to all the hunters putting Tabasco sauce on those ducks. I have one of these. They can get the critters to calm down for you. http://www.naturescapes.net/store/essential-photo-gear-kwik-camo-all-weather-blind.html

    Nice images, Pam!
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  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    Super opportunity / environment / find, Pam ... and well taken shots ... never seen one of these IRL ... nearest garish species being a Mandarin :)
    Re (minor) comments...
    I wonder if cropping 1 to reduce space behind subject and above the large broken / cut branch in lower RH corner would be worth considering ... to decentralise subject a bit and get rid of the 'eye pull' respectively. Since (what appears to be) the horizon is slightly tilted, correcting this would also work to your advantage re branch end crop position?

    Similar with 2 ... a crop just above the knobbly bit in bottom left would be something I'd consider ... maybe a 16:9?

    Fortunately the WW2 mine in 2 is sufficiently oof to be too much of an issue :)

    Nice job.

    pp
    Website

    Flickr
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    puzzledpaul wrote: »
    Super opportunity / environment / find, Pam ... and well taken shots ... never seen one of these IRL ... nearest garish species being a Mandarin :)
    Re (minor) comments...
    I wonder if cropping 1 to reduce space behind subject and above the large broken / cut branch in lower RH corner would be worth considering ... to decentralise subject a bit and get rid of the 'eye pull' respectively. Since (what appears to be) the horizon is slightly tilted, correcting this would also work to your advantage re branch end crop position?

    Similar with 2 ... a crop just above the knobbly bit in bottom left would be something I'd consider ... maybe a 16:9?

    Fortunately the WW2 mine in 2 is sufficiently oof to be too much of an issue :)

    Nice job.

    pp

    Paul, I always love and appreciate your comments. In both shots the duck is standing on a tree trunk that fell over in the swamp. The left end is in the water, and the other end is leaning way over to the right, with the duck standing near the top on the right. In #1, I see what you say about moving the duck out of the center. Are you suggesting that I crop so that the duck seems to move left from the center? I think I understand what you mean about #2 and will try it. The horizon isn't actually tilted--it's just a swamp that is really OOF.

    Thanks so much for taking time to help me! Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    fool4thecity wrote: »
    They are probably skittish due to all the hunters putting Tabasco sauce on those ducks. I have one of these. They can get the critters to calm down for you. http://www.naturescapes.net/store/essential-photo-gear-kwik-camo-all-weather-blind.html

    Nice images, Pam!

    Thanks, Mike! I really appreciate the tip about the gear. No hunters here, but you might be right about the sauce! Best, Pam
  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    PGM wrote: »
    ... In #1, I see what you say about moving the duck out of the center. Are you suggesting that I crop so that the duck seems to move left from the center?

    Yes.
    So that the gap between the duck's tail and the LHSide edge is about half (say) of what it is now ...
    + cropping a bit off the bottom (just underneath the branch stub in left corner) to get rid of the (lighter coloured, circular) bit in lower right corner.

    All I've done, btw is to move your pics around in the browser window to get some idea of how they might look if cropped... that's also why I can see that the 'horizon' (edge of swamp) in 1 is at a slightly different angle from the same feature in 2... I lined said feature up with the lower edge of the browser window :)

    'Horizon' is probably the wrong word, but it's how I think about the same water / land interface in my own pics when correcting for tilts ... together with checking the alignment of a bird's feature and its reflection (when got a very diffused 'horizon')


    PGM wrote: »
    ...The horizon isn't actually tilted--it's just a swamp that is really OOF.

    Hadn't realised it was a 'swamp' :) ... but could see that water is present because of the bg object, together with its reflection.

    Btw - I'm only rabbitting on about this 'tilt' (there's a difference between the 2 shots, albeit slight) because correcting it whilst cropping a bit off the bottom - of 1 - works to your advantage, because of the angles involved :)

    These are only suggestions, please note.

    pp
    Website

    Flickr
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    puzzledpaul wrote: »
    Yes.
    So that the gap between the duck's tail and the LHSide edge is about half (say) of what it is now ...
    + cropping a bit off the bottom (just underneath the branch stub in left corner) to get rid of the (lighter coloured, circular) bit in lower right corner.

    All I've done, btw is to move your pics around in the browser window to get some idea of how they might look if cropped... that's also why I can see that the 'horizon' (edge of swamp) in 1 is at a slightly different angle from the same feature in 2... I lined said feature up with the lower edge of the browser window :)

    'Horizon' is probably the wrong word, but it's how I think about the same water / land interface in my own pics when correcting for tilts ... together with checking the alignment of a bird's feature and its reflection (when got a very diffused 'horizon')





    Hadn't realised it was a 'swamp' :) ... but could see that water is present because of the bg object, together with its reflection.

    Btw - I'm only rabbitting on about this 'tilt' (there's a difference between the 2 shots, albeit slight) because correcting it whilst cropping a bit off the bottom - of 1 - works to your advantage, because of the angles involved :)

    These are only suggestions, please note.

    pp

    Okay! Got it! And thank you so much for taking time to explain, and to help me improve. Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 31, 2014
    puzzledpaul wrote: »
    Yes.
    So that the gap between the duck's tail and the LHSide edge is about half (say) of what it is now ...
    + cropping a bit off the bottom (just underneath the branch stub in left corner) to get rid of the (lighter coloured, circular) bit in lower right corner.

    All I've done, btw is to move your pics around in the browser window to get some idea of how they might look if cropped... that's also why I can see that the 'horizon' (edge of swamp) in 1 is at a slightly different angle from the same feature in 2... I lined said feature up with the lower edge of the browser window :)

    'Horizon' is probably the wrong word, but it's how I think about the same water / land interface in my own pics when correcting for tilts ... together with checking the alignment of a bird's feature and its reflection (when got a very diffused 'horizon')

    Hadn't realised it was a 'swamp' :) ... but could see that water is present because of the bg object, together with its reflection.

    Btw - I'm only rabbitting on about this 'tilt' (there's a difference between the 2 shots, albeit slight) because correcting it whilst cropping a bit off the bottom - of 1 - works to your advantage, because of the angles involved :)

    These are only suggestions, please note.

    pp

    Paul, here is my second try at the first photo. I tried just cropping the photo, but the duck looked too big to me (it was just on the borderline of being too far for the shot when I took it), so I went back to the original and started over, moving the duck to the left. The thing that looks like a horizon line is actually a fallen tree trunk. Anyway, I like this composition better. It drives me nuts that I can't get the exposure exactly the same from one shot to the next, but such is life!

    Again, thanks for your help!

    Best, Pam

    2014_0330_Wood_Duck_Avery_Island-2E-L.jpg
  • kscooperkscooper Registered Users Posts: 387 Major grins
    edited April 1, 2014
    Those are simply beautiful, Pam - especially the one above.
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    Eric

    good gear; not enough time
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited April 1, 2014
    kscooper wrote: »
    Those are simply beautiful, Pam - especially the one above.

    Thank you so much! Best, Pam
  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited April 2, 2014
    PGM wrote: »
    ...The thing that looks like a horizon line is actually a fallen tree trunk.

    Aha ...so I got that one wrong, big time:)
    Looked like some of the banks around some of the lakes at my local venue ... when they're very oof.

    Thanks for the correction, Pam.

    Just out of interest, is the true 'horizon' / edge of swamp on 1 the line going just beneath the lower white section on the bird's neck?

    I rarely have to contend with such substantial bits of debris ... but I have been known to clear stuff out of my line of sight by 'going fishing / dredging' with a weight on the end of a 15m length of twine I wrap around the 500's lens hood ... sometime getting odd looks, btw :)

    I too prefer the reworked version.

    pp
    Website

    Flickr
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited April 2, 2014
    puzzledpaul wrote: »
    Aha ...so I got that one wrong, big time:)
    Looked like some of the banks around some of the lakes at my local venue ... when they're very oof.

    Thanks for the correction, Pam.

    Just out of interest, is the true 'horizon' / edge of swamp on 1 the line going just beneath the lower white section on the bird's neck?

    I rarely have to contend with such substantial bits of debris ... but I have been known to clear stuff out of my line of sight by 'going fishing / dredging' with a weight on the end of a 15m length of twine I wrap around the 500's lens hood ... sometime getting odd looks, btw :)

    I too prefer the reworked version.

    pp

    Thanks, Paul! No, the true horizon is way beyond the frame of this photo. And I REALLY appreciate your taking time to help me! It is amazing the things I don't see in my own photos that are so obvious to others!

    Best, Pam
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