Mandarin Duck Close-up
Nov, 2015Views
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kiraballerina
December 04, 2015
GORGEOUS PHOTOGRAPHY!!!!!
COLOR & CLARITY ARE PERFECT!!!!
You can see even those tiny feathers over the eye :)
COLOR & CLARITY ARE PERFECT!!!!
You can see even those tiny feathers over the eye :)
quincyfloyd
December 14, 2015
Thank you. I took a few shots to get the color and composition as I wanted.
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken at one of the ponds in Central Park, which surprisingly has quite a lot of aquatic birds.Time
This is one of the images I am most proud of since I purchased the camera I used for this capture just a year earlier and the lens about a month earlier. I am an amateur photographer and do not shoot every day, so I was comfortable with the equipment but did not master it yet. I try to get to the park before the crowds start arriving, which is about 10:00 AM. This image was captured on November 28,2015 around 9:00 AMLighting
I did not want to shoot while the duck was still in the water due to the high contrast and difficulty in isolating him in a high traffic area. So I waited for him to move away from the water and stop preening, which took a lot longer than I expected. It was an overcast day so there was not too much sun to worry about, but conversely getting enough light. I do not use a flash since it too disruptive to the animals. I also do not bring a tripod due to the weight and movement of the animals makes it too cumbersome to continually adjust. So this was a hand held shot using natural light, which required a high ISO since I wanted to capture the quick movements without blur.Equipment
This was captured with a Nikon D7000 using a 28-300 mm f/3.5 lens. I do not use flash with animals and did not need my polarizer since I was not shooting an image with water or the sky. It was a hand held shot.Inspiration
I recently scanned some photography blogs and advice articles and they noted that you do not have to travel to exotic or far away places to capture great photographs. Their advice was to view your own local neighborhood with a photographers eye and you will be surprised at what you discover. I did just that and traveled the few blocks to the park, and needless to say they were correct. I have not looked back since and I do not tire of shooting locally.Editing
I do some post-processing, but try to keep it at a minimum. This image was cropped to focus on the duck's head in addition to slight increases to the contrast and color saturation.In my camera bag
I usually carry a Nikon D750 body along with a Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5 zoom lens and a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 prime lens. In addition I always carry polarizers for each lens which I highly recommend for any photographer, and an UV filter which performs no optical function but protects the lens.While not equipment, I also have micro fiber cloths, liquid lens cleaner, and lens pens.Feedback
For anyone who wants to capture memorable images I would first recommend doing your homework beforehand, so you know the best time, the best equipment, the best items to have in your camera bag, for the particular shoot. For anyone trying to capture images of animals, the peak time is early morning and late afternoon, since that is the time they are most active. A lot of animals sleep during the heat of the day, so I try to avoid those times. If you are shooting scenes involving the sky or water a polarizer is invaluable. The changes it makes to the image cannot be readily reproduced in post production. Some of the other issues with an image can be corrected (to a certain extent) in post production like white balance or underexposure. The other piece of advice is to be very patient since most of the time the animals are not doing what you would like or performing in the optimal location.I had to wait about 45 minutes before I was able to capture some images that I thought were memorable.
