MALLARD AND DUCKLINGS
Feb, 2017Views
570
Likes
Awards
Winner in Young Birds and their parent(s) Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Genius
Virtuoso
Superior Skill
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
GentleJoyPhotography
June 07, 2018
Congratulations on being Grand Winner of the challenge, Young Birds and Their Parent/s. A very nice picture... love the contrast in color that focuses on the main picture. Good composition.
PRO
Platinum
InnateArtist
May 10, 2019
Excellent idea to darken the water to bring out the little goslings. I always enjoy seeing them on the water in the springtime. Great capture and editing.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in Baxter Bog in Anchorage, AlaskaTime
It was late afternoon in May. At this time of year, the days are long and there is an explosion of both new vegetation and insects which the newly hatched mallard ducklings are able to take advantage of.Lighting
Even in summer much of the sunshine is at a low angle which improves lighting for photography.Equipment
My standard equipment is a Nikon D500 camera coupled with an 18 to 300 mm Nikkor lens. Except for special situations I rarely use a flash or tripod.Inspiration
What is there not to like about a mother duck and her ten ducklings. Young animals are always an attraction. I would guess the ducklings to be only a day or two old.Editing
I always spend time improving my photos using some Lightroom adjustments. Quite often I will also apply some Photoshop CC techniques. In this case, I darkened the water considerably so as to make the mallards stand out more in the late afternoon golden light of the sun.In my camera bag
In addition, to my Nikon D500 camera coupled with the 18 to 300 mm Nikkor lens, I normally carry spare batteries, lens cleaning equipment and a gardener's kneeling pad inside my camera sling bag. Having a knee pad has proven very useful in the field to kneel, sit or partially lie on, especially if it is for an extended period of time. Sometimes I will also carry an external flash to use indoors as a bounce light or outdoors as a fill light when photographing people with the sun behind them. In this circumstance, the sun acts as a hair light. Occasionally I will carry a carbon fiber tripod if I am after long exposure shots.Feedback
In selecting which photo to use I have intentionally chosen one that draws the viewer's eyes diagonally across the frame from one corner to the opposite corner.
