The Fowl March
I was taking pictures of the lake at the Rhododendron Garden in Portland, OR when I saw this raft of ducks coming my way. I quickly got down on the ground and ...
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I was taking pictures of the lake at the Rhododendron Garden in Portland, OR when I saw this raft of ducks coming my way. I quickly got down on the ground and snapped as many shots as I could. This was a fun moment you couldn't predict and I am glad I saw them before they disappeared in the flowering bush to the left.
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Apr, 2017Views
1998
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Awards
Peer Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Wildlife Babies Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Wildlife Portraits Photo Contest
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Emotions
Happy
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in the Rhododendron Garden in Portland, Oregon.Time
The time of day was just about 9 a.m.Lighting
I think I got lucky and because the ground helped reflect the sun it gave me soft light on the majority of this little family.Equipment
I use a Nikon D7000 handheld. For the lens it was a Nikkor 35mm with F/1.8 with a Hoya HD Circular Polarizer. It's funny I rarely use this lens and the one time I did I ended up with some great bokeh and depth of field. No flash needed.Inspiration
Well timing mandated this photo. I was off to the side taking pictures of flowers when everyone starts "oohing" and "ahhing". I turned around to see a family of ducks headed straight toward me! There were other photographers to the side of them who had clearly seen them a long way coming but they weren't able to get as close because they walked away from them and came within 2 feet of my camera. I laid down on the ground and just started clicking away until they disappeared off to the left side through the flowering bush. I was really happy to see that they put themselves in an excellent scene and that the timing of the photo just happened.Editing
I did a minimal amount on this one because it basically came out of the camera like this. I used Lightroom CC and added sharpening, some blacks, light saturation and vibrance, and a boost in magenta, green, and yellow.In my camera bag
I have turned into a mule because I always regret not having brought something along. For filters I use a Hoya HD Circular Polarizer, Hoya Pro 1 UV, and my favorite, the Hoya ND400 with a 9x stop of light. I carry my Nikon D7000 with my 35mm Nikkor F/1.8, a Nikkor 70-300mm F/4-5.6, my nikkor 18-108mm F/3.5-5.6, Yongnuo 560 IV and receiver, and lastly my cable release and my 3-Legged Thing Albert Equinox tripod.Feedback
With wildlife I go with the rule that the height at which you take a picture of a given animal is determined by their size. The best pictures of my cats come out when I am on the ground at their level which is exactly what I did here. If I were to shoot pictures of a tall animal like a giraffe I would take a shot from a distance standing. I recommend a wide (low in number) aperture to really isolate your subject from its surroundings. Wildlife will photograph really well on a cloudy day which gives your subject even and soft lighting. Although, if you have a flash I highly recommend utilizing a softbox and flash with cooperating animals, it really gives a professional appearance and further isolates the subject from their surroundings!
