WI Whistling-Ducks

Gallery: AvianPosted January 14, 201169 views6 comments

West Indian Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna arborea)

This is another image of the WI Whistling-Ducks that I saw on Cayman Brac, a sister island of Grand Cayman, in December..

I find the detail in this image quite interesting. Since these two are on land it gives us a chance to see their feet too. I also like how the water droplet motion is frozen (note the spherical droplet caught in mid air above the foot of the first duck. Also, see the feathers on the bill of the second duck. The background is a little busy. However, I think (hope!) that the ducks are still reasonably visible.

All comments very welcome.

1D Mark IV, 400 mm f/5.6, 1.4x TC, hand held: ISO 1000, 1/1000 s, f/8.0, 0 EV, 13.4 MP after cropping, NR, exposure adjustment, sharpening.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 15, 2011 at 12:48 AM

Love it, love it!!! Very good job all around with your settings and execution. The background is not too busy at all for me. There are indeed some wonderful details here and the composition is solid.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on January 15, 2011 at 12:34 PM

Steve, this is very appealing. The bg colors and textures and bird detail make this look like a drawing. Maybe you could apply a little levels contrast to the birds only to make them pop even more, then I'd definitely print and hang for sure.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on January 15, 2011 at 1:01 PM

I like the detail you have captured here, and that both birds are in sharp focus. I like the included habitat, and the birds stand out well enough from the background.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 16, 2011 at 7:56 AM

A lot to look at here Steve. I like the setting and the birds stand out nicely in the larger version. Birds look sharp. Maybe a bit more room on the left?

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on January 16, 2011 at 1:40 PM

Steve,
I do like the two ducks here. Very nice setting and walking pose. Great detail too. Well done!

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 21, 2011 at 9:02 AM

Thank you all so much for your comments and suggestions. Although I recognize that in this case the bg is not too distracting, I think the image would have more impact if the birds stood out still more. I'm working on how best to do that and just posted another try at it with a new image of one of these ducks.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments