Posted by Larry Corbett on November 11, 2006 at 4:43 PM
Another from my recent escapade to Slimbridge, it was so nice to get out of the house for a few hours, trouble is I came back with literally dozens of duck in flight images.. so that's all I seem to be posting nowadays.. i'm going to have to add a Ducks in flight page to the website...more work
Makes a change from my usual garden bird images though
1d2, 300/2.8LIS + 2xII, ISO 320
Posted by John Gardner on November 12, 2006 at 4:15 AM
Like the light and composition but there's some lack in definition. Could be jpeg compression or are some of these duck shots quite a big crop?
John
Posted by Rob Ashton on November 12, 2006 at 4:54 AM
Well, once again the vagaries of internet viewing.
This seems to have detail in the whites and good sharpness on the eye and bill area on my screen. It does look like a biggish crop though? good pose.
Rob
Posted by Andrew Forsyth on November 12, 2006 at 5:00 AM
A bit "betwixt and between" sharpness wise for me - looks ok but not pin sharp.
Ignoring that issue I do like it, especially the relationship between background and subject colours. The bird also sits very nicely in the area of contrast, although you could improve this further by just separating the wing tip from the gloom.
A
Posted by Philip Kirkham on November 12, 2006 at 5:53 AM
Hello Larry
I think Andrew has summed it up perfectly, very nice.
Best wishes
Phil
Posted by John Swift on November 12, 2006 at 3:01 PM
Lighting and composition work really well here, but does look a little soft. So pretty much what everyone else said really
Regards
John S
Posted by Tim Munsey on November 12, 2006 at 3:32 PM
Fantastic colour and action, I wont mention the soft bit.
Tim
Posted by Larry Corbett on November 13, 2006 at 4:31 AM
John G
no crop in this image what so ever, I never crop in to my images, everything I show here is the full frame..that's the challange of duck photography getting a frame filling composition where everything is right.
If i'm going to start cropping my images then what's the point..where's the challenge ?
also it's pin sharp!. maybe I sould add a little more USM i didn't apply much only about 50%
another 50% usm added
Posted by Larry Corbett on November 13, 2006 at 4:51 AM
.
Posted by John Gardner on November 13, 2006 at 4:52 AM
Does look better sharpened up and I like that the duck is in the light portion of the b/g. Thanks for replying about the crop, I did say I thought it could be jpeg compression it was suffering from, it's always difficult when viewing small images, no offence intended.
John
Posted by Larry Corbett on November 13, 2006 at 5:05 AM
none taken John, i am at work so could only sharpen the previously posted image as I don't have access to the original tiff..anymore than 50% more usm on this image and the halo's started appearing.
Small ducks are never going to be easy, getting them in the frame is one thing..panning fast enough is another..getting the background right is a nightmare, the lighting is always wrong..and I usually clip a wing or two and sometimes when it all works and I get a frame filling shot..I am afraid to post it as I think that people will shout "cropped" and will start moaning about the light or the background etc etc..which I guess is only farir and the reason why we are all here for honest critique
Sometimes more recently than not I have felt like writing "show me your's if you think you can do better"...
I don't think people realise just how difficult it is to photograph a 70mph missile coming over the tree to your right without warning... just point the camera and hope for the best most of the time...I find it a real challenge, I even went to a few airshows a few years back to practice my panning technique on 600mph jets..I found them much easier than ducks..trouble with ducks is they are unpredictable..you don't always see them coming..and the twist and change direction in flight all the time, as I said it's a real challenge.
Posted by Sean Bolton on November 13, 2006 at 1:36 PM
Hi Larry
I find the sharpness acceptable in the first post, although you could fine tune it as you have done for the second post.
Overall I like the shot, I would prefer the duck a bit lower in the frame but otherwise you have caught the bird well. I agree that the smaller ducks are very difficult to capture in full flight as they are fast and agile. Getting a full frame image is very difficult. Personally I don't have a problem using a bit of cropping to enhance the composition of an image, that is one of the advantages of the digital era. Sometimes I deliberately take a shot with cropping in mind, e.g. for a panoramic or square format as not every subject or scene suites the 3:2 ratio of 35mm film/sensors.
Flight photography is very challenging and also very rewarding when it all comes together.
Discussion
11 repliesMakes a change from my usual garden bird images though
1d2, 300/2.8LIS + 2xII, ISO 320
John
This seems to have detail in the whites and good sharpness on the eye and bill area on my screen. It does look like a biggish crop though? good pose.
Rob
Ignoring that issue I do like it, especially the relationship between background and subject colours. The bird also sits very nicely in the area of contrast, although you could improve this further by just separating the wing tip from the gloom.
A
I think Andrew has summed it up perfectly, very nice.
Best wishes
Phil
Regards
John S
Tim
no crop in this image what so ever, I never crop in to my images, everything I show here is the full frame..that's the challange of duck photography getting a frame filling composition where everything is right.
If i'm going to start cropping my images then what's the point..where's the challenge ?
also it's pin sharp!. maybe I sould add a little more USM i didn't apply much only about 50%
another 50% usm added
John
Small ducks are never going to be easy, getting them in the frame is one thing..panning fast enough is another..getting the background right is a nightmare, the lighting is always wrong..and I usually clip a wing or two and sometimes when it all works and I get a frame filling shot..I am afraid to post it as I think that people will shout "cropped" and will start moaning about the light or the background etc etc..which I guess is only farir and the reason why we are all here for honest critique
Sometimes more recently than not I have felt like writing "show me your's if you think you can do better"...
I don't think people realise just how difficult it is to photograph a 70mph missile coming over the tree to your right without warning... just point the camera and hope for the best most of the time...I find it a real challenge, I even went to a few airshows a few years back to practice my panning technique on 600mph jets..I found them much easier than ducks..trouble with ducks is they are unpredictable..you don't always see them coming..and the twist and change direction in flight all the time, as I said it's a real challenge.
I find the sharpness acceptable in the first post, although you could fine tune it as you have done for the second post.
Overall I like the shot, I would prefer the duck a bit lower in the frame but otherwise you have caught the bird well. I agree that the smaller ducks are very difficult to capture in full flight as they are fast and agile. Getting a full frame image is very difficult. Personally I don't have a problem using a bit of cropping to enhance the composition of an image, that is one of the advantages of the digital era. Sometimes I deliberately take a shot with cropping in mind, e.g. for a panoramic or square format as not every subject or scene suites the 3:2 ratio of 35mm film/sensors.
Flight photography is very challenging and also very rewarding when it all comes together.
cheers
Sean