Blue-winged teal

The sharpness of that front bird is amazing Ron, beautiful wing position and wonderful setting

cheers
Rob

Agree with Rob, that front bird rocks! I would give the crop a bit more room if you have it, especially the top. Nice job!

Super sweet image Ron.
Very pleasing flight pose and I really like the oof one.

My reaction when I saw the thumbnail is that this looks like the art one would see on a duck stamp. The wing poistion of the lead duck is incredible. I was slightly disappointed in the sharpness of the other duck, but that certanly doesn't spoil the picture.

I occasionally see teals here in the winter, but I seldom see them in flight as anything more than dots in the distance. My experience is that a good photograph of these ducks is rare. I have none. In the final analysis, I guess, the difficulty of making a photograph doesn't enhance the quality of the photograph, but we viewers/photographers can't help but take that into account.

I like this a lot. I know you would probably prefer to have both in focus, but I like the depth it shows. Super nice position on the front one. Sharon

Zowie!! What a beautiful look at a teal and the namesake!! This is just stunning. The detail is incredible, and the pose on that first bird is just PERFECT, with great look at the wings, eye contact, and flared tail.

I'm unsure about the OOF bird. I do wonder what it would look like with the 2nd bird cloned out, although that's a mighty big clone job.

Yes, I would have liked to have both birds sharp, but that, as most of you know, is very difficult to achieve. Getting a high enough f to do it and still have enough SS is most of the time not possible unless the birds are far away from the camera. Moreover, when you are panning the exact speed of the subject bird many of the other bird(s) are going a different speed, so even if you had enough DOF the other bird(s) will still not be sharp.

All one can do is keep trying and hope that one day everything falls together perfectly. I know I will be doing just that. Try, try again. Thanks.

Also, no more room on top. I would love to have it but it does not exist and I do not have the cloning skills to add it.

Great shot Ron. Very inspirational. Robert

This works very well for me. Well done!

Hi Ron,
Nice details with beautiful light. Considering the difficulty of getting these little rockets in the viewfinder this is an accomplishment.
About the image:
I like the angle of the lead bird with the full exposure of the bottom wing. The OOF grass is not a deal killer for me. The shadow across the back and wing of the lead bird is a bit of a negative. Getting good flight shots in good light is always going to be a trade off of ISO and shutterspeed and the more you crop the more noise is going to rear it's ugly head. That is why most people shoot flight shots in bright light. I applaud you for sticking to your high standards of mostly shooting in early/late light. In the words of JFK, I'm sure you do this not because it's easy but because it's difficult. Pushing the envelope is what separates good photographers fom the average.

Ronnie

Ronnie, thanks so much for your comments. It is nice to hear from photographers that they understand how tough some shots are to achieve. I also have liked your comments about making the ordinary look UNordinary. It would seem we have a lot in common in how we think about avian photography.

I should have mentioned the shadow in my original post. The shadow is from another teal flying above and to the right of the main bird in this image. That bird was out of frame. As I have said. Keep trying and the ultimate shots will come (i.e., the ones without the other bird, the OOF grass, and the shadow). Notice I did not say the "perfect" image will come. No such thing IMO. But you can strive for it.

Ron,

I love this and think that the OOF duck adds a nice depth to the image that might not be present otherwise. Great eye contact, natural colors and view of the blue wing feathers that this species is named for. Love the tail spread too and how the background adds a nice sense of place.

Excellent, that front bird is so sharp, the blue in the wings is a standout.

I think you have been doing remarkably well with teal and other ducks in flight, and I have nothing smaller or faster than a landing Canada Goose in my files.

In this image I find the second bird distracting, and for me it compromises the image. I think if it was in focus, or if it wasn't so close to the primary subject, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Concerning the 1.4x TC. It will increase the linear dimension of any subject by 40% for any lens used, compared to the same lens from the same distance without the TC. So, if you can now manage to get a teal to be 1/4 of the width of your full frame with the 500mm now, then it will be (.25x1.4) or 35% of the width with the 1.4 attached tot he 500.

Yes, a 1.4x TC will double the area that any subject occupies in the frame (since the square root of 2 is 1.414 so width times height gives a factor of 2x), but to double the linear size of a subject you would need to use a 2x and not a 1.4x.

Of course any converter (1.4x, 1.7x, 2x) will reduce image quality (more so as power increases), but with a professional grade prime lens like your 500/4 the 1.4x shouldn't be an issue. Where I suspect you will have some problems is with locking on focus on a fast flying duck: you give up one stop of light with the 1.4x making it harder for the camera to lock on (many cameras slow things down when a TC is mounted). And the narrower angle of view will make it harder to find a fast moving subject in the viewfinder.

I had a 1.4x version II Canon TC that I used with some success on flying birds, even teal. It def slowed down the AF. I did not really have any trouble getting my subjects in the viewfinder. I sold my version II TC just recently and will purchase the new version III 1.4x when it comes out in December. This new TC has a built in computer that is supposed to keep the AF relatively fast and help acquire more accurate focus on moving targets. It is built to be used with Canons new and improved 300, 400, 500, and 600mm IS version II super teles. However, it should work better than the version II TC on my 500 as well given it has better optics as well as the other improvements already mentioned. However, only experience will tell. I will give it a try and see what happens. Cheers.

The foreground teal is spectacular Ron - couldn't be much better I don't think. I like the image as is, largely because of the good separation between the birds, the very nice setting and the good look at the blues in both of them. Overall though, I'd say it would be a more compelling image without the OOF duck for three reasons - because the primary subject is so wonderful, the upper bird is so close to the top of the frame and the OOF bird is, well - OOF.

Not to put any pressure on you but knowing you I'm betting you'll get your full frame (or almost FF) teal before you get the new tc.

Very nice detail, Ron, and I like the light. I'm afraid I'm not that fond of having the oof teal in the bg, but I certainly agree that the physics is against you.

Ron, you do such a wonderful job on difficult flight shots, talk about a challenge. I really like this shot as is and I wish for just a slight more room on top but that is minor. The OOF bird does not bother me, you have to work with what is presented in front of you and on that you have done very well, way to go.

I love how this shows the blue of the wings and the background colors really compliment the birds. I think it is still an amazing shot even with the OOF second bird but yes I am sure it could be even better without the second bird. If you could make perfect pictures then you would be done and what would you do with all that extra time?

Ron your flight shots continue to inspire. I like the oof teal as it adds depth, but thats just me. The position of the front bird is amazing, Well done!!.

For such a large crop I am amazed the details holding up so nicely. Sweet One Ron

Ken Archer

You do some very nice work Ron, no nits here.
The image stood up well, even with the significant crop..
Excuse me while I sit back & enjoy the flight