Wood Duck in Rain

Gallery: AvianPosted October 10, 2010166 views15 comments

Lakewood, WA

D3 ISO 800 300/2.8 with 2x tc. f5.6 1/640 +0.7ev handheld.

It poured rain all day. Skies were dark and reflected against the water and somewhat behind the duck. Lots of + compensation needed to see the detail and color in the bird. I like the water drops on the back and head. Must have been a little lighter rain at that moment, because I can't see that many drops falling into the water. Despite the rain, I got many good images.

Many thanks to Nate for his teaching yesterday. I learned a great deal about the use of flash-although my batteries were dead by the time I took this photo and thus "no flash was used in the making of this photo". The ducks were very friendly and came right up. Curious, I suppose.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 10, 2010 at 3:31 PM

The rain adds a lot of interest to the image IMO, and sets this apart from the shots we normally see of the species. I like the texture of the water drops on the back. Image quality looks very good for the ISO and for hand holding.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on October 10, 2010 at 5:06 PM

Sweet photo Angela, the rain drops make it for me.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on October 10, 2010 at 6:42 PM

I like this a lot Angela. So nice to see the whites under control and you got a nice head turn, low angle and the water drops on the back are interesting.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Cunliffe on October 10, 2010 at 7:29 PM

The weather was no better here on the other side of the sound. I think that if you had used flash, you might have had a problem with reflective highlights on the water drops; I have certainly had the same problem with Harlequins.
Nice job with the ev.

Registered on May 25, 2009, 62 Posts, 202 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on October 10, 2010 at 8:36 PM

Nice shot Angela, the fine details really pop on the large photo, and I echo what Rich said about Wood Ducks coming up to you. That dosen't happen here in Missouri without a blind, at least not for me.

Registered on October 24, 2009, 126 Posts, 799 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 10, 2010 at 10:49 PM

Excellent, Angela. My only nit is that I find the background a bit distracting. When photographing Wood Ducks, clouds and rain are your friend.

For whatever reason (less hunting pressure?), Wood Ducks are much more approachable in the Pacific Northwest than further east. The ones in Boise are pretty calm around people, too.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Butch Lama on October 10, 2010 at 11:41 PM

Love the droplets of water all around & nice details too.

Registered on July 23, 2010, 42 Posts, 316 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on October 11, 2010 at 4:21 AM

The water droplets really add to an already great capture!

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on October 11, 2010 at 6:06 AM

Water droplets are wonderful Angela and a nice little head turn

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on October 11, 2010 at 11:05 AM

Nice job considering the weather, I really like the detail and the water droplets on the duck, too bad about the background but my eye went right for the duck, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on October 11, 2010 at 4:41 PM

Lovely Angela! The colors are sensational, as is the head turned pose and of course the raindrops on the duck. Great job in handling the highlights, especially in fairly harsh BG light. Looks as thought the trip is going well!

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Diller on October 11, 2010 at 7:00 PM

NIce job on the Drake Wood Duck! Colors are outstanding!

Registered on October 2, 2009, 69 Posts, 434 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on October 11, 2010 at 8:15 PM

Angela, I just love the waterdroplets on the back of your wood duck, it really shows the conditions you describe very well. Lovely head turn and eye contact. A very unique image.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 11, 2010 at 11:59 PM

Lovely Wood Duck, the water droplets on the back stand and head turn stand out for me on this one. It was great to meet you and shoot with you.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Hayden on October 12, 2010 at 11:30 AM

Judging by this image you can get great stuff even in the rain. The color and definition could not be better.

Registered on November 21, 2009, 41 Posts, 201 Comments