Blue-winged teal

Gallery: AvianPosted October 3, 2011125 views16 comments

Teal are currently migrating into Florida. Some with stay, some will move on to points further south such as central and south America. From the ones that stay, I am hoping to get some nice flight shots over the winter. That was my goal last year too and I did not get what I was after. Maybe this is the year.

This bird is landing with a small group of teal already on the water.

Please view the larger version for max details.

Some will find the BG too busy. I like it for added interest and a sense of habitat. I feel the bird is large enough in the frame to stand apart from this type of BG. What do you think?

Canon 1DM4
500mm +1.4x TC
ISO 800
1/3200s
f/7.1
Manual exp.
Hand held
68% of FF
not baited or decoyed

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Jaymes Dempsey on October 3, 2011 at 7:25 PM

Excellent detail! And I do like the bg...great catch!
Jaymes

Registered on June 28, 2010, 47 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on October 3, 2011 at 7:51 PM

Love that full extension and the water droplets are a good bonus. The background is not too busy - I think it is at the perfect level of blur where it shows the habitat without being a distraction. I do wish that the specular highlight in the lower right portion of the BG were not there though.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 3, 2011 at 8:56 PM

I like the water droplets and the landing pose here Ron, nice details.

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 3, 2011 at 9:10 PM

I think this is excellent as posted. Terrific detail; great position; wonderful and interesting background putting the teal in context.

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

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on October 3, 2011 at 10:52 PM

To me it's an ideal background for this shot and subject. Great sharpness and detail.

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

Comment posted by Verdon on October 3, 2011 at 11:02 PM

great action shot, sweet detail, congrats!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on October 4, 2011 at 3:02 AM

Another beauty Ron - I really admire your ability with birds in flight

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on October 4, 2011 at 12:45 PM

Oh, I love this, all of it. The bird is so sharp, and in such a wonderful position. Wonderful image, Ron.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on October 4, 2011 at 1:30 PM

I like the wing position on the teal as you get to see feathers you usually do not see. Excellent detail in the larger image and I have always liked your backgrounds. For me that give a sense of the place and habitat plus it is a interesting color variation. Well done Ron.

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on October 4, 2011 at 6:32 PM

Ron, I really like everything I see here - exposure, sharpness, flight posture, comp, colors, all of it. And that includes the background that is just right for my tastes. If this had been me I'd have most likely lost focus on the bird with that background. Excellent.

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

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on October 4, 2011 at 9:33 PM

That stretched wing position is great, Ron. I think the background is just fine. Very nice detail in the teal. Great shot.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 4, 2011 at 10:09 PM

Excellent flight shot, Ron. The difference in focus and texture between the duck and the bg make the duck p[op quite nicely, and I like the context provided by the bg.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on October 5, 2011 at 2:54 AM

Simply exquisite Ron, I truly love looking at your work, thank you as always for sharing :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 5, 2011 at 8:21 AM

Techs look great all around, and your BG is just soft enough to make it work nicely.
Well done Ron

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on October 5, 2011 at 10:26 PM

Love the habitat and the detail on the duck is outstanding. Wonderful image.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on October 5, 2011 at 10:53 PM

Ron,
Sorry to be late to the party on this one. WOW, terrific image Ron. Very good detail with exceptional exposure on those whites. Love the drops of water coming off the tail and feet. The background is good (I'd give it 8 out of 10) but not great. There are a couple of distracting reeds, one going right through the head and another going right through the wiings. Otherwise I don't mind a background of reeds as it shows natural habitat. But I'd prefer a background that is colorful but muted like in some of your snail kite images. Of course we are talking about some over the top STELLAR images with those. I'd love to see what you come up with by the end of winter. Looking forward to seeing more Ron.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments