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Frosty Pintail Pair
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Frosty Pintail Pair

by Ken Archer

Gallery: AvianPosted February 14, 2012281 views11 comments
I found this pintail pair at the edge of a pond in Northern California that was nearly frozen over, only a bit of open water was available but it attracted quite a few ducks and hunting hawks.

Canon MkIV, 600mm & 1.4x, 1/2000, f9, ISO 640, manual spot meter

All your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated

Ken Archer

Comments

11 comments
Comment posted by David Haynes on February 14, 2012 at 6:21 PM
Ken,
I find this really beautiful. I really like the frozen vegetation. Looks like lots of snow flakes stuck to the branches. If you have any room on the right side I might try adding it to make this a centered composition. Just a thought. Larger version shows good detail on the male duck and the female is pleasingly soft. Super Nice Ken. :toast:
Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 14, 2012 at 8:04 PM
A pleasing image. Nice feel for the weather. Good exposure.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 14, 2012 at 10:22 PM
love the setting for this, Ken--the blues and whites are really nice. the overall comp is really good although I could go for a little bit more on the right--it looks like the tail is very the edge. a good looking winter scene.
Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments
Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on February 14, 2012 at 11:12 PM
I agree with Brian, mainly because I want to see the "Pin Tail" on the right. I like the frosty surroundings and pretty cool to catch the pair. I think in this case it might've also been nice to have a little more dof so that the female was sharp as well. :toast:
Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments
Comment posted by Robert Bunch on February 15, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Excellent focus and detail on the drake and the detail in the whites is nice. I also really like the frosty plants and the ice. I think it would be improved if the birds didn't overlap each other. A little separation between the drake and the hen would have helped but still overall a nice shot.
Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 15, 2012 at 7:40 PM
Gorgeous, Ken. I love the frosted vegetation and your low angle. The poses work well together. I do kind of wish the read bird were a bit further forward, but this still works well.


:toast:
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on February 17, 2012 at 8:53 PM
What a great setting, I agree on maybe a little more room on the right, sweet pair Ken :toast:
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Archer on February 18, 2012 at 5:25 AM
Thanks everyone for your encouraging comments about this photo. I used this crop because the tail was hidden behind a clump of oof vegetation, but you all have convinced me to re-crop the photo to allow more room for the virtual tail. Also I was anticipating other birds flying into and near this pond so I wanted to keep my shutter speed up when birds flew close. Hence the shallow depth of field. I made several portraits of the male alone on the ice, but suddenly the female appeared in the background and I automatically made another quick series of photos, but before I could stop down for better depth of field she moved on, and I was left with this photo, of which I am fairly happy to add to my files.

Ken Archer
Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments
Comment posted by Simon Bennett on February 18, 2012 at 10:24 PM
A delightful winters scene.
Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments
Comment posted by May Haga on February 21, 2012 at 9:40 AM
Wonderful setting. Excellent image.
May
Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 21, 2012 at 9:02 AM
The setting here makes the shot, I think it's awesome Ken.
Great techs overall & nice details on the near male, the OOF veg BRC doesn't bother at all.
Beautiful work! :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments