Green-winged teal

Gallery: AvianPosted September 16, 2012176 views9 comments

Here is a female green-winged teal that surprised me one morning while sitting on the edge of a wetland. Was lucky enough to get a couple of frames as she winged-past. She eventually landed and swam back towards me. I got some nice on the water shots, but really liked this flight shot too.

I am often torn between wanting wings sharp, or going for a bit of blur to portray movement. Here I had no choice as 1/1600s was all I could muster and these little ducks have a very fast wing beat. Personally, I like the bit of blur in this shot. Not too much, just enough.

BG is water and veg on the far side of the pond.

Canon 1DM4
500mm f/4 + 1.4x TC
ISO 800
1/1600s
f/7.1
Manual exp.
Hand held

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on September 16, 2012 at 9:43 AM

Nice catch Ron. Personally, I like the slight blur in the wings, I think it helps show movement without distracting from the main subject. Nice details and color. For a quick surprise shot, you did very well.

Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on September 16, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Small and fast sums up these ducks and it is impressive that you could capture this flight shot. Gotta love it when opportunity meets experience and preparation.

The blur is fine for my tastes as well.

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

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on September 16, 2012 at 12:28 PM

Another great BIF! Personally I prefer some wing blur for the feeling of motion that it gives. Nice capture of this fast flyer.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 16, 2012 at 7:55 PM

I tend to like a bit of blur myself, Ron. Excellent detail. The water droplets on the breast are great.

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

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on September 17, 2012 at 3:09 PM

Nice in-flight shot Ron ! Like the colors in this particular image ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on September 17, 2012 at 7:27 PM

Lovely capture Ron.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Bacon on September 17, 2012 at 8:53 PM

Beautiful early morning light on this lovely lady and an very nice flight shot Ron. A little wing blur in this case adds a nice sense of movement for this fast mover. Sweet shot

Registered on November 24, 2008, 56 Posts, 492 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on September 18, 2012 at 8:11 PM

Another spectacular flight photo. What an excellent background. I think this amount of wing blur is a very esthetic balance.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on September 19, 2012 at 10:41 AM

Nice work getting this fast little duck in flight Ron...not an easy thing to do. As far as wings sharp vs blur....I like both. For me, it just depends on the bird, shot and mood. Since this is a very fast duck, the blurred wings make more sense, than if it were slow because it indicates speed...but that is just my two cents.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments