Mandarin Drake

Gallery: AvianPosted June 20, 2014807 views10 comments

Another from my visit to the Albuquerque Zoo and Biopark last fall. This was the only Mandarin amongst other duck species. The place was incredible...at one point I had a Mallard hen climbing on my lap! Although the birds here are free to come and go, it's obvious they've been very happy to get free food in the form of pellets. I didn't feed them, but as morning progressed, lots of people were hitting the coin pellet machines and the water was constantly churning with activity. The water color comes from the reflection of an adobe building next to the pond.

50D, 100-400@320, ISO 200, !/640, F5.6 LARGER version also posted. Thanks for your comments/critiques...I learn from them all! Sharon

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Bill Berry on June 20, 2014 at 8:36 PM

Magnificent Sharon...now this is why I am here...to learn from such a talented pool of photographers!!! The colours are breathtaking.

Bill

Registered on June 20, 2014, 17 Posts, 71 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on June 20, 2014 at 9:00 PM

Just shows you don't have to have the latest camera or a huge lens to get really nice stuff. Photographers are what really make the shot. This is just gorgeous, Sharon. A beautiful bird with rich, vibrant colors, and a BG reflection that is just perfect for this image. Focus is pretty much spot on for almost all of this guy. I might have had a bit more space to the right but that's a really small niggle. Well done.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on June 20, 2014 at 10:07 PM

Love Mandarins. Thanks for sharing this.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on June 20, 2014 at 11:38 PM

I really like this image. Having photographed at the Albuquerque Zoo, I'm familiar with the setting. Very nice capture with lovely reflections. I talked with Sharon offline and shared this version with her. I thought the image needed a few targeted luminance adjustments. Most of this was done with targeted TK masks. I also removed the extra catchlight from the eye and burned the pupil. Here's the version for comparison.

I also noticed that the larger version has a different color than the smaller version. The larger version is an sRGB color space. I'm guessing the smaller one is not. This is a problem with posting only the 1200px larger version and letting the NPN software create the smaller one. Open them up side by side and you'll see the difference. The larger version colors are better.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on June 21, 2014 at 12:52 PM

The colors really make this Sharon, beautiful.

Ray

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on June 21, 2014 at 3:04 PM

Stunning color palette, Sharon. The techs are great, but for me the colors make the shot.

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

Comment posted by David Haynes on June 21, 2014 at 5:09 PM

Sharon,
Beautiful bird. Very interesting water color from the reflected building. The repost from Keith is a notch better with more contrast. I like the water ripples and the direction the bird is going in the frame and your composition. Lucky you to get this bird by itself in such a chaotic environment you were shooting in. :) Well done.

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

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on June 21, 2014 at 6:14 PM

Just beautiful, Sharon. I like it all. The colors of both the bird and the water are incredible.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on June 22, 2014 at 8:48 AM

I only loaded a large file for this, so I don't know what color space was used for the small version. I am in the process of learning and adding some luminance actions from Tony Kuyper's website, and they can be found here:
http://goodlight.us/specialoffers.html I am posting this because I'm hoping it will help others not familiar with these actions, too. Keith was kind enough to send me a psd file of what he did to help improve my image, as I was having trouble seeing exactly what he did beyond what he did to the eye. I cannot post the psd here, but anyone who would like to see it is welcome to email me, and I'll forward it to you. It is really eye opening! A huge thanks to Keith for sharing his vast knowledge ...I wish I knew a tenth of what he does regarding post processing and ps/lr. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 23, 2014 at 9:42 PM

I really like the reflection color Sharon and how it compliments the Mandarin.

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