Precision Flight Path

Gallery: AvianPosted March 26, 2015373 views6 comments

Pointe à la Bise, Geneva, Switzerland

D300S VR 150 - 500 mm/ max f5/6.3 @ 500 mm
f/9.0 ISO 800 1/1600 s EV +0.33 Hand held
Raw file original cropped to 17.6% Photoshop PS6

This male Mallard cut things fine. Ideally I would have wanted less noise but considerations of blur and DOF limited the shot to ISO 800.

Your crits. and nits are most welcome

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on March 26, 2015 at 7:43 AM

Sweet capture with good wing position. I especially like the dragging wing tip. The IQ, while not stellar, is still very good.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 26, 2015 at 9:37 AM

This is a fine catch on this Mallard, with good colors, including all of the subtle tones reflected in the water, and especially the wing drag. The huge crop does detract some from the overall quality, but I agree with Jerry that this is a very attractive image.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on March 26, 2015 at 11:58 AM

Hey David,
Wonderful capture, the lighting, POV and wing position are as good as it gets. I don't understand why such a large crop however, you will most likely gain some additional detail with a lesser crop. Some additional room in front of the Mallard is needed and more reflection of the subject in the water would be sweet.
Regardless of all that, very nice image . . .

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on March 26, 2015 at 10:33 PM

This is a stellar image in many respects, so much so that I personally do not believe the technical details that we often look for are that important. This looks like a painting that most people would appreciate, freezing the action with lovely lighting and composition. With an image like this, minute details of each feather are less important than what you did manage to capture.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 26, 2015 at 11:18 PM

Very cool flight pose, David and it held up pretty well to the large crop.

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

Comment posted by David Rowe on March 28, 2015 at 12:15 PM

Many thanks for your comments – they are constructive and very encouraging. Re the crop: I checked my math and confirm that 17.6% is correct. The original file was cropped extensively from the top, left and right sides. The bottom edge was left untouched.
David

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments