A touch of colour

[Soozie B]

Hi All,

Once again I have some duck shots. I believe they are Wood ducks? I just wish my ducks would find blue water to swim in, brown muddy water is getting a tad old and boring !

C&C welcome and appreciated

1.

Touch of colour by Soozie_Lou_B, on Flickr

2.

Watching by Soozie_Lou_B, on Flickr

3.

Big stretch by Soozie_Lou_B, on Flickr

I didn't notice the turtle until I saw it on the computer monitor!

[Daisy Mae]

Soozie, they are lovely shots...and so sharp.

I love the second one because of the perspective..the first could do with being a bit further up the frame but what gorgeous colours and clarity.

Your turtle kinda tries to steal the show in the last..once seen you can't quite ignore it.

[Geoff F]

The first one is well focused and a good pose. The one very slight problem which I see is a bright spot in the grass to the right of the bird's head. Possibly a bit of reflection.

I would clone it out.

The second is OK but not so good a pose.

Was your shutter speed a little slow with the last one? An interesting scene but a fraction soft. I'm wondering about a slight crop to the top and left side. But that would disturb the water ring circle.

[Donald]

Soozie, they are lovely shots...and so sharp.

I love the second one because of the perspective..the first could do with being a bit further up the frame but what gorgeous colours and clarity.

Your turtle kinda tries to steal the show in the last..once seen you can't quite ignore it.

Everything the lady said.

I never saw the turtle, but like Sharon says, once you've seen it you can't ignore it.

[Mike Buckley]

The second one has so much promise. Try cropping the left side to leave only a small amount of the background. Do the same with the top. Then darken and desaturate the background, though only a little so it no longer dominates the subject but still looks natural.

[jeeperman]

Soozie, some nice images of ducks. Not Wood Ducks I am afraid....but quite possibly a young female Green Winged Teal. The male will be more colorful but still not as colorful as a Wood Duck.

Should you wish I can provide images of both for your future ID's or you can just post and ask. You have done well with these and I look forward to when you do find some Woodys.

[Soozie B]

Yes Please Paul.

I am becoming an avid duck lover, so identification would be most helpful.

[jeeperman]

No problem Soozie. The first couple are Green Winged Teal, after which I will post a male Wood Duck and then a male and female pair. Should you like to see other ducks or birds I have 6+ pages of them at the link in my signature below. Just find the bird gallery.





Wood Ducks

[Soozie B]

Hi Paul

These wood ducks are just beautiful. Sadly the Australian Wood Duck is nowhere near this colourful nor majestic looking.

[Soozie B]

Hi All

I have had a go at cropping and desaturatring as per Mikes suggestion. Have I hit the mark or just made a mess of it?


Wood duck by Soozie_Lou_B, on Flickr

[jeeperman]

Thank you Soozie, they are some of my favorite ducks. I got to thinking about your ducks above and it is possible they are a female Mallard. Hard to say for sure as they look fairly close to female teal at this age. When grown the Teal is just over half the size of the Mallard. My bet is still Teal.

Back to the wood duck for a second. They are only this colorful for about half the year. Winter threw spring. After mating season the go threw eclipse where they looose the color until winter time.

[Soozie B]

Hi Paul

I did a google image search on our wood duck and I cant seem to find any that look like yours, not to say that there aren't. I also googled images of female Mallard and green winged Teal and I cant determine which one my duck is either

[jeeperman]

I did the same for both. Your wood duck is certainly different than ours. As for the Teal, they have a green bar on the wing and the Mallards seem to be purple/blue bar. The teal as I said is a small duck. just about the size of an american football or smaller, if that helps.

[Soozie B]

Yep it does as I have both band colours on various ducks near me. Now I can tell the difference. Many thanks

[ggt]

I really like "The Big Stretch" Sooz. Nice composition. I like how the bird stands out as the subject even tho he/she is the basically the same colors as the rest of the pictures. It is a good study in neutrals.

[Bobobird]

Very nice captures.

[Soozie B]

Thank you Gretchen and Bobo. It is nice to get positive feedback from such talented people.