Mandarin Duck Photo

Photographer’s Note

I consider this to be my first very good bird photograph. I just finished a photography class and the instructor really got me on the right path by encouraging his students to shoot slide film. This photo was taken with Kodachrome 200 slide film. Kodachrome 200 was a sharp but a very grainy film. I needed a faster film than iso 100 because this shy and dapper little fellow was in the shadows with only a little scattered sunlight was being reflected into the water. This was taken with my 300 F/2.8 manual focusing Tamron lens and a monopod. Without the fast aperture, the duck would have been too blurry due to the movement and low light.

I needed to take a quick break from my National Western Stockshow and Rodeo series and the Chinese New Year is coming up soon, so why not feature a colorful Chinese duck. This duck's portrait was taken at the Denver Zoo and I haven't seen a Mandarin Duck there for a long time. I processed this photo a while back and looking at it I would have done it differently now and reduced the noise on the water a bit. Trying to convert analog film slides to tiny compressed digital images is like trying to cram my weekly bag of trash into a coffee can. Digital photos are much easier to process and to resize.

fulvio52, avene, zmey, AROBN54, jean11-3, gunbud, emjleclercq, plimrn, macondo, sevy, JorgeCK, jaywalker has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kaustubh10 (182) 2008-02-01 7:22

Hi Stan,

Very colourful picture including the bird itself. Yes, even though the light seems low you've managed a crisp result! The pattern of waves in the green water makes a good background for the bird.

Well done,
Kaustubh

Paolo (40755) 2008-02-01 8:15

Hi Stan, more a paint than a picture!
wonderful colours, good light and amazing green reflections on the water!
thansk, ciao

Valerka (8159) 2008-02-01 8:31

Salut, Stan,
Il est tres orgueuilleux ce type et tres attractif. Parti en chasse?:)))
Le cadre n'est-il pas trop epais?
Merci pour le partage
Belle soiree
Valerka:)

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-02-01 8:39

Lovely one, Stan.
It's a nice break from the Western stuff.
Those wonderful green hues are a perfect background for this (very colorful!) swimming duck.
The noise in the water doesn't bother me none.
I read your note and I fully agree with you on the subject "trying to convert analog film slides"...
I personally threw my scanner out of the window a few months ago, and I mean : literally. It crashed down, one night, on the sidewalk at 2.00 am. End of story. No more aggravation.
Cheers,
Fulvio.

indraajeet (1773) 2008-02-01 8:54

nice colourful shot and reflection. hope to see more wildlife from you
indrajit

avene (11224) 2008-02-01 9:29

hi Stan,
I agree about a bit of colour noise in the water (jeez... just listen to this as a regular person would - "COLOUR NOISE IN THE WATER"... next it's little green men giving me directions to the nicely padded room... LOL), and also the white has lost the details, but other than that I agree with Paolo - it looks more like a painting. love the simplicty of the composition, it certainly draws the attention to the perfect reflection and superb colours. the water is something else, the smooth liquid metal feeling is something I like a lot, and here it's a great background to the bird. excellent shot :)
best,
Kristine

AROBN54 (10797) 2008-02-01 11:07

Wow, Stan,
GREAT colors! And that little bird has more than its share. :)) I love the green of the background and the reflection you can see. It sure is a pretty little thing. I gave up trying to scan any of my old photos, they just sucked, but you did a great job on this. Nicely done! Thanks and take good care,
Shelly

japiey (9531) 2008-02-01 11:41

Dear Stan,

As you say in notes, this is fantastic. From the core of your heart, there's an underlined mission.... to shoot .....
And the way you make that feel is important.
This has the potential, the energy...
Colourfull image...
All the best, dear Stan.

jean paul

claire526 (1261) 2008-02-01 12:27

Hi Stan,

Wonderful and colorful shot.
I like the reflection on the water and the lines that surround the bird.
Great composition and framing.

Cheers,
Claire

mesutilgim (37555) 2008-02-01 13:14

Hi dear Stan,
Wonderfull !! Very nice capture; great colors and very nice reflections.
TFS and have a nice weekend
Best regards
MESUT ILGIM

jean11-3 (2799) 2008-02-01 13:58

A beautiful shot of the Mandarin Duck Stan.
Quite a change from your usual but still distinctively yours.The colours are wonderful, especially the dark green water, it makes an excellent bg for all the colours of the duck.
The reflection is a bonus.
The lack of bright sunlight has helped you to create a special picture.
Tfs, regards Jean.

gunbud (28261) 2008-02-01 14:45

Hi Stan,
Very rich colors to this most handsome speciman seen making a striking reflection in the slightly rippled green water. The wavy green background gives a dremy feel to this fine image.
Regards, Tom

emjleclercq (14620) 2008-02-01 22:56

A beautifull portrait indeed. The colors of the duck are of course beautifull, but the grenn shades over the water make a wonderfull background.

All the best,

Emmanuel

zmey (7282) 2008-02-02 1:19

hello stan

wow, a nice trip down the memory lane, friend. a beautiful bird portrait it is... especially the colors. striking. including the deep green in the reflections around the duck. maybe a tad too central: the ducks position, but then again, given the material at hand, i do not feel like i could pinpoint to a more elegant composition.

a technical question. as fast as fast portrait lenses go: would you suggest a 70-200 mm constant 2.8 is a sufficient tool or should i really try to get my hands on a 300 mm one? how important is the zoom range on these? should i just concentrate on the top fixed mm range for isolation and forget about the zoom flexibility?

cheers and TFS
kristaps

plimrn (19856) 2008-02-02 7:57

WOW, amazing colors in the duck's plumage!! However what really makes this photo sing is the dynamic feeling of the water. I suspect noise reduction might have taken away the liquid movementy feel that I have never seen captured quite so well. I see many folks have commented on the BG, trying to put its importance into words.
HLJ, Pat

ayansadhu (1499) 2008-02-02 8:07

This is a fantastic shoot with the nice colors & exposure (which you have a superior command)...but somehow the colors seem to be like more of painting & less of photography...
could you please explain why?!

danyy (69903) 2008-02-02 14:51

Bonjour Stan,
c'est un oiseau que j'aime beaucoup, il est fait pour la photo.
Je l'aime beaucoup ici avec ses reflats, même si la photo manque un peu de netteté et me semble over-exposed sur les blancs.
Best regards.
Daniel.

macondo (13333) 2008-02-02 17:27

Hello Stan.
I just read your note with interest. Also see a couple of comments have mentioned the noise in the water. That doesn't bother me, and your note explains it well. Noise reduction software can improve this aspect but I find it also tends to make a photo look slightly plastic. If you can apply it selectively it's OK.
Anyway, this is a pretty good scan and a magnificently colourful photo from 'long ago' in technological terms. The water is actually a thing of beauty, the colour and the gentle ripples making a good foil for the colour and angularity of the bird's patterns. Well worth doing.
Regards,
Andrew

jmcl (14181) 2008-02-03 8:19

hi Stan,

I think the noise works well into this context .. almost like it does in a B&W .. the brightness of the white on the face is the one tiny bit of bother I have here .. but this is magical .. that green water .. wow .. wondrous stuff.

take care,

John

(hope you and yours are well).

sevy (14070) 2008-02-03 9:19

Hello Stan,

Always interesting to see your photo and to read your notes. I agree with you about the post processing of the scanned slides. Sometimes, I gave up to try to extract from the slides what I would have like. From this point, the possibility to finally get what your have "seen" is a little easier in digital.
For this shot, the colors are very interesing and to my mind makes this photo: the colors of the duck and the reflections on the green water. I would have suggest to have more space on the right of the picture but when I read you used a single lens (big, heavy and manual), I understood my suggestion was not so easy to put in place.

Yves.

JorgeCK (2602) 2008-02-04 7:36

Hi Stan,
Beautiful wildlife shot. Wonderful green background for this colorfull dock. Beautiful reflections with excellent sharpness.
Well done my friend!
joRge

rgarrigus (0) 2008-02-17 3:20

Hi Stan,

I saw this one just before we went off on our recent trip to the Lake District. I love the colors and simple composition here. The reflecting green in the water really adds that special touch. You've inspired me to post one or two images of water fowl that I have made and see what happens.

Cheers!

Bob G.

jaywalker (12401) 2008-02-26 14:09

Hi Stan, A truly great capture of this duck, the strong colours are very beautiful &, what a great rippling reflection, yes I agree, this bird photo is indeed superb &, I'm sure your tutor would agree, kind regards Wilson.