Nice poses, shame about the photographer

[Tony M]

Hi all,

It was interesting watching three ducks this morning doing their wake-up routine. They were so tranquil and serene together, and I tried to capture that in these photos. I didn't manage to get all three in focus; the first photo was with a bigger aperture, and I reduced it as much as I dared for the following ones. (Note the last photo's 1/500s; I had been using spot metering without realising it. Doh!).

I like photo #4; the beaks form a zigzag and there's a nice symmetry about the image.

C&C would be welcome. Could I have got all three ducks in sharp focus? I think I'd have needed a tripod and a slower shutter speed in order to reduce the aperture further, but the ducks move so suddenly that I didn't want to reduce the shutter speed too much.

Camera: Canon EOS 40D. Lens: Canon EF70-300mm f4.5/5.6 IS USM

1) 1/160s at f/8, ISO 800, focal length 220mm


2) 1/125s at f/11, ISO 1600, focal length 220mm


3) 1/160s at f/11, ISO 1600, focal length 220mm


4) 1/200s at f/11, focal length 250mm, ISO 1600


5) 1/500s at f/11, focal length 250mm, ISO 1600


Tony

[kezmal]

Nice pics I do like No 1 and how the goose in the middle cocking his head at you.