Another wonderful duck hunting morning

[BrianA61]

It's been a few weeks since I've had the pleasure of watching a new day come to life in the crisp morning air. It has been cloudy/rainy/foggy and I have not gotten an opportunity to record the awesomeness of a new day coming to life. Today, was different and the sun decided to peek through for just long enough to present another remarkable sunrise in the flooded corn waiting for ducks to show up. I certainly never get tired of watching things like this.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[NorthernFocus]

Time for reflection to be sure. No pun intended...

[IzzieK]

Brian...welcome back. I was supposing your have been going out like that cold morning bundled up just to get some birds...maybe you are concentrating too much of ducks to bring home, how about other kinds of birds? Aren't they in existence there where you are hunting? Those people in the house across the river, I hope no one target them instead of ducks...they must be used to hearing shots...but at least they have ready-made hotsa cuppas of coffee or tea...As for your photos, the top corn leaves is distracting... the bottom one is OK...

[bnnrcn]

Very nice image, if it was mine I would crop the half of the sky

[BrianA61]

@Izzie, that area of water is just a shallow field that has been flooded. It is only knee deep all the way across. The house in the background is about 1/2 mile away. No need to worry about the shooting. Shotgun pellets don't fly that far. There are other birds around like Trumpeter Swans, Canada and Snow geese, herons, and other assorted birds. I had a Yellowhammer land and sit within 10ft of me and never even knew I was there. As with a lot of times, as soon as I move to get my camera out, they fly off. Very difficult for good, clean "action" shots with a p&s with limited zoom capabilities. Photography is 2nd on my priority list when out like this. When the season is over, I'll get out the big camera and get more serious about shooting different birds.

Re: the corn leaves, I tried to get as much of the corn stalk out of the pic but also wanted to get in some close foreground to give more of a sense of depth. I didn't have a lot of time to get up and move around since I was in thick corn and water up to my shins. Was actually comfortable conditions with the temps in the mid-upper 40's.

@Binnur, I think there would two possible "right answers" to this. Cropping out some of the sky makes for a good pic but I really like how the sunlight highlights the outline of the high clouds. Thanks for all the feedback. Believe it or not, I find this site with all of the honest critique really makes me think a little more when I click the shutter thus improving my results.

Thanks to all that contribute. Keep it coming.

[Rebel]

Very nice image, if it was mine I would crop the half of the sky

+1 to this, I like the look of that mountain in the background to

[KimC]

This is SO very pretty Brian. My only thought is the tiny piece of corn stalk on the right side doesn't add to the image but distracts just a bit. Have you tried cropping?

[planewood]

Breathtaking shot Brian. I like the level horizon, the reflections in the water, and, quite honestly, I didn't even notice the corn stalks until someone mentioned them. I feel if you had cropped them out, the skyline would not show the dark areas behind the stalks, which, to me, add to the scene. You can tell which direction you are facing and what time of day it is with that full picture. I like the back-lit mountain in the distance as well.
Any luck on the other reason for being out there?

[BrianA61]

Breathtaking shot Brian. I like the level horizon, the reflections in the water, and, quite honestly, I didn't even notice the corn stalks until someone mentioned them. I feel if you had cropped them out, the skyline would not show the dark areas behind the stalks, which, to me, add to the scene. You can tell which direction you are facing and what time of day it is with that full picture. I like the back-lit mountain in the distance as well.
Any luck on the other reason for being out there?

Thanks, Chuck. I think any cropping kind of takes away at what I was seeing through my camera. I just had to move around a little to make the foreground less distracting while still leaving some in to give more of a sense of depth. As far as the other reason I was out there, it wasn't red hot, but I didn't go home without dinner either. Only 4 shots but 3 ducks. I've had worse days.

[MarieV]

Beautiful image and colours Brian.