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Robert Tran's picture

Mandarin Duck in Los Angeles

Hey Y'all,

HNY '21 - here's to a successful year ahead personally and professionally to the entire FStoppers community. I'm not a wildlife / animal photog by any stretch, but felt pretty fortunate to come across a rarer sighting (for LA at least) on NYE - a Mandarin duck in the city.

Curious about the strengths / weaknesses with these, from those of you who often shoot birds / ducks in water. Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Rob

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8 Comments

The first one is the best, composition and exposure are perfect, you can't control what a bird is going to do you have to get what you can when you can get it.

Thanks, Timothy and to your point, this little guy faked me out on more than one occasion. Didn’t help that I don’t know the Mandarin’s behavior and tendencies, so I was at its mercy. Appreciate the feedback.

Cheers,
Rob

I showed this to my wife, she said it is breath taking.

Humbled to receive this high praise, Timothy. Thanks for sharing the kind words.

Cheers,
Rob

First and last are stunning! My preference is the bottom image, I like the composition centered and the lighting draws your attention to the subject.

Thank you, Peter. Very much appreciated.

Hi Robert, This may be late but never the less...

Image 1: This is captured beautifully. very good texture and detail of the bird. For my opinion, reflection could be elaborately expressed in the composition. lot of distraction in the frame.

Image 1: Distraction at the forground is the major issue for me. secondly, i have not seen such pose of the bird. That does not stop anyone for sure. but for my opinion this look is not attention grabbing.

image 3: as obviously known, lot of distraction in forground, sides, background. This is the weakest image.

image 4: in my opinion, birders click such shots as "record shot". This may go further for a meaningful composition and story.

you perhaps like saturated frames and is personal choice.

Appreciate the feedback, Vijay.

Cheers,
Rob