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A pair of Mallard, a very common duck, on the calm waters of the North Drain, on Tealham Moor. The more ornate male is on the left, and the far more camouflaged female on the right.
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens used in DX (= APS-C) format to give 450mm; 500 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Flat V2 picture control; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Underexpose EV -1 preset and adding a strong coffee tone; the North Drain on Tealham Moor, on the Somerset Levels, seen from the Jack’s Drove bridge; 12 Apr 2019.
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FATman Photos 
Adrian, your photography is breathtaking. Love it!
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Shawn, thank you very much indeed! Adrian 🙂
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A lovely gentle image. I like the contrast between the sharpness of the ducks and the fuzziness of the distant trees.
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Thank you, my friend – the long telephoto allowed sharp focus just on the ducks. A 🙂
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How did you ever get the mallards to go to the exact right place in the landscape for your splendid photograph? Also, I hate to ask questions like this, but DOF is something I struggle with: what ƒstop did you use?
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If I were a bit of a devil, which of course I’m not (I’m more angelic really) I would say that I had the ducks anchored to the river’s bottom … 😉 … but of course I’m far too wholehearted, wholesome and wholemeal for that …
But now then, DOF. The f stop was f8 because that’s this lens’s sweet spot, the f stop at which its sharpest, and I often leave it on f8 unless I’m wanting more or less DOF.
BUT the lens had a focal length of 450mm, ie a long telephoto, and long teles have small DOFs, and so focusing on the ducks left most of the rest of the picture slightly or more out of focus, so that attention is focused on the ducks.
Any questions on DOF, please do ask. A 🙂
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Outstanding composition, Adrian. You are rockin’ that Z6.
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Thank you, my friend! But LOL! >>> or is the Z 6 rockin’ me????? Have to say its quite inspirational. A 🙂
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Yea, I am a sucker for these kind of shots/creations.
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That’s good to hear, thank you. I’m just back from another super early Levels trip, with decidedly sparse photographic gains – light terrible, and the new places I explored mostly boring – that’s life! Would like to subside with several beers but have to go out for a meal later – will probably end up face down in the main course, hoping for a snorkel … 😦 …
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Lovely image
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Glen, thank you. Adrian
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