Lori Azevedo
July 2024 - Quackers in the Pool
About the Image(s)
My daughter called early this morning saying she had ducks in her pool. I grabbed my camera and came right over. Mommy duck had in fact 5 babies swimming in the pool. 2 are behind her and don't show in the photo. We watched her for a couple of hours. She even allowed my 6-year-old granddaughter swim in the pool with them as long as she didn't get close to the babies.
Because she is nearly the same color tone as the rocks around the pool, I added a vignette and dodged her and the babies to brighten them up.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
3 comments posted
What a fun capture. So great that the mom is actually looking directly at you (maybe watching you very carefully), but your timing to catch her eyes makes it even better. It's so nice you got down to 'duck' level to take the shot so we look right into mom's eyes. The ducks are nice and sharp and the pool makes nice reflections and colors. It's too bad all the ducks weren't slightly separated from mom, but they like to stay close. The rock behind mom's head is slightly distracting since the colors are so similar, maybe darken it more? What a perfect reminder of the hours spent with your family and the duck family together. Posted: 07/17/2024 21:55:39
Lori,
This is a striking shot, in part because Momma is glaring right at the camera! The duck and the water colors go very well together, and I like the glimpse of orange foot. I agree with you and with Carol that the rocks behind her are very close in tone. One trick I have tried in situations like this is is to play with a saturation/contrast difference as well as brightness. By that I mean mask the rocks and the background generally, then gently lower the saturation and contrast, maybe slightly boosting the same variables in the duck. When it works, this has the effect of making (in this case) the duck pop off the background a bit more...in addition to the effect from your dodging and vignette. But it's a nice shot regardless. Posted: 07/17/2024 22:11:51
This is a striking shot, in part because Momma is glaring right at the camera! The duck and the water colors go very well together, and I like the glimpse of orange foot. I agree with you and with Carol that the rocks behind her are very close in tone. One trick I have tried in situations like this is is to play with a saturation/contrast difference as well as brightness. By that I mean mask the rocks and the background generally, then gently lower the saturation and contrast, maybe slightly boosting the same variables in the duck. When it works, this has the effect of making (in this case) the duck pop off the background a bit more...in addition to the effect from your dodging and vignette. But it's a nice shot regardless. Posted: 07/17/2024 22:11:51
Lori, This is a darling image. The mother duck looking right at the camera really makes it. I tried to do what Carol and Rick suggested, but didn't make too much of a difference. I did darken the background around the head of the duck and also increased the exposure of the mother duck. Posted: 07/18/2024 21:21:10