Your Canon Photos No. 18: 3rd to 9th September 2023

Really nice shots - fantastic work in terms of composition and light!

Simplejoy,

Thanks. I'm glad you like the one with the people in it, to give it a sense of scale.

Great photos Digirame.
That fog looks pretty impressive.

Subject: Wood Ducks (from about 2-1/2 years ago)

Taking pictures of these Wood Ducks has been fun over the years. Sometimes I get these beautiful photos. Other times I really have to work hard to get close under some of the worst conditions. The lighting was bad yesterday but with high ISO levels, it was possible. Usually when the wood ducks return to this area they are very much afraid and it's difficult for me. Later during the winter they seem to get more used to people, so I can get closer. But during the winter it is also the time of some of our worst weather, with lots of rain. Anyway, I thought some of you might like to see this contrast in sunny conditions (for those who hadn't seen my Wood Duck pictures on Dpreview).

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 1250
ExposureBiasValue - 0.67
FocalLength - 400 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Dunlin,

Thanks. The fog looks good on Tillamook Head. But when it comes down towards the beach, everything takes a completely different look. If you can see anything, it's a strange white cast over all the sand and water.

Today I spent some time trying to get a better picture of the Hotel Donau. I went out at about noon, which is the only time the sun strikes it, as it is on the east side of a N-S street. What I didnt reckon with was the traffic -- there are stop lights at each end of this 120 metre (c. 394 ft) long building. Whenever there were no vehicles in the shot, people would walk in front of the lens...

The result, while perhaps technically better is not as good as the previous one I showed last week. Here for comparison:

I must try again on a Sunday...

I took some other photos today, but as they were with my little Sony and B&W I put them here. Please visit and leave comments -- also here.

David

Hi Digirame,

It's good to see your Wood Ducks, I'm still waiting for the male Mandarins to reappear. 😃

Mocha,

Thanks. I did get another closer photo of a male wood duck, but the surroundings were a little "busy". I had to squeeze between some branches and leaves to get a photo of it, before I was spotted. I hope you get a few photos of the male Mandarins. You'll make me "jealous". 😀

David,

That looks tough to do. I like the second one the best. With the Sony B&W, I always prefer color. To me color is what makes a photograph complete. It may be why I like flowers so much. For me, if the pictures are completely B&W, it's because it is naturally that way like what we may see during the winter months. But that's only me. Other people like B&W photography and I think that's great.

A storm is coming.

I lowered the exposure compensation by a full stop. Looks ominous.

Steve Thomas

More Luxemburg incoming😁

Small bridge:
(Canon EOS 6D Mark II - EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM)

Small trail, we had to go through this chasm/gorge
(Canon EOS R - RF24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM)

Some heath on top of the gorge (only a bit busy in the background)
(Canon EOS R - RF24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM)

Bit to much 😎
(Canon EOS 5D Mark IV - EF28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM)

Spotted some Egyptian goose goslings, parents were close by and watching us watching them in the Sauer/Sûre river
(Canon EOS 5D Mark IV - EF28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM)

The Sauer/Sûre river, left river bank is Luxemburg, right river bank is Germany:
(Canon EOS R - RF16mm F2.8 STM)

Steve,

I like seeing storm clouds. They are really cool to capture with the camera. There's sometimes a little bit of fear associated with ominous cloud formations. We wonder about flooding, hail, wind and lightning. Will we be safe?

Photobygms,

Wow...what a neat area to take a hike. I like seeing the Egyptian goose goslings. Every spring I look forward to finding goslings.

Thanks, the Mullerthal region does surprise us every day again.
It's also nice to be able to hike in those dense forests and gorges with the also suprisingly high temperatures right now. We're hitting the 30s (Celsius) again...

Absolutely fantastic - love this shot, its awesome composition and the light! It's very well balanced and would surely make for an awesome big print. There are very small adjustments in post processing, I would try personally, but they're so insignificant, that I won't bore you with that. Excellent shot! (as usual the other ones are very nice as well!)

OpenCube,

That's an interesting photo of late summer or early autumn at harvest time. What software did you use to swap or modify the colors?

Shot in full spectrum and played around with colors in ACR. Photo was taken about 2 weeks ago.