another one of my infamous ugly ducks that hang around Hermann Park in Houston. I never do well with these ducks, but I really like them.
I really tried to go for a "portrait" look on this. I don't think it will matter much in the long run, but it seems appropriate for the challenge.
[Dec. 29th, 2009 11:50:36 AM]
still tracking over 7.1 nearing 100 votes.
A couple of commenters have asked if this guy really is "wild".
He and several others like him live at Hermann Park in Houston. It has a bird sanctuary area in the man made lake in the park.
In as much as the herons, geese, finches, and several other birds in the area are wild, these guys are wild, too. They do not seem to fear people, but they do not let you get real close either. I used the 70-200 at 200mm and still had to crop about 50% to get this.
They are not caged or forced to stay in the area, they breed at will, but I don't know if they would be technically classified as "wild".
I wonder if it's any different than eagles, whooping cranes or any of the protected species whose habitats are protected and breeding and numbers are monitored.
I've photographed these ducks for other challenges, usually mired in the mid to low 5 scores. Good to see this one doing well.
[Jan. 3rd, 2010 11:29:58 PM]
Well, lost my 7 today. 35 minutes before roll over and sitting at 6.97. Maybe rollover will be kind.
I am glad this one is doing well. I've always thought these ducks were amazing looking. I've entered them in several challenges, none of which did this well.
Statistics
Place: 9 out of 138 Avg (all users): 6.9686 Avg (commenters): 7.7826 Avg (participants): 6.8462 Avg (non-participants): 7.0317 Views since voting: 2859 Views during voting: 365 Votes: 191 Comments: 34 Favorites: 2 (view)
Yikes - the orange bubbles looks very uncomfortable but sure it's just a 'feature' rather than a disease...
Great shot though and congrats with a top 10 placing!
I moved into a cheap apartment in Tampa for a span of two months due to snafus in my assigment to my next job. I had myself, a futon, a lawn chair, a laptop computer, two cats, and a coffee pot. Came home from work one evening, settled into the lawn chair (which was inside, of course) and there was a knocking at the door. Well no one really knew I was there, so I wondered who it could be. Opened the door - no one was there - heard "Quack!" - looked down, and there were three Muscovy ducks just standing there, casual as can be, waiting to be fed. Apparently the previous tenant would feed them. They knocked almost every evening after that. I had to buy Cheerios just for them.
Excellent details on all parts of the bird. Different textures of the beak vs feathers vs face is excellent. Nicely lit as well. (no vote, just making a few comments)
This guy looks ever so proud! We may think they're funny looking - ugly, even - but he thinks he's a stud, and by Muscovy standards, he probably is! Great portrait of the guy.
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