Duck 12-18-2014
While walking near the pond edge in late autumn, this curious female mallard duck waddled straight up to check out what I was doing. Crouching down to eye level kept the perspective personal and grounded rather than shooting down from above, capturing the bird’s inquisitive personality on camera up close.
The centered portrait focuses directly down the yellow bill, highlighting the mottled brown feather patterns across the bird’s rounded chest and head. A shallow depth of field leaves the dark eye and bill tack-sharp while melting the green grassy lawn behind into soft, uniform blur for a friendly wildlife composition.
