Tara Tanaka has a new video, which took her 18 hours to edit. But it’s worth it, at least to us, because it’s lovely and it shows DUCKS! Be sure to click on the video and put it on full screen. Her notes:
Canvasbacks [Aythya valisineria] are one of my favorite ducks, and on this winter morning at St. Marks NWR I shot video of two individuals until I couldn’t shoot anymore. The most challenging part was keeping focused on the swirls and bubbles to determine where I thought he would surface so he’d be in the frame and in focus with the very narrow DOF of my digiscoping system.
All of the Canvasback footage was digiscoped with the GH5 in 4K using manual focus; the first two clips were using my Nikon 300mm f2.8 lens.
Love to see a slo-mo of a duck (any duck) re-folding his/her wings with that sorta iteration of left & right wings until they are just right.
Wondrous pix, of course. Thank you!
Thank you John! It’s great to be able to share this beauty with others who appreciate it. No humans have been able to observe nature in slow-motion until the very recent advent of this technology – we are incredibly fortunate.
That was really a gorgeous video. Nice to see the such detail on that beautiful duck.
Thanks!
Thank you Debbie!
Damn, def doesn’t get any higher than that. Beautiful.
Thank you Ken!
Up there with BBC wildlife progs, but better music. Great stuff TT!
You are too kind!! Thanks very much!
Canvasback – I see it!
What is that, when ducks look like just ducks, but then someone says “hey, these are CANVASBACK ducks!” and I all of a sudden can notice them, the Baader-Meinhoff effect?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baader%E2%80%93Meinhof_effect
I think that when you see wildlife so close, that you relate to it in a way you don’t if you can’t see their expressions and moods.
Concur. Beyond excellent videography and editing! Music is outstanding, as well. Thank you, Tara, for sharing your talents.
Thanks so much Brad! I really appreciate your very kind comments!
Wow, that was mesmorizing. Thank you for the tremendous effort that it took, and for sharing this with us.
Really have a better appreciation of ‘like water off a duck’s back’.
mesmerizing
Named after a Mr. Mesmer.
Some sort of hypnotist from the 19th c. I think.
“Really have a better appreciation of ‘like water off a duck’s back.'” Indeed!
Jerry made a similar comment when he saw the video. Oiling their feathers takes up a significant part of their time in order to keep their waterproofing up to snuff!
Thank you so much for taking and sharing your wonderful video with us. I especially enjoyed the water droplets on the duck’s back —what amazing focus—, the music and the ending as it ‘disappears’.
Thank you Barbara for letting me know the parts you really liked. There’s a moment when a drop of water runs down the duck’s neck, and I slowed it down to 50% speed just to emphasize it.
What a wonderful video, and what a beautiful duck! Outstanding!
Thank you so much Nicolaas!
Masterful. Eighteen hours to edit! At least in the digital age the cutting room floor is less messy. 🙂
Thanks! Amazing how messy the rest of my office got in those two days though – I’m creating order out of it now!
Love it. The ducks are the comedians of the bird world. Thanks for keeping that focus sharp.