Duck Scape

This was taken in Dudhwa National Park. The ducks were far away so tried a few scapes.

Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4x II Extender
SS 1/500
F11
ISO 400

The low angle looks good. Is this full frame? I would prefer the flock positioned to the right, and the lone bird at the right excluded. The shutter speed is high enough, so wondering whether a narrower aperture could have been used. (I don't know how far the aperture can be narrowed without degrading the image quality)
TFS

Hi Abhishek, This is Full Frame. I chose to place the flock in the centre as I felt the 2 lone ducks framed the flock in the centre. I don't think reducing the aperture would degrade image quality as such. You are right I could have used a still narrower aperture.

BTW: I just realised that these are probably Lesser Whistling Ducks. Confirmation reqd though...

Nice image Bibhav, i liked the pattern formed at bg by the dry trees. Did you shot this from a boat?

Hi Praveen. I was hiding in the reeds near the edge of the lake. Shot it from there.

I would have liked to see more details in the ducks. Please do check the AF point. Is this a big crop? The trees in the background look good. Thanks for sharing.

I am surprised by the shallow depth of field at f11. How come you got f11 at 1/500? Was it very bright?

Yes, It was pretty bright and sunny. This was taken at 1:19 PM
I was wondering the same about the DOF. Any clue how?

There is no exif details in your image. So distance info is not there. Also, your AF point doesn't seem to be on the birds. May be your AF is in water before the birds. Was this image heavily underexposed?

It is showing subject distance as 2147483647 m in the EXIF. How come??? :(

The Exposure was reduced by 0.19 units in Lightroom.
Blacks 7
Clarity 14, Vibrance 14, Sat 0.
Contrast 30
Rest all default values...

I'm not sure but on taking a big crop the focus feels to be on the ducks or slightly forward. :001_unsure:

So you may be right why the DOF feels shallow...

dont know about the technicality, but visually this is a very appealing shot.... some thing very ethereal about this picture.... thanks for sharing....