But if you have tried to get images of ducklings before, you know how difficult that can often be because mama ducks are very vigilant and will lead them away from you and your camera if she feels that you are in any way a danger to her young. After all, that's her job.
So how do you get close enough to get great duckling images with Mom hanging around all the time?
The key is the same with so many other nature shots. You need to be patient and slowly work your way closer to her and the ducklings, and when I say slowly, I mean SLOW. The problem with most photographers is they are not very patient and they just want to walk up and get the shot and move on. If you try that with ducklings, you aren't going to get much.
Recently, I visited Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL as it's one of my favorite locations for bird photos. While there, a mama duck with her ducklings comes swimming by. Of course, they got my attention, but mama was super vigilant and would lead them away from me at first. So, I went into super slow-motion and eased toward them little by little trying not to seem like I was even interested in their little family. By taking my time, mama eventually forgot about me and sort of began to view me as just part of the scenery. As a result I was able to get these photos:
Of course, having a long telephoto lens helps close the distance between you and your subjects in situations like this and that also helps keep mama duck at ease. I used a 400mm and I think that it's a good focal length for APS-C cameras if you want to get close-up nature shots without setting off too many alarms among the wildlife you are photographing.
See my latest nature and wildlife images at:
www.duanelipham.com
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