October 2025
Oh man, what a beauty!… just cracked open the box on my R10 with the RF-S 18-150mm. My first interchangeable-lens camera — after years of snapping random shots with point-and-shoots and phones, I’m stoked 🥲 .
While I was picking one out and waiting for it to show up (I’ll save that saga for another story), I read some basic photography books — composition, color, the famous exposure triangle, settings, whatever I could get my hands on… but now it’s time to see if I actually learned anything and take this beast out for a spin.
So the next morning I grabbed the camera and headed to the park near my place — canals, a little pond, ducks, little birds, plants and colorful flowers, the odd mushroom, bugs and trees. Pretty solid spot for some experiments, right?…
First go
It was chilly, and I already spotted the first ducks in the canals — still half-asleep and barely moving. After a bit I saw one taking a little bath, splashing around, and it cracked me up. I’d decided to shoot Manual by default, so I could learn the hard way how the controls and settings work…. I sat on the ground maybe 15 meters away, but the duck got tired of me, and by the time I had the camera ready it had already paddled off up the canal… I tried a few more times and realized I was slow on the decision-making, so I missed some shots that would’ve been pretty nice….
The sun was climbing and the day was seriously bright, and I didn’t want to miss that sweet morning golden hour, so I switched spots and ran into “Lucas” doing this little goofball dance. He was almost under a little canal bridge, so I had to drop to the ground and just blasted a few frames — the first photos with the camera. Yeah, some guy walking by gave me that “what’s this dude’s deal?” look.
Ducks are such friendly little critters, and since they’re used to people they’re great models… you just have to be careful not to spook them, get close enough but not too close, and be patient so you can fire in that magic moment.
Honestly, “duck hunt” is one of the most fun and educational things you can try with a new camera — their colors, lighting, shadows, highlights, water reflections, and movement are always changing. You can learn a ton with this kind of photography, and they’re relatively easy to get.
The shot of “Lucas” first thing in the morning, with the sun bouncing off his beak and shiny chest — looks like he’s doing Tai Chi. The pose is hilarious and dramatic at the same time. The Sooc photo is pretty much like this one, just a bit darker in the head feathers, plus a tiny crop — all very basic editing.
Another learning session
A few months later, now with my shiny new RF100-400, still messing around with it, I went back through the park but in the afternoon. This time I actually had a plan — get a shot that leaned into that orange evening light — and I ran into “Daisy,” drifting with the current, half-asleep with the sun softly kissing her beak. It’s not a killer photo, it’s missing some stuff, but it’s a solid starting point. The color, the reflections, the warmth — all really nice. I tried editing it to give it more “punch,” but in the end I stuck with the camera JPEG; it’s more honest. Even though I shoot RAW, I also save the camera Jpeg — either Landscape (more vivid) or Faithful (more natural). The camera does a killer job. This is the Jpeg Sooc, just a medium-aggressive crop, Faithful picture style.
Lesson learned.
Ducks are good people — gorgeous, and patient enough to let us snap a few photos. Plus, it’s easy to “meet up” with them for a session; they’re always down. On the technical side, as they keep turning while they swim, they give you all kinds of lighting angles for your first experiments — and sometimes you can even bag them in flight! (figuratively speaking).
PhotoBones: During these photo sessions, no ducks were physically harmed or mistreated.