Duck

[Peepers]

I decided to take my new camera to the Bass Pro shop in Springfield. Inside they have ponds & streams with ducks on it who are so used to people & camera flashes that they don't care how many times you take their picture. This duck, a Hooded Merganser, really seemed to like the attention & since I wasn't bugging him, just taking his picture he kept coming close & giving me some nice opportunities. The thing I didn't like in this shot is the stick I caught at the right side of the photo.

This was taken hand held.

Here we go:

Nikon D7000
lens: Nikor DX 55-300mm 1:4.5.6G ED VR
I used the auto function on the camera for this shot because right now I'm learning so I didn't fiddle with other settings just yet - not confident yet that I know what I'm doing there. So the ISO & all the rest was the camera's doing... not mine

My question is that I have read often that when photographing animals you focus on the eyes. I was attempting to so do yet get the whole body in the shot so I'm asking for critiques to see if I made a hit or a miss on photographing this duck? I'd also like to hearing anything folks think I should have/could have done to improve it. I'm very new at this & it's my first DSLR so I've got a lot to learn. Thanks, in advance, for your words of wisdom.


http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...roDuckmale.jpg

[Michael_2010]

The lighting was not your friend in that one and it looks slightly out of focus.

[Hill Country Hack]

Not a bad little shot there. The shot is sharp. The one down side is the body is brighter than the eye. I'm not sure if that is flash or a bright spot from the interior lights.
Per the Critique Forum Rules you should give the EXIF data.

You did well using the rule of thirds. A general rule for objects in motion is to leave some room for them to move in to.
Something like this: