Here's Johnny!

As I was taking this photo of Johnny the Khaki Campbell (yes, he is named after the TV3 anchorman) part of me thought "here's another duck shot" but then I had a rethink.

The great thing about having chickens and ducks is that photographing them can be very good practice for shooting wild waterfowl, like yesterday's heron. Both require patience and an understanding of the birds behaviour, how they feed, walk, take-off, fly etc. All of these skills can be applied when out in the field too.

I also like photographing our own animals as it gives me the opportunity to get familiar with my kit too. I use different lenses, engage different modes, move the camera more than I would for landscape shots.

So is it just another shot of a duck? Well yes, but much, much more too...