Constellation Duck

The corner of Harborplace formed by the two main pavilions is a hangout for these dabbling ducks. They're always looking for a handout from us humans, and they're worth it, as they provide a lot of free entertainment.

This one didn't seem bothered by me at all as I took over a dozen photos up close and personal, down on the deck with my Canon A620 - the articulated LCD is great for this sort of thing.

The green in the background is the historic frigate USS Constellation.

By the way, I can't quite figure this duck out. It looks like a female Mallard, but the beak is yellow, rather than orange and black, and I didn't think the females had any green on their heads. If you know from ducks, please enlighten me.

Oat Rentals

The thing that first attracted me to this scene was the neon sign, slightly crooked, within the black and white frame of the window. But then the attendent, who had been out of my view on the other end of the dock, walked into my viewfinder, his shift almost over, and made a phone call. I thought his dark skin and white clothing complemented the non-color scheme of the rental shed in the background.

I held down the shutter button to shoot a lot of pictures with him sitting right there, but in this one, his body English and facial expression was the best of the lot.

Back at home on the computer, I noticed that the red life vests could make a nice design element, a triangle right into the left lower edge of the frame.

But only if I cropped the image to "OAT RENTALS."

The Power Of Critique

Warren made a suggestion to crop out the "OAT RENTALS" at the top of the photo. I was just a bit skeptical - I had rather liked the bold, white-on-black lettering, but tried it.

Well, now I'm with Warren - the composition looks cleaner and more balanced to me now.

What do you think?

Thanks, Warren!

By the way, Dolph's comment about this having an "islands" flavor made sense - but in fact, this place is right on the waterfront of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I'm gonna make a nice print and leave it for "Island Man," or hopefully, give it directly to him. Hope he likes it.