Bufflehead

Richard, we don't get many of this species in Colorado. I did manage to see them this year and for the life of me couldn't get within a gunshot of them...so first off, excellent job of getting close to this one, but the exposure and detail on this are just terrific! You also did a great job of capturing the character I have seen in these little ducks.

Beautiful image of this lovely little female.
May

Glad you dug this one out Richard. It is a delightful scene of this precocious duckling. Technically it is near perfect to my eye. Good detail even in the black areas.

It is a delightful scene of this precocious duckling.

Thanks Charlie.

Note that this is an adult female. This is a very small duck - about the size of a Pied-billed Grebe.

A nice image of this bird that I always find hard to get near. Light ont he eye and good exposure help this image a lot. It does look a bit crooked to me though

Excellent POV and sharp details Rich, the water's fine
Very good exposure, especially when one considers the lights direction here.
I think the orientation looks good, sometimes the combination of light and water action can play tricks on the eye..
Well done!

I think this is stunning! The large version shows so much detail. Good pose and water droplets are a nice touch. I'm with the others that I can't get close to these skittish ducks. Even from a kayak, I couldn't manage a decent shot.

Lovely work, Richard. Really good! You set a high standard. Like everyone else, I have never been able to get close to these little guys. To make it even more difficult, they spend almost as much time underwater as a Pied-billed Grebe! This looks like the prelude to a dive—good timing!

She looks very cute in this pose. I like the ripples a lot, way more interesting than flat water. Looks like it could use some ccw rotation to my eye as well. Did you apply some noise reduction to the water, has that dreamy feel.

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Looking at the image now I agree that a little CCW rotation would make this look level. Don't know how that slipped past me.

No noise reduction applied - just limited depth of field at f/6.3.

I agree this is a difficult species to get within camera range, and I've tossed out a lot of shots of them when enthusiasm behind the camera made me shoot when the bird was too far away. This bird was more cooperative than past ones, though, and spent a week or so in one pond at the Water Ranch where conditions brought it in close on occasion. As with all my work at the Water Ranch I just sit in the open at the edge of the pond with my tripod as low as it (and I) and go. Many times the birds will get comfortable and come within range, and if I'm lucky the light will be nice and I'll get the exposure right and I won't miss the focus.

Excellent capture of this hen, I love the light and subtle capture of the darker plumage.

very nice, Rich. love the pose, and these females are about as cute as they come. I agree that this is a tough duck to capture--you've done well. the light, water, and detail are all very nice, but the pose really makes it for me.

I like the side lighting and the nice low angle, Richard.

Just lovely. Great low angle and I like the way he is lifting himself out of the water. Nice light and overall great capture.

Good detail on the larger version, I like the water drops and with the angle of light you can just see the eye and bill. Interesting to read the comments for I also thought this was a juvenile and yes it is too hot to spend much time outside, nice image all around Rich.

Perfect.

Peter

A sweet shot in lovely light of this pretty little girl, Richard. Bathing, or just emerging from a dive? Kudos for your patience. This is a spooky species.

Bathing, or just emerging from a dive? Kudos for your patience. This is a spooky species.

I think this was the initial stage of a dive. I spent a number of days working with this bird - something I rarely get a chance to do with my normal random walk style of photography. It is an uncommon species at the Water Ranch, and when present usually much too far away. Most of my visits were just after dawn on weekdays, but I also tried a couple visits at other times. After so much time watching this duck I could anticipate what it was about to do and try for unusual positions such as this.

Excellent as posted Rich! The water is dreamy and the pose is great.

This is such a pretty picture! The bufflehead is SOOO cute and the water droplets on his head looks really cool. I hope I get a picture of one like this sometime!