Bufflehead

Gallery: AvianPosted February 25, 2010140 views11 comments

Spring has arrived in SE AZ and this little male Bufflehead was making a fool of himself to two females nearby yesterday at Sweetwater near Tucson. I find them hard to photograph in the sun because of their high contrast. The whites may be a bit hot here but I did get the iridescence on the head.

Thanks for looking and for your comments and suggestions.

Canon 50D, 300mm f/4 IS w/1.4 handheld, 1/2000 @ f/5.6, ISO 400

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Kevin Thompson on February 25, 2010 at 2:42 PM

Great pose and bird Hans....

Registered on March 15, 2005, 114 Posts, 2639 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on February 25, 2010 at 3:45 PM

Hans,

I like the iridescence a lot on this photo along with the unusual ose with the wings pinned back. it is a bit croocked and there is quite a bit of grain showing - how much of a crop was this?

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on February 25, 2010 at 8:59 PM

I like the silvery water and the pose and iridescence, but the overall image is a little bright for my tastes. Hope you get a chance to go back while he's still making a fool of himself! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on February 25, 2010 at 9:01 PM

Their iridescence is beautiful when captured in great light like this. Preventing the whites from getting blown out is the challenge. I bet this display was fun to watch.

Registered on May 12, 2004, 191 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on February 25, 2010 at 10:38 PM

Great pose Hans. I think you did a great job on the exposure. These guys are tough in any sunlight.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Cunliffe on February 25, 2010 at 10:59 PM

These birds are my photographic nemesis....if there is enough sunlight to show the iridescence there is also enough to blow out the whites. I think you did a great balancing act here. The breast looks a little strange, maybe a touch too much sharpening?

Registered on May 25, 2009, 62 Posts, 202 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 25, 2010 at 11:05 PM

wonderful pose. I agree with Stephen, this is a really tough bird in terms of having enough light to get the colors in the head but not so much you blow the whites. all in all, I think the head looks pretty good here. I'm also wondering how large a crop it is?

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on February 26, 2010 at 1:28 AM

You have noted the how difficult shooting buffleheads can be with the contrast, nice job capturing this drake in this display... love the detail and colors.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on February 26, 2010 at 3:51 AM

Very nice pose Hans. To clean it up you could add a touch more clockwise-rotation, and some NR on the water.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 27, 2010 at 12:39 AM

Lovely shot Hans - nice capture of behaviour and the iridescence on the head really catches your eye

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on February 27, 2010 at 5:02 AM

Ha! great capture of the Bufflehead! Wonderful to see the iridescence in the feathers on the head. And his pose is classic– what attitude!

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments