Bufflehead+Reposts

Gallery: AvianPosted March 24, 201066 views7 comments

Bufflehead (Bucephala islandica)

There were many of these ducks on Lake Ontario today. However, it required plenty of walking along the shore to find one close enough for a reasonable image with my handheld lens. This female Bufflehead stayed around for quite awhile repeatedly diving for fish and spending only 10 to 20 seconds or so on the surface in between dives.

Use of the 1.4X extender on the 400 mm prime disables autofocus. I sure missed it: as evidenced by a large collection of fuzzy shots made using manual focus. However, it really was necessary here.

All comments very welcome.

EOS 7D, EF 400mm f/5.6, 1.4X: ISO 320, 1/1000 S, F/8.0, this image is 3969 pixels X 2635pixels =11.3 MP OR 63% of the 18 MP of the 7D.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 24, 2010 at 8:56 PM

I like this a lot especially the ripples of the water - not sure about the composition but it's a nice shot of this finicky species

- Luke

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 24, 2010 at 11:01 PM

Steve, I like this shot a lot. a lower angle is always nice, but in this case might have caused him to get lost in the swells. I _really_ like the water in this image--it has a great 3D feel to it, with great ripples, color, and texture. I think that this is a good reason to break the comp rules and leave the duck toward the right, because I like the way he fits into the shapes you have in the water. I might, however, take some off the bottom, maybe to a little above your signature.

The duck looks great--I think you got the focus right, along with the exposure, and it's a cute pose from this little guy.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 25, 2010 at 7:47 AM

Nice shot Steve. Overall, I like the image. I believe this not a female, but a first winter male. The amount and pattern of white on the head is typical of a first winter, early spring male. Just FYI.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on March 25, 2010 at 4:50 PM

Steve,
I really like this cute duck. Very nice water and colors. If this were mine, I'd add a little more room on the right.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on March 25, 2010 at 7:04 PM

Thank you all: such thoughtful comments. Looks like there is some preference for more room on the right. I have space there in the original. So, here's a repost showing one version of that type of crop. Brian suggested cropping some of the bottom. I'll post that one too (next). Brian's observation that this is as low an angle as was possible is correct. Very interesting observation from Ron on this being a first winter male. That was news to me! A special thanks to Rich: I haven't been called a "young man" in a very long time!

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on March 25, 2010 at 7:05 PM

Here is the crop suggested by Brian.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 25, 2010 at 11:23 PM

Hmm. I can't decide but I do like both the 2nd and 3rd posts here Steve, the circles in the water make this interesting.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments