Harlequins (+Repost)

Gallery: AvianPosted December 17, 2012423 views19 comments

Another image from my spring session with two male harlequin ducks at LeHardy Rapids in Yellowstone. Typically, the harlequins arrive here in May and leave by the end of the month. I caught the last of them (or so I thought) in mid-May, so it was a surprise to see two males hanging out on this portion of the Yellowstone River when I returned in June.

The snow melt had really kicked up by this time, making for some great surroundings with which to conduct some longer exposure experiments. Few of the shots came out, since it's a matter of relying on the ducks to stay still, but there were a couple keepers.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 500mm f/4 IS + 1.4x TC
ISO 100
1/8th
f/25

Max

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by James Allen on December 17, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Looks like they held still for this one. Love the slow shutter effect. It works very well in this photograph

Registered on December 10, 2012, 14 Posts, 232 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on December 17, 2012 at 12:09 PM

Outstanding image IMHO! Like the position of the ducks and how you handled the water. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by David Sewell on December 17, 2012 at 12:28 PM

Glad they stayed still for long enough. The slow shutter speed really adds something to the water.

David

Registered on September 10, 2008, 63 Posts, 801 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on December 17, 2012 at 12:56 PM

Most definitely a keeper. Love the moment of capture

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 17, 2012 at 2:43 PM

Really nice Max. The long exposure on the water really makes this image. The birds seem a bit dark. I might try and brighten them if this were mine. Small nit on a really cool image.

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on December 17, 2012 at 5:08 PM

I normally don't care for blurred water but I think it is exceptionally nice in this post. I'm glad you shot it this way and shared it for all of us.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Lusk on December 17, 2012 at 5:25 PM

Beautiful shot. Great colors and the slow shutter makes for a real interesting water view.

As mentioned, the birds themselves look a little dark.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 312 Posts, 600 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 17, 2012 at 6:07 PM

I have a pair on that rock, too, but not this sharp. great water and fine poses.
love harlequins!
sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Graham Brown on December 17, 2012 at 6:36 PM

Really like this, that water flow is excellent. Graham

Registered on November 20, 2007, 275 Posts, 1365 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on December 17, 2012 at 6:45 PM

Sweet photo Max

Great poses on the Harlequins, the flowing rapids is very attractive.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on December 17, 2012 at 8:48 PM

Very appealing environmental shot of these beautiful ducks. I like the movement in the water contrasted with the dark wet rock. The ducks are a bit dark I think, they are tough birds to get detail on for some reason. It may be that they are always juxtaposed with bright water and its hard to have detail in that water and the darks in the same exposure.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on December 17, 2012 at 10:27 PM

Wonderful environmental image, Max. The contrast between the ducks and the raging waters is great to see. I am amazed you got the ducks sharp at your SS, but it renders the waters perfectly.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Roberts on December 17, 2012 at 10:33 PM

Really cool behavioral shot of one of my favorite ducks. Love the water motion. Agree with prior comment that the birds seem a bit dark.

Registered on March 9, 2011, 69 Posts, 501 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on December 17, 2012 at 11:02 PM

Lovely! What a wonderful effect on the water...very nicely done!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on December 17, 2012 at 11:10 PM

Thanks everyone. My main concern was making sure I could at least get the eyes to emerge from the dark plumage, but based on your comments I went back and brought the darker tones in the ducks up a little more (shown in the repost... not sure how noticeable the change is).

By the way, I initially liked the first wider shot I previously posted from this session (seen in my gallery) because it showed more of the surrounding environment. However, this one's growing on me. More color and slightly better poses from the ducks. I'm curious if anyone else has a preference between this and the wide shot.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on December 18, 2012 at 10:24 AM

Great shot for all the aforementioned reasons. Personally I think I narrowly prefer the previous post because of the head angles and the seperation between the ducks bodies and also the wider expanse of the swirling water looks a little cooler to me. Both shots are excellent.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 18, 2012 at 1:10 PM

I like the effect from the water a lot, Max. And I think your repost works better than the original. Very interesting image.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 18, 2012 at 8:51 PM

Love the water in this Max, great shot.

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

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on December 19, 2012 at 10:01 PM

Beautiful shot Max. This image represents a combination of elements that aren't usually associated with ducks. Really good stuff.

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments