Bufflehead

Gallery: AvianPosted October 22, 20171,148 views12 comments

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Gilbert Water Ranch, AZ
Date: January 3, 2011, 3:21 pm
Equipment: Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 300 f/2.8 D ED-IF plus TC20E (2x), Gitzo 1325 tripod, RRS BH-55, Sidekick
Exposure: ISO 400, Aperture priority matrix metered, 1/500th @ f/6.3, -2/3rd ec
Raw, PS CC 2017 on Mac, cropped to 74% of full frame

Edit: corrected species name - Thanks for catcghing this Jerry!

More from the back catalog. Normally I cannot get close enough to this small species for decent photos, but this individual was unusually cooperative.

There's a potential issue with this that bothers a non photographer friend. I haven't mentioned it to avoid influencing any comments in advance. But I'm interested to see if anyone else notices and reacts to the issue.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. If possible please view the large version before commenting.

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on October 22, 2017 at 6:28 PM

I like this pose, Rich. The color, detail and exposure seem quite good. Not knowing what the non-photographer says, but only suggestion I have would be a bit more room at bottom, also a 1.4x would open the scene some. But then, hindsight's 20-20, isn't it?

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on October 22, 2017 at 7:17 PM

Beautiful capture you managed here. I like the ripples around this gal. I also like the low perspective. Finally, I think this is a female Bufflehead instead of a Ruddy.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 22, 2017 at 7:38 PM

Finally, I think this is a female Bufflehead instead of a Ruddy.

Thanks Jerry. Indeed, it is. I don't know what I was thinking earlier when I posted it! The jpeg is named correctly, so obviously I wasn't thinking at all.

but only suggestion I have would be a bit more room at bottom, also a 1.4x would open the scene some.

Note this is cropped to 74% of the original. So, not cropping would restore some space around the duck. I love showing birds in habitat, but I've never sure how much empty water looks right around a subject like this.

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

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on October 23, 2017 at 2:18 PM

This one's surfacing ? Predictive skills cool

. I like pose, colors and space around the bird. Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 23, 2017 at 6:02 PM

I can't imagine what your friend might have found odd about this image, Richard, unless it's the highlight in the eye from the water reflection.. I like the perky pose-it looks like you caught him at the peak of his arc, popping out of the water. Excellent detailin the water drops.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on October 23, 2017 at 6:56 PM

I like the pose, coming partially out of the water. Good detailed look at a somewhat shy bird.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on October 23, 2017 at 7:13 PM

No nits. A sweet image with enough action to present a story. cool

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on October 23, 2017 at 9:07 PM

Oh, so beautiful, colors, details, water drops, position of the bird, everything. I might add just the tiniest bit back to the bottom. I don't see the potential issue.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 24, 2017 at 1:37 PM

This one's surfacing ?

- Hans

My memory was that it was starting a dive, but looking at the raw files from this encounter implies it had just surfaced. The posted image is #031, and the sequence terminates in a vigorous head shake.

Checking the time stamp on each image shows that these eight frames occurred over 22 seconds, with the final six shots covering 1.35 seconds. The dive lasted about 20 seconds.

Frame number	Time stamp (HH:MM:SS)
028	15:21:00.00
029	15:21:20.65
030	15:21:21.00
031 (posted image)	15:21:21.14
032	15:21:21.40
033	15:21:21.56
034	15:21:22.00

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

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on October 24, 2017 at 2:24 PM

Very nice look at this cute duck, Richard! I like the pose and the ripples in the water around the duck.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on October 25, 2017 at 11:30 AM

I am really enjoying the light, detail, and the water in this one, Richard. The reflection fits in well. Nicely composed.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 29, 2017 at 1:27 AM

There's a potential issue with this that bothers a non photographer friend. I haven't mentioned it to avoid influencing any comments in advance. But I'm interested to see if anyone else notices and reacts to the issue.

The issue raised by my non photographer birding friend was the color on the Bufflehead:

...this bird and its strange blue breast. Other than that jarring color, it's a wonderful image...

I was quite surprised by this, pointing out that any color cast was simply skylight reflected off the water onto the bird's breast. But I made another version as seen here with the blue cast removed from the breast. My lesson from this was that non photographers don't "see the light" in the same way photographers do.

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