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Ruddy Duck

peargrinpeargrin Registered Users Posts: 191 Major grins
edited February 6, 2014 in Wildlife
It's been a tough winter here photographically, with our local waterways frozen solid and lots of snow and ice. I did manage to capture one female Ruddy Duck paddling around at the beginning of winter, so I thought I'd share it...

Best wishes,

Pear

DSC_9764-L.jpg

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    PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited February 4, 2014
    Beautiful light, Pear! Best, Pam
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    puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited February 5, 2014
    Yes, nice light (and subject).

    Re winter ... I've no idea about your environment and what winter brings in the way of difficulties etc, but imo it offers lots of different (and sometimes challenging) potential.

    Frozen lakes / water make it easy to get cam @ water level if you can get down to the water's edge ... just rest cam on the ice (with piece of insulating material under it - I use a garden kneeling pad or bit of camping roll mat)

    Sometimes there's a narrow band / stretch of water between land and ice ... this can force birds to be nearer to land than usual, so better frame filling chances maybe?

    Antics / actions of subjects on ice offer different potential than usual

    Light can often be v. nice.

    Fewer people around to disturb things (if this is normally a problem ... as it can be at my local venue)

    If you're into feeding birds to better 'control' the situation, then there's definitely potential as they'll certainly appreciate any extra food (assuming they're similar to the UK mob)

    etc

    As a far better and more experienced bod than me puts it in #2 here ...
    http://blog.northshots.com/2013/12/20-nature-wildlife-photography-tips/

    Last winter I occasionally got quizzed when it was snowing, along the lines of 'well, can't you just add some snow / whatever in photoshop / computer' ... I'll let you imagine my response :)

    pp
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    peargrinpeargrin Registered Users Posts: 191 Major grins
    edited February 5, 2014
    Thanks so much, Pam!

    Thanks, Paul! Unfortunately, around here, zero open water equals zero birds. We keep checking and hoping, though...

    Best wishes,

    Pear
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    StumblebumStumblebum Registered Users Posts: 8,480 Major grins
    edited February 5, 2014
    I think these are the guys that dive and get completely submerged. They are small and cute and I tried many times but couldn't get something worth posting. I tried to time their dives but to no avail. One of these days......

    Good shot! Crisp and pretty close!
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    peargrinpeargrin Registered Users Posts: 191 Major grins
    edited February 6, 2014
    Thanks, Stumble! And fingers crossed for the capture you're hoping for! Ducks are so fun and challenging...

    Best wishes,

    Pear
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