Female Harlequin Duck

[Isaac Grant]

Went to Barnegat Lighthouse hoping to photograph waterfowl in flight. Activity was very poor at best and was given not a single close flyby opportunity. I did enjoy having Harlequins quite close for much of the morning and also a huge flock of shorebirds. This female was photographed as it sat on a rock. Certainly they are quite beautiful and while not nearly as showy as the males, I love their subtle beauty.

Canon 1dx and Canon 500 f4 ii + 1.4xiii. ISO 640, F7.1, SS 1/2000.

Converted in DPP 4.5. In PS I cropped, sharpened and applied NR with Neat Image.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Good profile pose, and I love the rich blues. Neat patterns in the running water. Despite not being as low an angle that I usually prefer, the higher perspective works well here. We've had a first year male Harlequin Duck overwintering up here (a rarity for our parts) but it hangs out much too far for good images...