Bufflehead Headshot

[Daniel Grossi]

Never did I think I'd ever get so close to my favorite duck! Although this one is cropped, I have some similar uncropped frame-filling shots. One of which I have on my dining room wall on a 36"x24" metal print. Back in March I found a great spot for late-winter ducks. I flattened my tripod, laid down on my stomach and waited. I did this for 2 weeks and eventually the ducks began showing up right in front of me. This shot reminds me of better days - June is tough for bird photography where I'm from. Especially after all the excitement of May.

Nikon D850
Nikkor 600mm + TC14E III
Induro GIT304L/GHB2

1/2500 | f/5.6 | ISO-800 | Center Weight
LR/PS | 35% 3:2 Crop

Lorain, Ohio | March 2018
Mostly Sunny | Cool | Sunrise + 1.5 HRS

[Bill Dix]

One of my nemesis birds. Your patience paid off -- I've tried lying on my stomach for hours to get them to come close, but don't have any near enough to home to continue it for two weeks. Well done. You've exposed it nicely (hard with this species), gotten a nice head turn and the full range of iridescence. Some may miss seeing the whole bird, but I rather like just the head peeking above the waves.

[David Policansky]

I'm very envious, Daniel. I have tried often to get a good shot of these birds, let alone a close-up like yours. Superb indeed; congratulations.

[John Mack]

The low angle is great. Love that sheen on the head. I see these quite often in my neck of the woods, good luck getting close for some photos though. Well done.

[annmpacheco]

Love the iridescence and POV you have here, they are so beautiful

[Glenn Pure]

Don't know anything about this species Daniel but I love the look of it. I really like what you've done with the moment of capture, pose and framing here too, with the bird's body partly obscured. This adds IMHO and really draws attention to that amazing head with the 'oil slick' colours. The soft, silky wavy background and foreground are icing on the cake. Wish it was mine!

[arash_hazeghi]

looks good Daniel, nice exposure and colors. it is too small on my screen though, you can post larger size

TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Daniel, great low perspective, and the light has really brought out the iridescence on his head. Good HA, sharp, and I like how he seems 'sunken' below the waves. Well captured.

[Daniel Grossi]

looks good Daniel, nice exposure and colors. it is too small on my screen though, you can post larger size

TFS

Thanks Arash. I just saw today that we were allowed to post 1920/600kb, I was still posting 1200/400kb. I'll reply top this post with the new size.

[Daniel Grossi]

Here it is at the updated max size 1920px/600kb.

[arash_hazeghi]

the repost is excellent