Teal display

A modest attempt to show the Teal (Anas crecca/Wintertaling) display game. The ♂♂, dressed-up with a Spanish helmet (those from the Eighty Year’s War or Dutch War of Independence, 1568 – 1648), parade around the ♀♀, now and then folding their bodies like a pocket knife. Flowering willow bushes give the background a green-yellowish tint.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f6.3, 1/1600s, -0.3 stop; from beanbag.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/1600s, -0.3 stop; idem.

Dutch ducks II

In the second half of March the weather was calm and sunny with night frost and temperatures above 10°C in the afternoon. Many mornings started with thin ground fog above the water. Ideal circumstances for duck photography. As highlight I want to show a ♀ Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos/Wilde Eend) doing some feather care.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/250s, +0.3 stop; from beanbag.

Dutch ducks I

I do not know why, but ducks are an infinite source of inspiration for me. Hence I repaired my former hiding place near a local lake and tried my luck again. Sometimes everything fits and you make a photo that looks a bit out of the ordinary. First of all a shy ♂ Teal (Anas crecca/Wintertaling) came pretty close. Secondly, at the very moment of shutter release the flock of Teals in the background lift off simultaneously. They rise almost vertically, creating a background wall of splashing water and blurred colored patches. My luck was not sold out, half an hour later my camera AF was able to focus on this fast flying Shoveler (Anas clypeata/Slobeend) trio.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/800s, +0.3 stop; from beanbag.
* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/1250s, -0.3 stop; idem.

Lonely pair

Busy times created a serious backlog in photo selection and editing. Anyhow, in the beginning of this month I was able to make a beautiful Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula/Brilduiker) series. This ♂ and ♀ were the only inhabitants of a small forest fen without a name south of the “Strabrechtsche Heide”. I especially like the gloomy dark greenish water and the extreme low point of view; my telephoto lens was only a few centimeters above water level.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/320s, -0.3 stop; from beanbag.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f6.3, 1/500s, -0.3 stop; idem.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/1250s, -0.7 stop; idem.