An Eye For An Eye
Bufflehead are really small and usually shy ducks, so one of the challenges in photographing them is simply to get close enough without disturbing them. It's much easier if they're habituated to people, such as this male at Portland's Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. The challenges don't end with getting close, however, as the males present the same challenge as shooting our cat Scout: patches of white against patches of near-black (or even true black in Scout's case). Do you expose for the highlights or the shadows?
At least Scout has striking golden eyes that really draw the eye when looking at her pictures — an important point in animal photos, where the eye can play such a crucial role. With bufflehead though, not only do they have black eyes, but the eyes are set into the dark part of the head, making it much harder to not have the eye disappear into a blob of darkness. I had overcast lighting for this bufflehead which made the exposure choice much easier. I only had to wait until I had both a background that I liked and for the little duck to angle its head just so that a bit of light reflected off its eye to make it stand out from the dark feathers.
Knockout Punch
A preening bufflehead accidentally knocks itself out at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Some ducks have bright orange legs, but bufflehead have gone the pink route.
No bufflehead were harmed in the making of this picture.
