Dawn
One of the beautiful things about watching a duck swim is that all of the action takes place below the waterline, so above everything seems gentle and serene. The motions of this swimming male were as quiet as the surface of the pond, the light soft and diffuse as the marsh awaits the first rays of the sun.
The Shy Girl
When I went white-water canoeing for the first time years ago, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the quiet stretches at least as much as the rapids. With wildlife I also like the quiet moments, such as the morning I spent watching this female scaup. She's not as pretty as the male, and the light on that winter morning wasn't anything special, but I spent a long time watching her. She was shy, hanging out near a flock of pintails, but eventually she swam up and began to dive. As other cars pulled up, she'd drift away again, but she always returned to me when they departed.
A great morning.
Not a flashy picture, but a personal one.
The Shy Girl Waves Goodbye
I love the look of diving ducks as they plunge beneath the surface, the tail the last to go. The tail feathers remind me of fingers, a hand waving goodbye, leaving only ripples that slowly dissipate until the duck surfaces once more.
