Much like Geese, Mallards enjoy talking even while they are flying. I'm pretty sure this one was talking. This is not as bad as many, but gives some idea of why I said yesterday that I don't like to film them head-on. Their bodies look too fat and their heads look proportionately too small.
Side views are much better. The dark parallelograms on their wings are actually a beautiful cobalt blue in most light conditions. Although the females are mottled and not as colorful as the males, both sexes share the blue speculum bordered in white.
Three males; three females. Everybody brought a partner to the dance. I like the little "snowball" bumps in some of these images which are out-of-focus seagulls. This image was taken at Schoolhouse pond where there is a boardwalk around the edges of the pond. The snow has an amazing softbox affect and I can't wait to use this to advantage again this winter. Provided we get snow. In small doses.
I think I was worried readers were getting bored with photos of Mallards and Canada Geese and so I moved on to other subjects. Otherwise, I think I would have included this beautifully detailed image of a goose. God's creative artistry is so evident in the feather detail.
Geese have to run across the water for quite some ways to become airborne. They are not able to spring directly into the air. They also adjust the movement of their wings when they are just above water to a more horizontal motion than the vertical motion of normal flight which is why the wings are stretched out ahead of the bird.
Diagonal lines in a still image are suppose to impart a more dynamic feel. I wonder if that works for you with this picture. I like the river of brown zigzagging through the photo okay, but I'm not sure I come away with any feeling of dynamism.
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