Before we got the oddly warm weather in the northeast I went looking for some subjects that would be forced closer due to ice. The waterfowl that come during the winter become nicely concentrated as the lakes and ponds freeze over.  The best result is the ice can force them closer to the edge where you will be waiting for them with your camera.

I was glad the weather had cleared and some great sunshine was making its way through to light up this American coot. Watching for the right light is really important. When I aimed my camera to the right I would get this great blue water, but when I aimed it left the water became a nasty green. It’s important to know how a scene can change with just an angle adjustment.

Mallards are typical in most of America, but it’s hard to pass up a great image no matter how common the bird can be.

Female mallards were not off limits either. Everything was going for this image. The color, the reflection, the composition with the waves. It just had to be taken. Don’t over look the bird that is always close or always easy to photograph. More often then not the common have some pretty awful photos of them due to lack of any care or effort.

The Canada geese became awfully active out of the blue while we were there. You need to be ready for anything. Keeping that trigger finger ready to pull the camera up to your eye and snap that shot. Also if you are stopping down from switching to a wide angle from before and remounted your telephoto keep that in mind. It would be pretty awful to find a fantastic moment to capture and your stuck at f/22 and by the time you readjust the scene is over.

I’ve always wanted to get an image with those red berries and a bird perched. I’ve seen some great ones and this is a step in the right direction to getting one of my own.