I have today off from work so this morning I visited my favorite local duck pond again with the goal of photographing Mallards, Canada Geese, and Ring-billed Gulls, regulars that can be expected there every day this time of year.  When I arrived, all of the Mallards were resting near shore and there were only three Canada Geese at the park.  The gulls swam in the center of the lake, out of distance of my lens, at least as far as any decent photograph was concerned.  The Mallards seemed like my best bet so I set up on the asphalt near the culvert that drains into the pond, as it was the closest area where I could get a clear shot of the Mallards with the sun to my back. 

From the start, it appeared as if I’d be lucky to get worthwhile shots, as the morning’s conditions were less than ideal for waterfowl photography.  A fairly regular autumn wind tore across the water, creating ripples of uneven color.  From my perch atop the culvert, I was forced to shoot at a higher angle than I wanted, which made the ripples even more obvious.  To make matters worse, the batteries in my flash, which I had mounted atop my camera to balance out any uneven lighting and add dramatic bold colors to the water, were quickly dying, and the two sets of backups in my bag were dead as well.

Regardless, I stayed, prone on the asphalt, photographing the Mallards when they came into range.  I became more careful with each shot I took, waiting for the angle of the head of the bird to catch the light just right, and keeping an eye on the background, refusing to press the shutter unless the area around the bird was clean, fairly calm, and clear of debris.  I aimed for the perfect shot, straight from the camera, with as minimal cropping, cloning, and adjusting as possible, and focused on my nemesis, the male Mallards in their brilliant green bonnets.

Despite the fact that the ponds in my area have tame Mallards year round, I have had yet to get a nice photograph of a male in full breeding plumage.  Somehow, I have always ended up with better images of the females, probably due to their duller color, which is a bit easier to expose for and allows the details of the bird to show up well even in harsher light.  This morning, I managed to get at least a couple decent shots of the males in full color, despite the conditions.