I was thrilled Saturday when the sunlight illuminated the beautiful colors of this male Bufflehead duck (Bucephala albeola) as he was drying his wing feathers at the pond at Ben Brenman Park in Alexandria, Virginia. In the past I had gotten glimpses of the brilliant purple and green colors on the head of a bufflehead, but this is the first time that I have been able to capture them so well.
In most of my previous shots of a male bufflehead, those colors all blend together into a nondescript dark color. I was definitely helped by the way that the way the bufflehead had lifted himself partially out of the water in order to flap his wings, giving me a clearer view of its head..
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Good show!
A beauty! Well captured, Mike.
“Just add sunlight” works with a lot of creatures, and it certainly worked here.
Sunlight sure helped, especially since it was coming from the desired direction. Reduced to its most basic elements, photography is all about light and shadows, but things like directionality and intensity of the light really matter. 🙂
There is the conductor. Where is the orchestra?
🙂
Nice Mike!
They are fun to photograph!
Wondrous shot!
It’s always a treat to be able to catch them in a dance like this!
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He’s a looker – great capture, Mike!
Thanks, Eliza.
He looks like he’s about to address a crowd,
Maybe he is getting ready for the primary season–there are certainly plenty of candidates and I don’t think I could identify most of them if I spotted them. 🙂
I’d vote for this guy.
Beautiful capture!🙂
Thanks. With a shot like this one, it took both good light and good luck.
Nice shot 🙂
Thanks. I can see that you are attracted to colorful images. 🙂
Great shot. Love it.
Thanks.