Thursday, June 07, 2012

Murray Head and the Cormorant


Hi Marie,

Sometimes everything magically comes together...

I have always wanted to get good photos of a Cormorant...
their azure jewel eye, and rich black feathers made such a wonderul subject.
Yet they were too far, the sun too bright which made the feathers look light gray
or the background just wrong... or not a great looking specimen.

But sometimes everything magically comes together... like today.
The moment serendipitous... and in this case dramatic
The subject amazingly beautiful... the best I have ever seen
He casually poses in a variety of ways...
The distance is right...
The background is right...
The light is right...


I went to the sailboat pond to photograph a duckling family.
All was peaceful and quiet... the ducks had just returned
to the float for a nice nap... meanwhile out it the middle of the
pond this cormorant was dive fishing too far to get the pictures
I wanted... soon what appeared to be periscope appeared near
the float... and then Splash!, He surfaced... The pictures tell
what happened...


But know the duck family decided that this would
be a good time for an afternoon swim and they did just that.

I had about 10 minutes with him as he preened and dried off...
and then when he was dry to fly... walked to the edge of the float
and off like a bat out of hell. Here are just a few pictures...

















P.S.
If a reader double clicks on the image it should open larger. I did
this because the scale and detail are very important to appreciate
this fine feathered friend.

Murray


All photos by Murray Head taken at the Conservatory Waters [Model-boat Pond] on Wednesday, June 6, 2012