Occasionally I keep coming back to an image despite its flaws. This is one of those.
1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I like to see some personality in my avian subjects and for me this male Cinnamon Teal has it in spades (especially for a duck). The image has its flaws – there’s not much detail in some of the whites under the wing (though they’re not blown), the setting isn’t an attractive one, the duck has some mud on its feathers, the running feet aren’t sharp at this shutter speed and he’s beginning to go out of breeding plumage (image taken about 3 weeks ago at Bear River MBR) so his colors aren’t as vibrant as they might be.
But dang, I like this happy-looking duck. To me he just appears to be having fun in the mud and when I look at him his apparent mood is contagious. He makes me smile and that’s why I keep coming back to him.
In reality this male was following (or in pursuit of) another male just out of frame to the right and neither bird seemed to be able to make up their mind about taking off or just running in the mud – thus the somewhat unusual wing position and body posture. But eventually they both did take off.
Sometimes the mood of an image is a matter of perception. Some may see this bird as angry. Or scared.
But he sure looks happy to me (anthropomorphism be damned…).
Ron
Enjoyed this one. He does look ready to dance. 😀
Super shot! Glad to see you are overcoming some tiny bit of your perfectionism!
LOL
Charlotte
“Susie asked me what ‘funk’ meant yesterday”, My friend’ Julie, told us. “I asked where she heard it and she said ‘Today–on the school bus’ ” . Then my friend asked her daughter how the word was used. Susie’s answer was, “When one of the kids dropped her books, she said, ‘FUNK!’ “. Just then a group of Canada geese flew over us, honking so loudly we all cringed. “What the heck was that!!?, Julie cried. Another riend, who shall remain annonymous, immediately replied, “Just some funking dunks”…,
Ducks provide some of us a lot of amusement, huh, Patty?
Ducks are funny…they sound like they’re laughing, look like they’re smiling and the way they walk , especiallywhen they step on their own feet (like chickens) makes me laugh….
Speaking of fun word plays with the word “ducks” there’s a local trucking company with what I find to be a very amusing name. I’ve seen their truck a couple of times and really want to get a picture of the sign on the side of their truck but I’ve always been driving and couldn’t do it.
The name of their company is – 2 Ducks Trucking.
I kid you not…
http://www.quicktransportsolutions.com/truckingcompany/utah/2-ducks-trucking-llc-usdot-2139332.php
‘Smile and the world smiles with you’. And we are. Rather a lot.
And oh the mud memories…
Thanks Ron – and a big thank you to all the punsters who came out to play as well.
“and a big thank you to all the punsters who came out to play as well”
Ditto!
Loving the pundemonium.
I think you just invented a great new word! Pundemonium is the best kind of humor.
“Pundemonium”. Welcome to the English language!!!!
Maybe he’s trying to challenge the other guy to a “mud-wrestling match” , and the other duck’s ducking the challenge ?
BAD!!!
I think Jane Shipp is right about him being in a hurry to share some good news…sure is about time we heard some!!!
I, too, smiled when I saw this image. He looks like he’s running to tell the world some fantastic news! Many times other things out weigh flaws, and this is definitely one of those times!
Jane, perhaps the duck version of the town crier?
This slap happy duck is obviously smiling…so, of course he’s happy running barefoot through warm mud. I temembehr the sensation well…one of my favorite memories (next to squashing cow pies in the field , barefoot, on our way to a cool swimming hole on a hot day)….
“slap happy duck”
Wish I’d thought of that for my title or text, Patty.
Hope you washed your feet off before you jumped in the swimming hole. Reminds me of a relative when we were kids who threw a skunk he killed into our swimming hole in the creek on the Montana farm. Don’t think anyone swam there again for a very long time.
Wish I could say we did, but…. We did walk upstream to the deep part, so I guess that did the job…the lower part of the stream was quite sandy, full of tiny, little fish of some kind, and rocky….the water was very cold, probably because it was so shady…enough to make our lips turn blue……the field we had to cross was as hot as blazes…quite a contrast….p.
To me this guy looks like he’s trying to explain something to another creature which is outside the photo (I just went back and reread your text and learned about the presence of the other bird). I could also see him as enjoying the mud. Whatever the case, he’s definitely got more personality than your average duck. I’m not generally a fan of ducks, for many reasons, so this shot is a good opportunity to enjoy a duck.
“he’s definitely got more personality than your average duck”
My thoughts exactly, Susan.