Maybe he forgot her birthday. Whatever he did, or didn’t do, it must have been a doozy.
1/8000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
A week ago today I spent some time trying to photograph ducks in flight while waiting for the occasional appearance of coyotes as they hunted ducks along the Antelope Island causeway. At the time the coyotes were my primary goal and they were always in the deep early morning shade of the elevated causeway road. So when I’d raise my lens for the sudden appearance of ducks in flight my shutter speed would skyrocket in the very bright light – thus the crazy-high SS for these photos.
In this shot I captured a male and female Northern Pintail flying to the west (I’ve removed the rear ends of two other ducks that were at the edge of the frame). Pintails are monogamous, pairing up in early winter, so it’s likely that these two are a mated pair. While processing the image I noticed a stream water drops coming off of the female that the male was about to fly through.
But guess what. It didn’t turn out to be water. Or at least it was more than just water.
Two photos in the burst prior to the previous shot his presumed mate dumped a load on him.
In the next photo he was headed straight for it.
A tight crop of the first photo shows that her timing was good and her aim was true.
If he forgets that today is Valentine’s Day the poor guy is toast.
Ron
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my readers.
I’m catching up. This made me laugh so hard!
Good! I don’t think some of my viewers appreciated something like this on Valentine’s Day. Thanks, Arwen.
Nanci wins the Internets today (and yes for a few minutes on my clock at least, it is still Valleytines day!). ❤️
I’m really late here but had to add my 2 cents that you’re kinda missing the point of Valentine’s Day w/ poop shot shots! But the commentary — yours and others’ — is worth it! So kudos to you, them, and to Mrs. Pintail. ❤️
So now we’ve gone from Superb Owl to Super Bowel. Very moving.
Heartfelt thanks for the fantastic photos and insight you provide each day, Mr. Valentine. You may want to consider chocolates next year, though.
“So now we’ve gone from Superb Owl to Super Bowel.”
Thanks for the big smile, Nanci.
😂😂 A+++
Funny! That blue blue sky by the way is fantastic! Your story reminds me of a crowd of people listening to a tour guide, and I looked up to see a row of pigeons on the window still, one just pooped and it fell on this guy’s cap and he felt it, looked around, puzzled, wondering what the heck . . . . I waved to him to get his attention and pointed to the pigeons above him, and the expression on his face, when he realized what that “weighted drop” was all about 🙂 has been etched in my memory for life!
I’ll bet, Terri. I wouldn’t forget it either.
You’ve set the bar even higher for poop shots! Congratulations. And Happy Valentine’s Day. No one is ever too old to have a girlfriend. Where there’s breath, there’s life.
Thanks, Burrdoo. I guess it isn’t that I’m too old. It’s more like I get myself in trouble when they’re around… 🙂
Today is my wifes birthday. Thanks for thr heads up
Now that’s funny!
FUNNY!
Thanks, Kent.
Incoming! Duck! Oops, I already used that one a couple of days ago. Anyway, your timing is impeccable. Or peccable. Not sure which. And an…interesting choice for Valentine’s day.
“And an…interesting choice for Valentine’s day”
One of the prerogatives of being a bachelor and too old to have a girlfriend, Lyle.
“Peccable” = capable of sinning. You made me look it up.
Smiling broadly. Again. Thank you.
Good!
Just as handsome in the air as in the water. I would not have noticed the falling water drops until the third photo if you had not mentioned it. Nice very colorful shots.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all
Everett, those “water drops” are pretty small but I sure noticed them.
Best valentines day duck dump photo ever!
Thanks, Brett, although “duck dump” lacks a little in the romance department.
I doubt that Pintails are as squeamish as humans about bodily functions. Dogs and hawks certainly aren’t! Maybe we’re just too persnickety for our good.
No doubt.
On the other hand, dogs get worms from sniffing around dog poop and bird poop can spread disease too.
Hilarious! 🙂 Didn’t seem to phase him tho. 😉 Beautiful capture of the beautiful pair – the colors and feather detail show up well so SS sure didn’t hurt.
Glad you enjoyed it, Judy. One of the biggest problems with unnecessarily high shutter speeds is increased noise in the photos because of a high ISO. But the grain wasn’t too bad in these shots, at least considering my SS.
Great post for the day! More amazing shots of one of my favorite waterfowl species. He even has a longer sprig than most I have seen these past months!
Thanks, Shane. “Sprig” – I’ve never heard it called that. Now I’m learning from you.