This Tufted Pochard, Aythya fuligula is a drake and is difficult to locate. The bird has highly contrasting black and white plumage. The bird is a Winter visitor to India and breeds in Europe and Central Asia. This duck is a diving duck, a group which is distinguished by the possession of a broadly lobed hind toe. Its legs are set far back in the body and hence not very well suited for walking, but this makes them superb swimmers and divers. They spend considerable time under water and once this duck has dived, expect a long wait for it to resurface. The bird also migrates to America during winters.
The dark head of the bird was difficult to photograph, since the bird was constantly swimming a long exposure meant a blurred photo. After about 40 attempts I managed to get a relatively stationery pose and the G spot for the exposure was the black back of the bird.
I tried metering the head, but it was so dark that the shutter speed was too slow to freeze the bird.
Sony A-350, 200mm , f/4.5 , 1/800 sec . The image was photographed in RAW format, hence post processing I increased the exposure level by 1ev, without any introduction of noise.
Sharp bird! We really appreciate all the photographic info you include with your posts, as it helps us to learn more about taking our own pictures.
ReplyDeleteIt's good! You did a good job!
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