Monday, November 22, 2010

(Day 326) A face only a mother could love

At the cost of my much-needed sleep I was aroused early this morning because the subject(s) of today's blog entry were marching across the yard. Before I could open my eyes properly I had to fiddle with the lens and camera settings - good thing I can almost do that by braille now. I knew enough to have the lens set to AF, because my eyes were still on manual focus which wasn't functional yet.

Despite that, I sneaked around the side of the house and managed to make a few photos. As I quietly came around the corner to my neighbour's driveway and prepared to get a few good closeups, the neighbour's dog started barking hysterically - and that marked the end of my stalking. I think I need to go to bed earlier - just in case.

(all photos made with a 70-200mm lens, at f8, 1/60 sec, ISO200)

the 'ugly' ducklings

momma

the Muscovys waddling along, seconds before they were forced to make an emergency takeoff
 

14 comments:

Dawn said...

Oh my. That IS only a face its momma could love!;)
Never seen anything like it:)
Haha...glad you captured that- it would have been funnier to catch YOU while you were doing this in your half sleep:)

Thanks for all your great captures you share...always look forward to them!

becky said...

Remember... the ugly duckling becomes the beautiful swan. :)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Aren't I full of quotes & cliches? but it's true, don'tcha think?
My eyes don't seem to focus in the a.m.'s until a couple good cups o' coffee.
:)

darlin said...

LOL, these poor creatures are so funny looking. It would have been quite the sight to see you stalking these birds first thing in the morning, the dog barking and these critters scurrying to get away from both you and the dog! I can see it now... too funny Rick! And thank goodness for AF eh? lol

darlin said...

DUMBONS... that was the verification to post my comment, kind of appropriate I'd say! ;-)

Scott Law said...

Whoa, that's ugly. Too bad about that darn noisy dog.

Alexander DeLarge said...

Haha, funny beasts. Sort of cute pictures, I mean, they're so ugly they make me pitty of them.,.,,

Alex,.

Carolyn Ford said...

Oh, poor baby...but, I bet it has a great personality and sweet heart.

What Karen Sees said...

Quite the capture, and only a dedicated photographer would go to such great lengths to not miss a photo op!!!

Anonymous said...

lol! i love their waddle, so cuuute

imac said...

Thats dedication for you Rick, 1st thing in the morning eh.

marty said...

malgré le chien du voisin,et tes yeux pas encore bien ouverts, tu as réussi à faire
de jolies photos ! chapeau Monsieur
bisous

Julia said...

Bonitas y simpaticas fotografias de la familia pato, ¡¡buena caza!!
Un saludo.

Rick said...

The rest of the day was spent a little groggily (I might even confess to a short nap in the pm).

Thank you all for your visits and comments. I can assure you that only my sleep suffered from the making of these photos - the ducks escaped unharmed ;-)

Julia said...

Very interesting ducks, it's like a chicken crossed with a duck!