The pouring rain forms concentric circles around a female lesser scaup as she gets some rest as she swims. Taken in February 2003 with my Canon D30, an expensive camera with no weather sealing, but I’ve long loved photographing in the rain.
Tag: swimming
Doesn’t Mind the Rain
When I bought the Canon 20D in March of 2005, after taking test shots of the cats I went up to Ridgefield to test the camera before going on a trip to Japan. A light drizzle turned into a heavier rain when I came across this muskrat swimming near North Quigley Lake. As I was in the car the camera wasn’t fully exposed to the rain, and I did my best to keep it dry, but I was still a little nervous as it was its first time outside and it didn’t have any weather sealing. Most of the pictures were blurry as the autofocus was still pretty limited, but I enjoyed the improved speed of the camera itself. I used the camera for years and the rain never did it in, even though eventually it would get partially smashed on rocks and have a gaping hole at the top.
Pop Up
A harbor seal pops up in the surf to take one last look at me before swimming away in the gentle surf at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon.
(Almost) Still Waters
The sun had set and it was getting dark, so I started to put my camera away but paused when I noticed the waters of the freshwater lagoon weren’t as quiet as they first appeared. This environmental portrait of an alligator swimming with only its head above water is one of my favorites of these magnificent creatures.
Master of Disguise
Already masters of hiding in the swamp, this alligator went the extra mile by covering its head in plants. Either that or it’s the worst toupee I’ve ever seen.
Hidden Treasure
The golden light of the rising sun begins filtering through the trees, illuminating a treasure hidden in the marsh.
Swim, Swim, Shoveler
A simple portrait of one of my favorite birds in the late light of winter.
On Point
I think the male mallard is one of our most beautiful birds but they are often unappreciated because they are so common and tame in duck ponds around the country. How much more so the females without the glorious green! At Ridgefield mallards are not so common and quite shy so I photograph them whenever I get the chance, and when this pair swam in my direction I focused on the female on point.
Melting Ice
A pied-billed grebe surfaces beside melting ice at Rest Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Unlike the melting sea ice, the melting lake ice isn’t alarming, as during our mild winters it rarely freezes in the first place. A cold snap froze some of the shallower and smaller lakes and ponds, but it was nothing compared to the snowstorm that in a week would bury us first in heavy snow then thick ice when it melted and re-froze.
Ripples
A pied-billed grebe leaves ripples in its wake as it swims on Rest Lake.
Boolie 