In spring, Yellowstone hosts migrating Harlequin Ducks for a short time. Many of them congregate at this one spot on the Yellowstone River. The ducks are excellent swimmers and seem to love rapids. They spend a lot of time navigating the white water and diving under the surface to find food. It’s a great spot to capture them with both fast and slow shutter speeds.
On this particular day, it was a surprise to see this pair in late June (weeks after most of their brethren had left), but that made for a perfect setup. A snowstorm had just ended, so it was overcast, and the river was extra high and powerful with added snowmelt. I managed to nail my best long exposures from this spot to date (there’s another one I like even more than this), and a decade later I have yet to get anything matching the couple of good shots I landed then.
Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 500mm + 1.4x
ISO 100
1/8
f/25
So nice of the ducks to pose for you for 1/8 sec!! Their sharpness and detail is so nice with the blurred water, which is very interesting with the bit of spray.
That is a great shot Max. I can see why it would be hard to beat over the years. I love the look of the water with the shutter speed you used and, like Diane, appreciate how sharp the ducks are.
Max, the sense of motion in the river is excellent with the color and sharpness of the ducks making a great contrast. That splash on their right balances with them very well. I’ll have to look for Harlequins on my next trip to YNP.
I found this spot on our last trip out to Yellowstone. I like the composition and your exposure of the moving water makes this a very dramatic scene. Awesome…Jim
