Patience and hopefulness are absolutes when it comes to wildlife photography. Today, for instance, I came upon a pair of Green Winged Teal drifting along leisurely dabbling for their morning meal. The drake, absolutely beautiful in his breeding plumage, was content with moving forward slightly faster than a drift. The photographer (me) however was holding out for a display that showed off his splendor. This series of photographs is a short story of progression of swimming, dabbling and eventually the STRETCH. The first image of the stretch was ok, just ok, but the second, last in the series, was precisely the shot I held out hope for. Patience rewarded the hunt and I was thrilled to capture this stunning natural beauty. The green leaves on the trees reflected in the water was a fantastic gift to the scene.
