The Guardian

by Belinda Greb

Title

The Guardian

Artist

Belinda Greb

Medium

Photograph - Photograph, Photography, Photographs

Description

I call this The Guardian, because the female common merganser standing at the front of the rock seemed to be responsible for the others. I had not seen the ducks for about a month, since they had their young ones. At that time I had seen several adults and a few young and one very small duckling going upriver in a line. This morning I was surprised by 2 to 3 adults with quite a large group of younger ducks scuttling across the river. The duck in the front circled in the water while the others ducks settled themselves on this one rock. She circled a couple of times, very alert, until she too joined them on the rock, but never lay down like the rest but paced back and forth keeping a lookout. They rested there for about 5-10 minutes, and then she headed out and the others followed. I believe the young ones are not able to fly yet, thus the very protective stance of the elders. Up close, you will see some of the feathers on some of the ducks are just starting to fill in.

Some texture has been applied to part of the water, as I wanted the emphasis to be mainly on the "Guardian" but also maintain the sharp detail on all the ducks.

Copyrighted - Belinda Greb
Watermark will not appear on Print
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Nature, animals, beauty have been a source of nourishment throughout my life. Photography allows me to capture, interpret, and share that world of wonder I see about me, and sometimes use what I capture as an inspiration to create something new, by incorporating other exposures, textures or brushwork.

I currently reside in Oregon, an environment rich in nature's graces. I have lived in California and New York, too, and everywhere there is a world of beauty around us, if we care to take the time and look for it.

Uploaded

July 26th, 2013

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