p.1 #1 · Great crested grebes rising their chicks - a photo heavy story
Congratulations to michal.narozny for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 26 votes - View Previous Winners
Hi!
The photographic season for young great crested grebes ended quite a while ago, but I’ve only just managed to process a larger batch of photos.
This year, Wanda and I experienced our most interesting and best photographic adventure yet when it comes to great crested grebes. We photographed two pairs; unfortunately, we didn't have enough time for a third. We observed them on the nest from a safe distance. We witnessed the moment they left the nest right after the last chick hatched. We watched them feeding their young and watched the chicks grow.
These birds were exceptionally patient and accommodating—we’ve never had the opportunity to interact with ones quite like them. They surprised us on several occasions, whether by swimming past us at a distance of 1m right after hatching, or by calmly paddling up to us on their own so closely that we had to slowly move away from them just to capture something other than a tight portrait crop. A few photos were taken with a "naked" 400mm lens from the shore, as the plan was for one of us to photograph them from the water. But what can you do when they swam right up to the other photographer on the shore and filled the frame so much that it was sometimes too tight? The joy of being able to observe them from such close range is incredible.
The photos were taken from both land and water over a period of about 3 weeks. The character of our lakes is such that the light on them behaves very differently—most are surrounded by hills and forests. Depending on the spot the grebes chose, good sunlight could last until about 30 minutes before sunset, or they might slip into the shade two hours before it, or anything in between. "In between" means being in the shade with a very bright background, being in the sun against a very dark background, or hiding in a completely shaded area.
Best regards, Michal (and Wanda).
P.S. All images are resized to 2048p @longer edge.
p.1 #3 · Great crested grebes rising their chicks - a photo heavy story
q-w-z wrote:
That is gorgeous series, Michal!
How you got that almost black pictures though?
Thanks!
One of the shots was backlit with sun still high. Unfortunately for backlit shots it was either high (thus black-white colours) or it was hidden behind trees.
The other was side lit, so almost same stuff as the backlit one.
One with the slit-like lighting it was shot at at the morning with shadow before bird, dark background and a bit of sun shining on the water. It was not backlit. This lake has hills and trees along its edges and the shape is quite complex ... so is the light.
p.1 #6 · Great crested grebes rising their chicks - a photo heavy story
An absolutely beautiful set of images ! But in what world does waterfowl move towards a human ?? Yours I guess. I can't even get close to Mallards where I live.
Gary
p.1 #7 · Great crested grebes rising their chicks - a photo heavy story
louie champan wrote:
Great narrative and an exceptional set of images!!
Thank you This was a great experience with wildlife for us.l
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csinseattle wrote:
Michal,
A beautiful and comprehesive set, well documental behavior
Chris S
Thanks Chris!
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sum1sgrampa wrote:
An absolutely beautiful set of images ! But in what world does waterfowl move towards a human ?? Yours I guess. I can't even get close to Mallards where I live.
Gary
Thank you. This was unusual for us as well. It never happened to us before, that we could spend so much time aorund them and (what it seemed to us) accepted. We could move around them in a circle at a safe distance and sometimes they came sooo close.
p.1 #14 · Great crested grebes rising their chicks - a photo heavy story
Ted ellis wrote:
Outstanding series! Shooting angle, IQ and comp top tier.
Thanks! Getting that low angle in a floating hide is really really fun.
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johnohio wrote:
Great subject, excellent angle, some wonderful images. Nicely done !
Johnl
thank you very much John!
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douter wrote:
A glorious set, Michal and Wanda! Good documentary style.
Douglas
Thanks Douglas, we wanted to make it as c omplete as we could in the conditions we had. We wish we could shoot some wider angle shots and have their courtship recorded. Maybe next year. However the last time we could spend so much time with grebes was 4 years ago ... so next year is not really that certain
p.1 #16 · Great crested grebes rising their chicks - a photo heavy story
dclark wrote:
Image heavy post, but lots of great images!
Voted.
Dave
Thank you ! We'r happy you like them It took us a lot of time and pleasure taking these photos. Once in few years (it is just our second time) we get such an awesome grebe-photography opportunity.
I can't even get close to Mallards where I live. 
