Wood Duck Portrait in Golden Light — Better Than Bosque Workshop Success

This image of a drake (male) Wood Duck was created on the final morning of my recent Better Than Bosque Workshop, December 9, and it was a fitting way to close out an incredible few days in the field. We had two truly magical mornings at the duck ponds, each greeted with calm water, cooperative birds, and that warm, glowing first light photographers dream about. On this last morning, everything came together once again—still reflections, rich autumn colour in the background, and a confident drake swimming directly into the light. Moments like this are never guaranteed, which makes them all the more special when they happen. Sharing these quiet, golden mornings with a group of passionate, like-minded photographers—and watching everyone come away with strong images and big smiles—is exactly what the Better Than Bosque experience is all about.

Thank you!

Thank you to the wonderful group who made the Better Than Bosque 2025 Workshop such a huge success. Spending time in the field with a group of like-minded, nature-loving photographers truly elevated the entire experience. The camaraderie, shared enthusiasm, and respect for the wildlife and landscapes around us created an atmosphere that was both inspiring and rewarding. Together, we witnessed unforgettable moments, enjoyed incredible light, and came away with not only fantastic images but also great memories from time well spent outdoors.

Thank you to the entire 2025 Better than Bosque Workshop group: Back row, L to R: Joe (Repeat client/friend: Owls, Eagles & Ospreys), John (Repeat client/friend: Puffins), Chris, Jamie (Repeat client/friend: Owls), Jeanine (Repeat client/friend: Bears & Pelee). Front row L to R: Nabs, Sumi, Me (Christopher Dodds), Julie & Joe.

TESTIMONIAL

Participating in Chris Dodds’ Best of Bosque photo tour was an outstanding experience. Chris combines technical expertise, fieldcraft, and a genuine passion for teaching in a way that provides tremendous value. His insights into bird behavior and optimal shooting techniques significantly improved my approach to wildlife photography.

The workshop was well-organized, thoughtfully paced, and designed to maximize photographic opportunities. I left with a portfolio of images I am truly proud of and a much deeper understanding of the craft. Highly recommended for anyone looking to take their wildlife photography to the next level.

Chris Fryou Louisiana, USA

See a couple of Chris’ images below: Wood Duck in flight and Snow Geese Silhouette images copyright and courtesy Chris Fryou.

Thanks, Chris. It was hard to pick two favourites from the dozen you sent.

Wood Duck Vertical in Golden Light

During my recent Better than Bosque Workshop in New Mexico, we had fun with numerous wood ducks in golden light on windless mornings. It is hard to get a perfectly straight head-on image of a duck! I used the pre-capture functionality of my Sony a9 III at 120fps to ensure that I got a picture with both eyes visible and a more or less symmetrical composition.

Wood Duck Vertical in Golden Light (Aix sponsa, Canard branchu, WODU) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 2,500, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Full frame image. Manual exposure.

Wood Duck in flight

Another Wood Duck from my recent Better than Bosque workshop in New Mexico. There was no shortage of Wood Ducks this year, and the wind and light were favourable for photographing them in flight. It is hard not to point your lens at them when they fly past!

Wood Duck in flight (Aix sponsa, Canard branchu, WODU) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 1.4X Teleconverter @840mm ISO 1,250, f/5.6 @ 1/5,000s. Full frame image. Manual exposure.

Wood Duck Basking in Golden Morning Light

Here is another Wood Duck from the coldest morning of my recent Better than Bosque Workshop. The fog over the water was so thick that it made capturing great images difficult when we first set up, but it quickly transformed into epic photography as the sun rose and began to burn it off. The still water was perfect for low-angle views, with magical autumn colours framing the ornamental Wood Duck.

Wood Duck Golden Pond (Aix sponsa, Canard branchu, WODU) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 3,200, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Full frame image. Manual exposure.

Wood Duck Golden Pond

I am scouting locations and subjects in New Mexico for my Best of Bosque Workshop. The conditions were perfect when I arrived at my usual Wood Duck spot long before dawn. I knew exactly where to be for sunrise to get the golden background, and the flat water from the windless morning helped make the scene memorable when this Drake Wood Duck put on a show.

Wood Duck Golden Pond (Aix sponsa, Canard branchu, WODU) from this morning (November 29, 2024) while scouting for my Better than Bosque workshop. Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 1,250, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Full frame image. Manual exposure.

Wood Duck emerging from shadow

A beautiful Drake (male) Wood Duck emerges from the shadow of a tree to bask in the golden rays of first light during my Best of Bosque Workshop in New Mexico.

Wood Duck emerging from the shadows (Aix sponsa, Canard branchu, WODU) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 1,250, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Full frame image. Manual exposure.

Wood Duck in flight in last light

Bosque del Apache was quiet yesterday morning after the near record-breaking rain with loads of birds, but the majority were far from the wet, muddy and messy roads. We regrouped and moved for the afternoon session of my Best of Bosque Workshop and found some ducks to pose for us :)

This is a drake (male) Wood Duck that did a flyby at last light.

Wood Duck

Another Wood Duck from my Best of Bosque workshop last December. It is easy to see why Wood Ducks are a favourite subject. Such handsome birds.

Wood duck in flight

One of my favourite Wood Duck images from last December’s Best of Bosque workshop. A drake (male) Wood Duck flew directly towards us with the amazing colour of the Sunset reflecting off the cottonwood trees.

Learn more about the Best of Bosque Workshop HERE.

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Learn more about the Best of Bosque Workshop HERE. 〰️

Wood Duck Horizontal Portrait

Here’s another Wood Duck Portrait from my Best of Bosque workshop last December. Wood Ducks are high on most bird photographers’ want lists and we usually have plenty of great opportunities to fill memory cards full of images of them during my Best of Bosque workshop. Amazingly, two spots are still left for my December 5-9 Best of Bosque workshop after a couple cancelled for medical reasons. Learn more and sign-up HERE.

Wood Duck Portrait

A portrait of a drake (male) Wood duck from my Best of Bosque workshop last December. When the light angle is right, all of the colourful iridescence show wonderfully!

As iridescent birds move, nanoscale structures within their feathers’ tiny branch-like filaments — known as barbules — interact with light to amplify certain wavelengths depending on the viewing angle. This iridescence is known as structural coloration, wherein crystal-like nanostructures manipulate light.

Wood Duck on Golden Pond

A Drake (male) Wood Duck pops from the liquid gold-like reflections from the autumn Cottonwood trees during my Better than Bosque workshop last December. Join me Dec 5-9 for an incredible adventure. Learn more about my Better than Bosque workshop HERE.

Wood Duck Portrait

Here is a portrait made with the Sony FE 100-400MM F/4.5-5.6 GM OSS and 1.4X teleconverter @560mm. I love the versatility this combination offers with a short minimum focusing distance when the subjects get close :)

Wood Duck

One of the highlights of my Best of Bosque workshop is spending time with dozens of Wood Ducks. This one reminds me of part of a poem that I heard years ago:

“The wood duck’s roman helmet crowns his head
in royal graduated colours green
and on his chest of armour crimson red
through bands of black and white with purple sheen” - Author unknown

Although they come too close to photograph, I prefer working in the super-telephoto range to isolate single ducks more easily.

Join me for my BEST OF BOSQUE photographic adventure/workshop dec 5-9, 2022

🦆

Join me for my BEST OF BOSQUE photographic adventure/workshop dec 5-9, 2022 🦆

Wood duck in flight

This was one of the memorable adrenaline pumping moments during last December’s Better than Bosque workshop in New Mexico. I was using my 600 f/4 lens with a doubler for some distant floating Widgeons, so the challenge was not clipping the wings as this Wood Duck landed directly towards us. Most certainly one of my favourite images from the trip!

Join me Dec. 5-9, 2022 Better than Bosque workshop in New Mexico. CLICK HERE for more information.

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Join me Dec. 5-9, 2022 Better than Bosque workshop in New Mexico. CLICK HERE for more information. ☞

Wood Duck FIREWOOD

Wood Duck FIREWOOD (Aix sponsa, Canard branchu, WODU) Quebec, Canada. Image. Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens  with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 400, f/8 @ 1/1,600s Manual exposure. Full Frame.

Here's a Wood Duck with brilliant fall foliage reflecting in the water. Mother Nature put on a spectacular foliage show and the weather was spectacular. Just before the light hit the foliage and the show began, the only other photographer there packed-up and left because there was only one Drake Wood Duck. I'm glad I stayed :)

KUDOS

I found Chris via the strong images on his web site.
 
Having now taken two of his photo workshops, I have seen a significant improvement in my images due to improved capture and post processing techniques.  Having taken many other wildlife photo workshops, Chris stands out for his top notch instruction. His workshops provide many excellent photo opportunities.
 
If you are serious about your photography and want to get better, Chris can help you in many ways.  He is willing and able to explain what he is doing and why he is doing it.  He emphasizes not only the vision but also the execution in the field and the post processing.  
 
It was fun shooting with and learning from Chris.  I give a hearty recommendation to anyone considering a photo workshop with Chris, a recommendation I plan to follow.

Carl Zanoni Connecticut, USA

Thanks, Carl! To learn more about my workshops CLICK HERE.

Wood Duck Drake

Wood Duck Drake (Aix sponsa, Canard Bronchu, WODU) Tingley Ponds Albuquerque, NM, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Camera & Sony FE100-400 F4.5-5.6 G Master OSS and Sony 1.4X @560mm. Full frame image. ISO 1,600 f/8 @ 1/1,600s Manual exposure mode. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

Here's a Drake (Male) Wood Duck from my recent Better Than Bosque Workshop last December. Aside from the usual suspects (Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese), the variety and number of ducks were a huge hit with everyone on the trip. I spent a lot of time with the Sony a9 and the 1.4X and 2X on the 100-400mm G Master lens and love the results with incredible detail.

Q&A:

Hi Chris-  I am also a friend of Rob P living in Colorado.  Switching to Sony from Canon. Had most canon lenses from 16-35 to 500mm.  Shot with 1dMk4 and 7d2 for wildlife. Just getting used to settings on the Sony. Today was shooting with the a7riii, 100-400 sony with 1.4 converter. Photographing a soaring red tail hawk in manual settings,  auto iso, 25oo sec., 6.3 in zone focus mode.  I use back button focus and locked on to Hawk but all of the images were not sharp.  With my canon 7d2 and 100-400 II every image would have been sharp.  What am I doing wrong?  Can't believe some images were sharp and some soft in a continuous burst.  Rob said you may be able to help.  I have a couple photo trips coming up in January and February and am leery on the sony setup.  Have not sold my canon gear yet...Thanks, Bob K

Hey Bob,

A careful read of your question leads me to suspect a few reasons for your soft images:

1. Crop vs. Full Frame: You were using crop sensor cameras, but have switched to a full-frame camera with the 1.4X extender. Instead of the in camera crop with the shorter focal length, you are now hand-holding a longer lens on a full-frame camera to acheive the same "reach". This requires much more care.

2.  Shutter Speed: While I don't doubt that you got a lot of keepers with your crop sensor camera and 1/2,500s, I strive to work at 1/5,000s for flight photography. In the past, most would agree that 1/focal length to be sufficient shutter speed for sharp images (1/500s when using 500mm). In my experience, the resolving power of modern lenses and sensors requires around ten times that to ensure razor sharp images.

3. Focus Mode: I seem to be using Centre Spot Lock-on most of the time for birds in flight with my Sony Cameras.

4. Back Button Focus: There are some ergonomic differences between your old and new cameras; perhaps button size, placement and the amount of pressure it needs to be kept pressed continuously. I have never been a fan of Back Button Focus, because it is simply too easy to make a mistake and release a little pressure from your thumb. Back Button Focus is also near impossible in sub-zero temperatures. Consider assigning focus back to the old fashioned shutter button.

Hope this helps!

Chris