There’s something about first light that never gets old. During my Better than Bosque Workshop in early December, we rolled up to one of my favourite little duck ponds—calm, quiet, and absolutely glowing. When the sun finally crests the horizon here, it doesn’t just light up the water; it turns it into molten gold as the golden light reflects off the tall grass on the pond’s edge. On a still morning like this one, the reflections go buttery smooth, and it honestly feels like the ducks are swimming through liquid metal. Magical doesn’t even begin to cover it.
We all got low—really low—because that’s where the magic happens. When your lens is right at the waterline, the perspective shifts, the foreground melts away, and the world becomes a simple band of colour and light. Before long, this handsome male Hooded Merganser slid into frame like a little torpedo wearing a tuxedo. That brilliant white fan on his head lit up beautifully against the warm background, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better… he popped up with breakfast.
Some call it a crawfish, others say crayfish, and if you’re from certain parts of North America, you might insist it’s a crawdad. Whatever name you prefer, this tiny crustacean became the star of the show for a few thrilling seconds as the merganser maneuvered it, tossed it, and did everything short of smiling for the camera. Tiny droplets of water hung in the air like little diamonds while the bird worked to get that spiky snack down the hatch. Watching behaviour like that, in perfect light, on mirror-calm water, with everyone in our group sharing in the excitement—that’s the kind of moment I live for.
Workshops are about learning, yes, but they’re also about joy, discovery, and being present when nature gifts you something special—this morning delivered all of that and more. Golden light, still water, great friends behind cameras, and a merganser doing exactly what mergansers do best… it doesn’t get much better than photographing ducks on liquid gold.