Lake Superior is fickle. Yesterday my end of Lake Superior was iced in as far as the eye could see … thus my ice sunrise photographs. Today, a very strong wind out of the west blew most of the ice away from Duluth. Thus, we have open water once more 1/2 mile downhill from my house. There is a small stream that is underground for a while just where these mallards are congregating. I think they like the relatively warmer water, and the fact that the HUGE ice build-up on shore is protecting them from the wind.
These first two images show how a photographer is able to dramatically change an image. The point of view is the same, but in the first photo I chose to focus on the ice leaving the ducks out of focus, and in the second image I kept the foreground ducks in focus.
An overview of the Brighton Beach ice and mallards
and finally … Ice Ducks … The Movie!