Figure 1 – Double crested cormorant on the old fountain head by the Glacken Slope restoration. Fresh Pond, Cambridge, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2015.

Most of the large water birds that you see, the egrets and the herons, are stealthy hunters always either on the move, however slowly, or ready to lunge. A notable exception to this are the double crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). You see them out swimming on the water, launching themselves beneath the surface in search of food and you see them standing on the rocks drying their wings. But a lot of times they are just standing there as if in contemplation, as if they were sentinels just watching, just guarding.

I took this image of such a bird last week.  H was standing on the old fountain head by the Glacken Slope restoration on Fresh Pond in Cambridge, MA. As is often the case, especially on cloudy days, the water on that part of the pond is gray and almost motionless. Despite my admiration of the yellow or orange throats of these cormorants, I decided in the end to process the shot as a black and white, to emphasize the silhouette. It is very unusual for me to photograph a bird in black and white. Color is typically so defining. Black and white focuses on form. The toning, I think, adds just a dash of brightness to the image.These are one of the more primordial looking of birds. You watch them, observe their vigillance, and you are taken back, reminded of their prehistoric origins. It is humbling, for so they have watched for millions of years.

Canon T2i with EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens at 200 mm . ISO 1600, Aperture Priority AE mode, 1/3200 sec at f/7.1 with +1 exposure compensation.