Stark

Bare branches at dusk, starkly silhouetted against a cold yet beautifully colored winter sky

I ventured out on one of the coldest days of the season to date with entirely different intentions, namely to capture a picture of the Big Duck in it's Holiday dress. I passed my turn-off and ended up turning around at a this dead-end street overlooking Flanders Bay. I was enchanted by the evening sky and picked this tree to provide a focal point. Goes to show you that you never know what to expect. The Big Duck pictures didn't come out at all, but this one's fast become one of my favorite landscape pictures of all of 2011!

Big Duck

The "Big Duck" just south of Flanders, NY

The Big Duck, as it is called, certainly is a "must-have" shot for every photographer based on Long Island, and I finally managed a drive out there yesterday. It's history is quite amusing: Duck ranches, nowadays almost extinct in the region, used to be a staple and a specialty out here. This duck was built in 1931 by a German duck farmer named Martin Maurer after a visit to California, where he discovered plenty of oddly shaped buildings geared towards advertising the product they sold. He made quite a buck with his unique gimmick, and the duck was moved in it's ducky entirety quite a few times. In 1987 Big Duck fans from all over joined Suffolk County in an effort to preserve the Big Duck, resulting in the then owners' donation of the Duck to Suffolk County. The Big Duck's most recent move in October of 2007 put it closer to it's original roosting place and it now sits on County Route 24 just a few miles south of the town of Flanders.

Nowadays it is a beloved landmark and inside you'll find a souvenir shop selling all kinds of duck memorabilia. Stop in on a Sunday afternoon and have a chat with the lovely and funny Barb who's been the resident "Duck Lady" for over 14 years! The Duck, by the way, stands 20 feet tall and gives you plenty of room to comfortably move around inside.