Black Skimmer Silhouette
I’ve still got a ton of Black Skimmer shots so be prepared people, I’m not finished yet. Here is a silhouette shot taken on the 4th of July in Freeport that I like. After the typical fly-by shots, I was attracted to the lighting while looking back into the sun. The blurred out golden dots in the background and back-lit wings help to make this shot in my opinion. I was going to lighted it up a little to better see the bird but liked it best as a darker silhouette.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens.
1/8000 sec @ F. 5.6, partial metering, ISO 400, no flash
Bridal Shower Photos
Now for something different… I’ve been busy lately, but not with my usual bird pictures. Got an opportunity to shoot at a Bridal Shower, which was a first for me. My daughter’s college roommate, Lisa, is getting married, my daughter is a bridesmaid and my wife made the centerpieces for the shower. They had the shower at the South Shore Harbor Country Club in League City, TX. It was a great location but a challenge from a photography perspective with all of the windows. I’m still a rookie at taking indoor photos with flash so this was good practice. Kept the flash on-camera and bounced it off of the ceiling. Tried some shooting in aperture priority with positive exposure compensation, manual mode and automatic mode. I really need to get a F2.8 wide angle some day.
My biggest regret for the day was not eating more. The food was excellent but I was a little busy with taking over 700 photos.
More photos of the shower photos on my web site: http://www.timtimmis.com/Weddings/Lisas-Bridal-Shower/18147490_r8Xx4T#1393351372_zM2bKfj
Taken with Canon 7D and 17-40mm and 50mm 1.8 lenses and 580 EXII flash, handheld.
Freeport Skimmers
I’ve been in a major funk lately with no luck at Bolivar and Brazos Bend over the last couple of weeks. Got a great attitude adjustment over the holiday weekend with the skimmers being back in canal along the road in Freeport. It was a very busy weekend: 9 hours of driving, about 5 hours of shooting, 6800 total photos, 4 hours of sorting photos, 1700 first pass keepers and about 150 potential wall hangers, along with a sore butt and back due to sitting on the ground and shooting hand-held. It will take quite some time to process all of the good ones so here are a few of my favorites so far.
All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens, hand-held while sitting on the ground along the canal.
1/500 sec @ F. 5.6, partial metering, ISO 400, no flash
1/250 sec @ F. 5.6, partial metering, ISO 400, fill flash at -3 stops with better beamer
1/250 sec @ F. 6.3, partial metering, ISO 400, fill flash at -3 stops with better beamer
1/800 sec @ F. 5.6, partial metering, ISO 400, fill flash at -3 stops with better beamer
1/800 sec @ F. 5.6, partial metering, ISO 400, no flash
Back-Lit Great Blue Heron
There were tons of GBH’s in Freeport on this day back in June. They were feeding on the fish that the Skimmers were also trying to catch. Was able to capture this one with back-lighting in his wings as he was coming in for a landing. I’m a major fan of back-lit shots and always try to find them when I’m out at sunrise. I like to break the rule of shooting with the sun at your back.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens, hand-held
1/400 sec @ F 5.6, partial metering, ISO 400, no flash
Tim Timmis Photography 