Willet Landing
Caught this Willet in landing mode with wings spread and morning light shining through his wings. Another good reason to break the rules sometimes and shoot into the sun. One of my favoring things to do. Taken at Bolivar Flats in TX.
Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on Skimmer ground pod
1/1250 sec @ F5.6, partial metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, ISO 200, no flash
Back to Bolivar
Finally made a trip back to Bolivar Flats to check out the shorebirds last weekend. It’s been several months since I’ve shot any bird photos there so it felt great to go back. The best time to shoot at Bolivar is at low tide when the sand bars are exposed, which hasn’t happened around sunrise for a very long time, including this trip. Decided to go anyway to see what I could get. Tons of people were there wade fishing and camping on the beach so conditions weren’t ideal. They also have the area beyond the beach at the vegetation roped off with signs to keep out so no luck with trying to find the falcons.
The day had its moments. Got there about 1/2 hour before sunrise and walked the full length of the beach before trying to take my first shot. My high intelligence level quickly alerted me to the fact that my battery was still in the charger at home. Luckily had a spare but it was in the car that was a few hundred yards away. Since it was about 10 minutes before sunrise at that point, I walked as fast as I could which did a number on my feet in the ‘ol rubber boots. Ended up getting two large blisters on my heels and ripped the skin off, joy. After about an hour of shooting, a group of 6 guys walked about 20 yds right in front of me in the water and scared all of the birds away. I just laid there and looked at them and they were oblivious. I just love people sometimes.
Ended up having to shoot from the beach the entire time with the tide being too high. Tried to take advantage of what I had to work with and took a combination of back and side lighting shots. Can’t wait until it’s winter with cooperative tides and no people around. It’s great out there when the temp’s in the 30’s.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on Skimmer ground pod
Kids Never Listen
Just like humans, Skimmer youngsters don’t like when they get a lecture from their parents. This young Black Skimmer was minding his own business when this adult came by to get in his face. Not sure if it was a parent or not but he didn’t want any part of it.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens, out the car window using bean bag.
Distracting Backgrounds
One of the goals in wildlife photography is to get a clean background without distracting elements to isolate the subject and to keep the eye of the person looking at the photo from wandering off of the main subject. With experience, you will automatically look at the backgrounds while framing the photo so that you can get into the best position for the shot. unfortunately, it sometimes (or most of the time) doesn’t work out so well. Here is a shot that emphasizes the challenges of shooting in Galveston. This white morph reddish egret was dancing around and lo and behold, the shipping lanes came into play with das boat messing up the shot.
Willet Portrait
This Willet shot was taken on Galveston Island at East Beach. Felt really good to get down low to shoot birds. It’s been awhile.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens, handheld
1/500 sec @ F5.6, +1 exposure compensation, spot metering, ISO 250
Tim Timmis Photography 