When the light doesn’t cooperate, there are always blurred shots to be taken. American avocet in a blur from Bolivar Flats during one of my Galveston FeatherFest workshops that I led this year.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/125 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, + 2 2/3 exposure compensation, aperture priority, 700mm
Mentioned to my FeatherFest group before we hit the beach on Saturday morning that one of my target birds for this field trip was avocets. Score!
Low tide turned into high tide with the winds from the south due to the storm system. The high tide drove all of the birds near the shoreline and luckily most of them were along the beach facing south before you go around the bend. We started with a small group of avocets and worked our way down the beach until we hit the jackpot with thousands of them that just kept flying into the same area.
The legs have it in this full frame shot from my ground pod with only cropping to pano format. If you look close, had some light rain going on at this time. Also a photo bomber flying in.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4XIII teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/200 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, aperture priority, 700mm
Just finished up leading workshops and field trips for Galveston’s FeatherFest. Had a great time as always. Thanks to everyone that showed up and participated.
Here are some of the group photos.
Shorebird Photography from East Beach, Friday April 12, 2019
Ground Pod Photography from Bolivar Flats, Saturday April 13, 2019
Ground Pod Photography from Bolivar Flats, Saturday April 13, 2019
Caught this brown pelican doing a fly-by while in the prone position with my ground pod. Got a nice series of shots with this one being one of my favorites with the wing position just off of the water. The calm water and reflection helped as well.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on a skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, aperture priority
Headed back to High Island yesterday to get some more photos from the rookery for an upcoming presentation that I’m doing for Houston Audubon on April 7.
https://houstonaudubon.org/programs/adults/flight-in-focus.html
Had the platform all to myself, which was great and worth taking 1/2 day off of work. Challenging to get flight shots from that location so moved down to the second platform and the flight opportunities were amazing. Great egrets and spoonbills were flying back and forth from the rookery island to the trees on the south side of the pond. They would occasionally bank right towards me like this great egret.
1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, aperture priority
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
It’s always fun to watch and photograph great egrets in mating season when they put on a display of their breeding plumage. Caught this mating dance at High Island’s rookery at sunrise.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/60 sec @ F4, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, aperture priority
Finally, some sunshine in SE Texas. This day was a little to windy for Bolivar Flats and my gut was telling me to head to High Island to see if there was any activity yet.
Got up at 3:15 a.m. and make it there well before sunrise. One of the challenges at the rookery at sunrise is the mosquitos, which can take swarming to a new level. In preparation for the skeeters, bought a mosquito net to fit over my had, which worked wonders. Best $10 ever spent at REI.
https://www.rei.com/product/780999/sea-to-summit-head-net
Got to the last platform in complete darkness so it was difficult to tell if there were very many birds present yet. Could hear the pig-like grunting from some cormorants, which always show up first. Once the pre-dawn light started falling over the area, finally could tell that there were enough great egrets to make it a worthwhile trip. Before the sun came up, several more great egrets came to the rookery and started displaying their breeding plumage. Didn’t take long for the courtship’s to begin. Only a few minutes were required for them to arrive, find a match, mate and then take off to find sticks to build a nest.
I always go to the rookery at sunrise to get back-lit photos. Exposing for the brightest areas of the birds with the sun coming through their feathers can make for some amazing photo opportunities.
This is a photo of a pair of great egrets that I watched after the sun came up. One would take off to find sticks and then arrive with great fanfare and pass of the stick to their mate for nest-building. Felt great to get back in my element.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F5 IS II lens on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, aperture priority
