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Snowy Egret Portrait

Found this Snowy Egret on the Texas City dike a few weeks ago.  Was too close to get a full body shot so went vertical and got this portrait photo.  Had to go negative on the exposure compensation to keep from blowing out the whites.  Flashing highlight alerts, aka “blinkies”, works very well to show when the photos are over exposed.  Just remember on your histogram, expose to the right side but don’t climb the wall.

Was using my back-up camera, Canon 7D Mark II as my 1DX was back at Canon getting a new shutter installed.  Started to get a bright line at the top of my photos which led to some research on the web that indicated my shutter was likely starting to fail.  Canon confirmed it and got it replaced.  Had over 423,000 shutter actuations and it was rated for 400,000.  I’ve worn out several shutters on my other cameras so not surprising that this one would go one of these days.  Glad that it didn’t happen during my last Yellowstone trip.

Took about 7 days after they received it for the repair so it was time to break-out the back-up camera.  My 7D II worked well but it’s not the same as the pro body.  It felt like a toy in comparison without a grip attached, but it took good photos.

Taken with Canon 7D II with Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter, 700mm, hand held out the car window.

1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, – 1/3 exposure compensation

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Posted by  |  May 22, 2019 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sliver of Sunrise

Took this shot at the Texas City dike on Sunday morning.  There was a small gap in the clouds as the sun started to come up.  Started to go negative on exposure compensation as the sun started to pop.  Really like how this one turned out.

Used my back-up 7D II as my 1DX is at Canon getting the shutter replaced after over 420,000 photos.  My back-up camera works better than my original 7D but it doesn’t compare to my 1DX at high ISO capability plus it feels so small without a battery grip.  Works well for a back-up but can’t wait until my 1DX returns.

Taken with Canon 7D II with Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4XIII teleconverter, handheld out my car window

1/8000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 100, evaluative metering, – 2/3 exposure compensation

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Posted by  |  May 1, 2019 | Categories: Landscape | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Blurred Avocet

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

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Posted by  |  April 19, 2019 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

American Avocets

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

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Posted by  |  April 15, 2019 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Galveston FeatherFest 2019

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

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Ground Pod Photography from Bolivar Flats, Saturday April 13, 2019

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Ground Pod Photography from Bolivar Flats, Saturday April 13, 2019

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Posted by  |  April 14, 2019 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Brown Pelican in Golden Light

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

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Posted by  |  April 10, 2019 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Egret in Flight

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

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Posted by  |  March 23, 2019 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments