Common Murre
A first for me, found this Common Murre while on a whale watching trip off the coast of Monterey Bay, CA. He floated by the boat and I was able to squeeze off a few quick shots.
Taken with Canon 7D II and Canon 100-400 II, handheld
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 360mm
Aperture priority, 1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 349mm
Clapper Rail
While taking photos of some Willets, this Clapper Rail came out from the weeds and surprised us. He then walked straight towards us and turned left right while coming very close to where we were lying, which resulted in only minor cropping on the last two shots. Helped to prove the point that birds don’t recognize you as a person while lying down with a ground pod.
These Rails usually stay close to the weeds for cover so it was very cool to see this one out in the open.
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
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
B&W Pelican
This Brown Pelican was coming in for a landing and filled the frame. The colors were very muted so I converted it to B&W.
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
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Little Ones
I’ve learned not to ignore the little shorebirds while lying down. They can be a challenge to photograph as they move around quickly but they can be very photogenic.
When they are standing still, I’ll use a single focus point but change to all focus points when they start moving, if they are close enough. Getting direct eye contact is always a favorite pose. Preening can also reveal some interesting photos. These were taken on a cloudy day so the ISO had to be cranked up to get a decent shutter speed.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III telconverter
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Snowy Plover
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Sea Otters
Here are a few shots of the Sea Otters that we found near Morrow Bay, CA. They were floating around near a boating area right next to the road. Very fun to watch as they try to keep their paws dry while spinning around in the water.
Taken with Canon 7D II with Canon 100-400 II, hand-held
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6 ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6 ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6 ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 