Peregrine Patience
Made another trip to Bolivar Flats on Friday with Sheldon to see if we would have any better luck with finding birds than on our last trip. It was very low tide again with some wind but not too bad. While walking out to the sandbars just before the sun came up, I spotted what looked like something sitting on a piece of PVC pipe that was sticking out of the sand. Taking a look through my camera revealed a Peregrine Falcon perched on the piece of pipe.
We slowly walked towards him and laid down on the sand. We were very patient with this Falcon in order to not spook him before we got closer. We ended up spending 2 hrs watching him and crawling closer. He faked us out several times by stretching his wings and doing his duty but he never took off. He may have spent the night sitting on that pipe by the way that he was acting.
It was challenging to keep focused on him for that long and my neck/back/arm got very sore along with my right hand falling asleep. Ended up rolling on my side several times to rest my neck and stomach.
We knew that the photos of him sitting on the pipe wouldn’t be very good with the unnatural perch so we waited very patiently until he took off. He was facing into the wind and we were laying in front of him hoping that he would fly towards us, however he took off in the opposite direction. It was disappointing but it’s always cool to see one of these birds and sometimes you have to take what you can get. My old body is still paying the price from that outing with a very sore back/neck.
Luckily we found a more cooperative Reddish Egret on our way back to our cars. I’ll post some photos of him later.
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
All photos are aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
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
End of 2015 = Peregrine Falcon + Avocets
2015 ended on a high note with my last trip this year to Bolivar Flats in Texas. The sun hasn’t been out much lately in this part of Texas so it was time to shoot in cloudy conditions. It was great weather to be lying on the wet sandbars at 44 deg F (with waders on of course). The Avocets were out in mass with several hundred of them hanging out off shore near sandbars. Found a decent location and ended up crawling closer to a flock of Avocets. Several more came in to land, which provided some action shots.
Just before getting up to leave, all of the birds took off, which usually means that a raptor is in the area. Turned to my right and saw that a Peregrine Falcon had landed on a sandbar. I’ve never seen one land that far from the shoreline before. Didn’t think that he was going to stick around long so I stayed in place focusing on him while anticipating some lift-off and flight shots. He obliged soon after and it was a great way to end this outing.
Also it was nice to meet Hal on this trip, a follower of this blog.
Have a great new year everyone!!
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 @ F5.6, ISO 1600 + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, + 1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600 + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone! As usual, it’s Christmas morning and everyone is asleep except me and one of my dogs. Therefore, it was time to break out the camera. Here is my golden doodle sitting in a chair next to the Christmas tree, wondering what I’m doing, as usual.
Didn’t come out too bad considering it’s handheld @ 1/60 sec with ISO 10,000 and no noise reduction.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II, handheld
1/60 sec @ F8, ISO 10,000, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Offshore Killer Whales
Spent last weekend in the San Francisco, CA bay area after having business meetings there during the week. My daughter flew into San Francisco on Friday afternoon and we spent the weekend seeing the sights, which included a whale watching trip from Monterey Bay. I had made the same whale watching trip in 2013 and have been looking forward to going back ever since.
With the bad weather that they were predicting for the weekend, we changed the day that we went on this trip from Sunday to Saturday. We missed the rain but they issued a high wave warning for Saturday. We were thrilled that they didn’t cancel the trip but they warned everyone that it was going to be a rough ride on the boat with the high swells.
We went off-shore for about 10 miles and spotted a gray whale. He wasn’t very close to the boat and didn’t do much so we were hoping that it wasn’t going to be the only sighting of the day.
We then came upon a large group of long-beaked common dolphins that came very close to the boat. They estimated that there were at least 250 dolphins. It was cool to see so many dolphins but we wanted whales.
Not too long after seeing the dolphins, they spotted some Killer Whales in the distance. Everyone got very excited with the anticipation of seeing these majestic mammals. We ended up seeing 3 groups of these Orca’s, 15 to 20 total whales. The crew on the boat identified the whales as “offshore Orcas”, which are a rare find. The biologist told us that this was only the second time that she had seen this type of Orca in the past 5 years. There are three types of Orcas and this variety is rarely spotted this close to shore. The dominant male had the largest dorsal fin and there was a baby Orca, which was doing his best to keep up.
It was a real challenge to get any decent photos of these whales with the high swells. The boat would rock up and down violently and it was all that we could do to stay upright at times. We initially stayed at the back of the boat, which was the most stable part of the boat but had to move to the front to see the Orcas when they were first spotted. I about fell over several times when trying to move around. There were lots of people who got sea sick but we made it unscathed.
We had a great time but wished that we could have stayed out longer. We then headed to Big Sur to see the landscapes and further south to see some coastal redwood trees. Drove back to San Francisco on Saturday night and went to Alcatraz/Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday. It was a very fun trip and I’d love to do it again when we had more time.
All photos were taken with my new Canon 7D Mark II and Canon 100-400 II lens, handheld.
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 286 mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 214 mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 349 mm
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Avocets with New 7D II
Made a trip back to Bolivar Flats last weekend working as a guide, which gave me a chance to try out my new Canon 7D mark II camera.
From a guide perspective, it turned out to be a good trip with Newton. It was very low tide and we found a large flock of Avocets not too far off shore before sunrise. Got some decent shots and moved on to several other locations shooting Willets, Long Billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, a Yellowlegs and several smaller shorebirds. Ended up working our way around the bend and found a Reddish Egret and then a flock of Avocets worked their way towards us, as I predicted. What appeared to be a lucky guess was actually an accurate prediction based on several similar encounters at that location. Ended up being a very good morning.
From a testing out the new camera perspective, it was also a good outing. I’m a little too spoiled with my 1DX but the new 7D II worked well. It’s obviously not as good with high ISO as the 1DX but it’s much improved over my old 7D. Looks like it will be a good back-up camera. It’s also very light compared to the 1DX.
Ended up getting the new camera as I recently experience problems with my 1DX. Made a trip during the week of Thankgiving and found that my 1DX wouldn’t focus on my 500mm lens. Experienced issues with the contacts as the mounts were bent up from a previous crash/burn from my kitchen table. Got my lens repaired from a local repair shop in Houston but have to send my camera to Canon as they wouldn’t sell him (or me) a replacement ring mount. Took my old 7D to the Santa Clara ranch a few weeks ago as a back-up but would have had major issues with the low light levels. That convinced me that that I needed a newer back-up camera and getting $500 off during black Friday week also helped my cause.
These photos were taken with Canon 7D II with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
This photo was a little dull due to being taken before sunrise so I increased the exposure in Photoshop to make it more of a “high key” image which worked better.
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F5, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Taken after the sun came up
Bobwhite Quail
Bobwhite Quail are beautiful birds with very distinct feather patterns. Males have a bold black and white head pattern with the females having buff colored heads. They are very fast and can be hard to track with a camera as they run around.
Had mostly cloudy skies on this trip and had crank up the ISO and break out my flash for some of these shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Roadrunner from Santa Clara Ranch
Made another trip to the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, this time to the Santa Clara Ranch. Had a great time, thanks again Scott for the invitation. This property has a ranch house that you can stay at and get meal service, which was a highlight of the trip with some of the best Mexican food that I’ve eaten. I wanted to bring the cook home with me. Hector, the ranch manager, was our guide and did a great job.
This Roadrunner surprised us as we were in the blind taking photos of other birds when he came up to the water. He walked away then came back to give us a good opportunity for some close-up shots. Ended up with over 8000 photos and still haven’t gone through them all yet.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Reddish Egret in Partial Silhouette
Time to get back to posting some winged subjects with feathers. These Reddish Egrets were doing their usual dancing around while fishing. Two partial silhouette shots taken at different locations along the Gulf of Mexico from the beach at Bolivar Flats in Texas.
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
1/1250 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
F/A-18F Close-up’s
Taking photos from the north end of the runway at the 2015 Wings Over Houston airshow provided for some good close-up photo opportunities. The F/A-18F (2-seater) came in fast and low over us with his high-speed pass and then as he came in with his wheels down.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld
Take-off with full after burners on with some nice heat wave action.
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Full frame shot of his high-speed pass at over 500 mph. It was a very cool display of the raw power of this aircraft and quite loud being underneath him at this range.
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Full frame shot with wheels down.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Full frame shot as he came overhead towards the runway.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Quick pivot around got this shot as he went past us.
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Shoot the Moon
On the last day of the Wings Over Houston airshow, hung out with Doug on the north end of the runway. Thanks Doug. Got some good close-up photos that I’ll post later. The moon was out and we tried to get photos of the planes flying near the moon. Didn’t realize that I had captured this photo until I got home. It’s a WWII Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld
Shutter priority, 1/250 sec @ F22, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Wings Over Houston in B&W
During the Wings Over Houston airshow, they have a Tora Tora Tora portion that simulates the attack on Pearl Harbor. I arrive at the show when it opens to get a seat along the fence line so that I can have an unobstructed view of the action. They blow up bags of gasoline to simulate the bombs, which can make for some cool photos.
My goal during this part of the airshow is to capture the action with more than just the planes flying by. I’ve got tons of plane photos but like to get some of the smoke in the shot and other planes in the background to enhance the interest/story in the photos. Use shutter priority to blur the propellers with 1/320 for the Zero’s and 1/250 sec for the rest of the planes.
Here are some of my favorites from last Saturday, converter to B&W with NIK Silver Efex Pro 2. Gave me the opportunity to break out my new 100-400 II lens and it worked very well.
All were taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II lens, hand-held.
Shutter Priority, 1/320 sec @ F22, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Shutter Priority, 1/250 sec @ F11, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Shutter Priority, 1/320 sec @ F25, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Shutter Priority, 1/250 sec @ F25, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Wings Over Houston 2015 Airshow – Friday’s Practice
Friday at Wings Over Houston is a two-hour show for special needs kids and the opportunity for the pilots to practice for the main shows on Sat/Sun. It’s not open to the general public so I found a spot along Hwy 3 at the end of the runway to get some close-up photos.
This was the first time in a few years that the F-18 was back at WOH and it’s always my goal to get a photo of the vapor cloud when they approach the speed of sound, around 600 mph. A cold front coming through this weekend reduced the humidity in the air so Friday was going to be the best chance to get that shot. Caught him starting to form the vapor cloud as he flew over me and it fully formed as he got over the runway. A head-on shot would have been better but I’ll take it.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, hand-held
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
They have one original Japanese Zero flying at the show, with the rest being replicas from the movie Tora Tora Tora. Being at the end of the runway allows for this shot as he banks around back toward the field. Converted this one to B&W as the colors were muted anyway. Used shutter priority to slow down the shutter speed to get the prop to blur. The Zero prop’s spin faster than the P51 Mustangs so I usually use 1/320 for the Zero’s and 1/250 for the rest of the prop planes.
Shutter priority, 1/320 sec @ F14, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Only 3 of the Thunderbirds flew at the show around noon, which was a surprise. Minimal cropping on the first two shots with none on the last one.
Aperture priority, 1/6400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/6400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Tern and Burn
I was watching a small group of Royal Terns close to shore when they started to fly away. Focused on the last one and caught him taking off, flying towards me and making a hard right turn. Got several shots in this sequence. This turn and burn sequence was good practice for the upcoming Wings Over Houston airshow.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Brown Pelicans Fishing at Sunrise
Brown Pelicans were out in force last weekend at sunrise along the Gulf coast. They would come close to shore diving for fish. Had a blast tracking them as they flew in and dove into the water. The take-off’s were fun as well. Good opportunity for some action silhouette shots.
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, 1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
High Key Reddish Egret Portrait
Went back to Bolivar Flats yesterday to scout out the conditions for a Sunday shoot with a couple of clients. Thought that it was going to be a major bust when I first arrived. The tide was up near sunrise and there were no expose sandbars. Had to work the shoreline which isn’t my preference. Very few birds to be seen at first but it was still a little dark out about 45 min before sunrise.
Found a group of Skimmers and ended up belly crawling to get close to them, until a couple of wade fisherman walked right in front of me scaring all of the birds away while pulling a wagon behind them with their gear. Didn’t have time to get too angry as I’ve learned to take advantage of that situation by getting up and quickly moving forward and getting into position. As anticipated, the birds came back to that same spot and I spend then next 1.5 hrs shooting from that location.
Ended up being much better photo op’s than expected. Especially when the Reddish Egrets showed up. While taking photos of other birds, this Reddish landed right in front of me as he was chasing a White Morph Reddish Egret away. He ran in front of me and luckily stopped to bask in the glory of his conquest with his feathers all puffed out. He had his feathers puffed out in this position for about 1 second, so I was glad to get this shot.
Glad that I went yesterday as today was a wash out with the rain along the coast.
Taken with a Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
The Look
After a couple of hours shooting shorebirds, hiked back to the car worn out and ready to clean up/pack away my gear and head home. However, this White Morph Reddish Egret was fishing just off shore close to the parking area and he forced me to lay down one more time. Glad that I’m easily influenced by birds.
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 @ F14, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
Ninja Move
This Willet was practicing his best Ninja move. Just wish that I would have been a few more inches to the right to get both beaks in the shot.
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
Wing Span
Got to practice some flight shots at Dayton, TX while waiting for the Kites to show up. Found that I was in the flight path of several Great Egrets. Took my camera off the tripod to get these shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld
1/1600 sec @ F10, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/2500 sec @ F10, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Raise Your Wings
Fishing action with a White Morph Reddish Egret. More ground pod action from my last trip to Bolivar Flats. Converted to B&W using NIK Silver Efex.
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
1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Tim Timmis Photography 