San Antonio Airshow
Along with wildlife, my other passion is airshows. Here are a few shots from last year’s San Antonio Airshow. Got my 100-400 lens for airshows and learned that is works well for birds too. Guess that I like flying things of all types. I’ve been making the drive to San Antonio for a few years now, especially since they have had the F-22 while Houston is still waiting for it to show up. The F-22 is an awesome plane to watch and photograph. Can’t wait to go back this year.
Cooterville
Here are some shots from last weekend at Brazos Bend of the resident coots. Found a decent spot to camp out along 40 acre lake and sat down with my tripod for about 1.5 hrs on Sat and Sun. Around sunrise, the coots come across the trail and head into the water and then the run out into the main part of the lake through the two openings in the far bank. I”ve always like to try to catch them while they are running on the water. Had to switch to the minimum focus distance on the 100-400 on the close up shots as they were very close. They are kind of cute close up with the ivory colored bill and red forehead and eyes.
Sprinting Moorhen
Made my first trip back to Brazos Bend State Park in a few months on Sat and found lots of fog but no sun. I love when it is foggy but it helps to have the sun shining through it. Saturday was just fog and clouds. Tried to make the best of it by sitting on my keester for about 1.5 hrs along the bank at 40 acre lake. Worked on getting some slow shutter speed shots of Coots as they ran by and ended up finding this enthusiastic Moorhen as well.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens, no flash
1/50 sec @ F5.6, +2/3 exposure compensation, spot metering, ISO 500
Galveston Featherfest Photo Contest
It’s that time of year again for the Galveston Featherfest photo contest. I’ve had some success in the contest in recent years and I’d encourage everyone who shoots in Galveston and surrounding counties to enter. It’s a weekly contest so you can enter two photos every week for four weeks. Here is the press release.
Feb. 14, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Photography Now a Big Part of FeatherFest
Bird Photo Contest Call for Entries
GALVESTON ISLAND, Texas (Feb. 14, 2011) – Entries are now being accepted for the FeatherFest Photo Contest held in conjunction with Galveston’s annual birding, nature and photography festival.
Individuals are invited to submit images of birds taken in Galveston or adjacent counties. Entries for Week 1 are due Tuesday, March 1. Contest details are outlined below.
Photographers also have an opportunity to participate in PhotoFest, the track of field trips and workshops held April 7 through 9 during FeatherFest that are designed for photographers of all skill levels.
After last year’s near sell-out debut, PhotoFest 2011 offers new programs led by professional photography instructors. PhotoFest events are presented this year by Houston Camera Exchange.
In addition, a wide variety of cameras and equipment will be featured at Birders’ Bazaar, the festival’s free public trade show and nature arts and crafts market place.
“Photography has become an important part of FeatherFest, and the photo contest gets bigger and better every year,” said Barbara Rabek, co-leader with Steve Upperman of both the competition and PhotoFest.
“Photographers are always taking pictures of the amazing birds that live in the area or migrate through, and this organized competition is a good way to recognize their efforts. This is the contest’s fifth year, and it’s a perfect fit with FeatherFest and PhotoFest.”
First-, second- and third-place winning photos from four weekly contests in March will be published in The Daily News and on the FeatherFest Web site. A Grand Prize winning photo will be
selected from these winners and published in early April.
The photo contest is presented by The Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council in partnership with The Daily News and the Bay Area Photo Club. Photo club members will judge the entries, drawing on their photography and competition expertise.
Photo Contest Rules:
- Photos must be of birds from Galveston or adjacent counties.
- Photos must be e-mailed to photofest2011@gmail.com by 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, 8, 15 and 22 to be included in photos being judged for the following Tuesday edition of The Daily News.
- Two photos per week may be submitted and must arrive in separate e-mails.
- Photos must be in JPEG format at 300 dpi and not larger than 6 MB.
- Images may be cropped, sharpened, color adjusted and/or altered in other minor ways.
- Images may not be collages or blends of more than one image.
- Photos must be accompanied with the photographer’s name; title of photo; name of bird(s) in photo; and location where photo was taken.
- First-, second- and third-place winners will be selected each week for four weeks. A Grand Prize photo will be selected from the four weekly first-place winners.
- A photographer may not win more than one first, second or third place during the four weeks.
- Photographers who submit an entry grant The Galveston County Daily News and The Galveston Island Nature Tourism Counsel a limited license to publish and display the photo and to use it in promotional materials without compensation.
On the Web: http://www.galvestonfeatherfest.com/PhotoContest.php
Extreme Bird Make Over
So how do give a very ugly bird a make over? Well, I’m not that good at photoshop so I decided to basically blur the crap out of him. The first shot shows a turkey vulture trying to show off his feathers. Very nice try but it’s tough to get past that butt ugly face. Using a very slow shutter speed, 1/6 sec, I was able to wipe the ugly off his face (and everything else for that matter). Even got a little double exposure action.
Friday’s Fiasco
Had high hopes for Friday going in but it turned out to be less than stellar, which is the understatement of the year.
Started out with a trip to Bolivar before sunrise. It was 27 deg at 6:30 a.m. when I arrived at the beach and came across my friend David who has been frequenting the flats for the past few months. Got into my waders, two sweatshirts, my new coat, and gloves and headed out. The tide was low at the onset with several sand bars visible off shore. I went further out and David hugged the shoreline. There were lots of Avocets but they were near the jetty. Found a spot hoping that the Avocets would come my way and laid down to wait for them. The tide then started to come in and I kept scooted backwards to try to stay on somewhat dry ground, to no avail. Mother Nature won that battle as I got wet several times after moving my position around on different sand bars. Finally took a stand on the last high ground in the area and was determined to wait out the Avocets. Once again, the tide kept rising and got inundated with water, again. This time I decided that I wasn’t going to move but to lay in the water for however long it took. The tide was coming up fast and the water went over the top of the ground pod, filling it.
David had stuck closer to shore with his honker 200-400 lens. He was getting what looked like some decent opportunities with some of the smaller shorebirds. As I was enjoying getting flooded for the last time, I saw David drop to his knees, in what I thought was a shooting position. Soon found out that he wasn’t shooting but struggling to get up and move. I yelled at him to see if he needed any help. He then fell forward and his camera and lens went completely under water as he struggled. He started yelling and I got up and headed towards him. Didn’t like what I saw as he was struggling to move and was trying to crawl on his hands and knees with the camera under water. I dropped my camera off at the last sand bar and walked out in the mud to him. I took his camera as he was struggling to get to shore. I turned to head to shore and found myself stuck in the same mud as he was, well duhhhhh. My wader boots were stuck in several inches of mud and my foot lifted out of the boot and I went down. There we were, both on our knees trying to get out. I found out the hard way just how heavy a 200-400 lens can be. Would have been a great photo-op for someone. I ended up walking on my knees carrying David’s gear while he crawled to shore. He stood up and then came back out to get his camera from me so that I could crawl the rest of the way in. We were both out of breath big time and realized that marathon runners we are not. Headed back to the cars and I had to make a side trip to take photos of the Peregrine Falcon, of course. When I got back to the car, a cop drove up on the beach and waved. David’s comment was classic, “now he shows up!”.
Thought that the events of Bolivar would be the end of the drama for the day. But nooooooo. Got home and saw water running out of a drain line from the attic and down the driveway. Went into the attic and found that one of the hot water heaters was leaking and the drain pan was full. Looked for a shutoff valve but the only valve that was installed was on the outlet hot water line, go figure. Had to go downstairs and shut the water off to the house. Called our plumber and got lucky that they could come out the same day and replace it. I still don’t get putting hot water heaters in the attic. Guess that is the result of not having them in the garage like the rest of the country since we have “detached” garages, which is another phenomenon that I can’t quite fathom.
Avocets
It was a balmy 30 deg before sunrise at Bolivar on 2/5/11 but the birds were still out. Wasn’t sure what I’d find as my last trip there was a bust for bird shots. Not many birds near shore before sunrise so I waded out about 100 yds into the gulf while waiting for the sun to come up. Didn’t want to get wet and cold laying down quite yet. Got a few blurred flight shots and worked my way west towards the jetty. Saw a large flock of birds flying around and was hoping for Avocets but it ended up being a few hundred black skimmers. Tried to get close to them to lay down on a sand bar when the water came up and covered the sand bar just as I got there. Moved to a different area and laid down to shoot. Got some skimmer shots and they eventually flew off.
Decided to stay put to see what else would come around. A flock of Avocets landed near by and they started walking towards me. Of course my memory card was filling up so I changed it before they got too close, or that was the plan. After I got the new card in and formatted, looked up and they were right in front of me about 30 ft away. Didn’t want to take time to put my glove back on so I shot away and got some frozen fingers. The Avocets ended up being all around me and I got several almost full frame shots. The challenge with Avocets is that they like to walk around together in groups and it’s tough to get individual shots of them so I’m very pleased with these shots. Ended up being a great day for bird photography despite the cold weather. Here’s hoping for 20 deg weather next time!
All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on ground pod, no flash
F7.1 @ 1/1600 sec, ISO 200, spot metering, +.33 exp comp
F7.1 @ 1/2000 sec, ISO 200, spot metering, +.33 exp comp
F7.1 @ 1/1600 sec, ISO 160, spot metering, +.33 exp comp
F7.1 @ 1/2500 sec, ISO 200, spot metering, +.33 exp comp
F7.1 @ 1/2000 sec, ISO 200, spot metering, +.33 exp comp
F7.1 @ 1/1000 sec, ISO 200, spot metering, +.33 exp comp
Photoshop Seminar
Went to a Photoshop seminar, CS5 for Photographers with Matt Kloskowski, in Austin on Friday. It was a very good seminar and would highly recommend it. Lots of info packed into a few hours but they provide handouts with the details. Took a similar seminar a few years ago on CS3. Just wish that the “blizzard of 2011” could have been avoided. Was originally going to drive up and back on Friday but ended up going Thursday to make sure that I could get to Austin. Had a hotel room near the south side of town and ended up changing it to downtown to avoid driving if the roads got too bad. Glad that I did as they got a whopping +1 inches of snow, which made driving on the hills/overpasses slick. Walked to the convention center and was able to make the drive back to Houston after the seminar was over. The room was less than 1/2 full so appears that lots of people didn’t make it due to the weather. Their workbooks and DVD’s didn’t make it until just before noon as the truck couldn’t deliver it in the morning. Survived another blizzard…
The Lightroom 3 seminar in Houston on March 9th looks promising, see link below. I bought Lightroom but haven’t installed it yet. Good time to start.
Down and Dirty
I’ve had some requests to show my ground pod set up so here are a few shots of me laying in the muck at Bolviar Flats. Taken by my best photo bud, Sheldon Morton, these show the typical stuff that we lay in at Bolivar to get eye level with the shorebirds. Some areas aren’t too bad with just sand and salt water but others like this area are a little more challenging. While walking off shore to get to this area, I sunk down in the mud several inches and barely was able to pull my feet out. It helps in the winter to wear waders to keep the bottom half dry. Summer is messier when I just wear jeans. The sand, muck and salt water seems to get every where including the camera equipment.
I’ve tried my regular tripod once there to get this low but it doesn’t move around easily enough to keep up with the action. The “skimmer” ground pod is easily pushed around and is easy to pick up, except when it acts like a suction cup in the mud.
My coat was open in the last shot due to my zipper breaking at the start of the day. Not a good sign. Luckily that it was only in the mid 40’s or it would have been a little chilly. I should have bailed at that point but it got more interesting when I got a screw loose, literally. The screw that holds my lens plate on loosened up and everything shifted around. Had to take it apart to hand hold the camera. Decided then that it was a good time to bail to Anahuac NWR.
These photos remind me how gray my hair is and how much I need a much longer lens…
Frigatebirds Playing
Here are a few shots from the archives of two Magnificent Frigatebirds playing. One was carrying a fish around and would drop it and the other one would try to catch it in mid air. I had only see one of these birds before this so it was a thrill to see two of them together and playing. Just wish that it had been sunny that day. Not great photos but I wanted to share anyway. Taken at the east end of Galveston Island.
Bolivar Shorebirds
Here are a few shots from my last trip to Bolivar Flats. Turned out to be almost perfect conditions with low wind, calm water and low tide. The light about 1/2 hour before sunrise was amazing. Sheldon and I want out wading in the gulf to get some flight shots while David went to find a spot to shoot from. We should have followed him. Had to do a double take while wading around when I saw a fin come up out of the water. Glad that no one was playing Jaws music at the time. Using my higher intellect, ie. opened my eyes, to detect that it was just a dolphin. I’ve never seen one before on that side of the jetty close to shore. It was very cool to see. Small groups of Avocets kept flying by us so there were some decent flight shot opportunities.
We eventually moved to stake out some sand bars to get down low and shoot the birdies. David was the furthest inland already shotting away, Sheldon was in the middle and I was on the outskirts. There were more avocets there that day than I’ve ever seen. Had to be hundreds if not thousands of them. It’s a challenge to shoot them while they are in such large groups. They tend to stick together and getting an isolated shot is tuff. That’s where being on the outer edge helped as some individual ones wondered in my direction. Had some crappy backgrounds (Sheldon) to deal with but it was all good. We kept following David around and he came upon the Peregrine Falcon that has been hanging out around there. Too bad that he didn’t fly our direction when he launched but it’s always cool to see him. Overall a great morning.
Bald Eagle from Anahuac
Tried going to Bolivar again on Sunday morning but since it was cloudy and windy, I decided to take the long way home via Anahuac NWR. Found this juvi Balk Eagle after I left on the road leading to the NWR. Was driving down the road seeing several raptors sitting on telephone poles. Saw what I thought was a big vulture but changed my mind when I saw the white head. Almost locked up the car breaks and came to a quick stop right beside him. Got one shot off and then he jumped up and launched. First couple of shots were blurry but got some of them. Some where cluttered with power lines and had cropped wings since I didn’t have a chance to zoom out so I cropped some of these tighter. He flew back behind me and landed on another telephone pole. So instead of sitting in the middle of the road like I was, I did the intelligent thing and backed up down the road to get some more shots. My first juvi eagle sighting which was very cool. I’m lovin how many eagle sightings there have been this year in SE Texas.
Taken out the car window with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens.
F6.3, + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, ISO 400
Kestrel BIF
About the only time that I find a Kestrel is when they are hanging out on power lines. That was the case with this one that I found while leaving San Bernard NWR. I don’t like having the power lines in my shots so I waited for this guy to take off. They are fast so I was pleased to keep it in focus.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens out the car window
F5.6 @ 1/1000 sec, +1 exp compensation, spot metering, ISO 200
Incoming Harrier
This was one of my favorite end of 2010 experiences. Saw some Northern Harriers as I was leaving Bolivar the day before but couldn’t get close to them. Decided to follow one of my golden rules: if you don’t like the shots that you got today, go back tomorrow. After trying to get some shorebird shots, I decided to go inland to try to find a Harrier. Got to the edge of the tall grass line and decided to lay down in the sand to wait for one to come by. Not too bright of an idea and I quickly learned that the grass was too tall and I couldn’t see anything coming. Got up and then kneeled down in the sand at the grass line. Decided that was also a dumb idea as I stuck out like a sore thumb. Finally used my aging brain and went into the grass to wait for the Harriers. Another miscalculation was that the grass was very tall and I had to get up fairly high on my knees to see anything. Should have brought the weed wacker with me. It was a little challenging to get situated with having my waders on. My ‘ol back was hurting already from laying on the beach so I ended up laying on my back a few times in the grass to rest. Really glad that no one else was around to see me rolling around in the grass.
Finally saw a couple of Harriers in the distance and waited for them to come my way. Was thrilled when this one dove out of the sky and flew right at me. He didn’t see me until he got fairly close. Unfortunately I lost the focus on him at the critical moment with the tall grass in the foreground and he flew off. Bumbed that I missed the best shot but glad that I got this one.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens hand held (with ground pod and flash laying in the grass beside me)
F5.6 @ 1/800 sec, +1 exposure compensation, aperature priority, spot metering, ISO 250
Mating Dance
Great Egret mating dance
This Great Egret was striking its best mating dance pose at the High Island rookery. This shot was taken early in the rookery season in 2009 during one of my scouting missions to see if any birds had shown up yet at the rookery. Not many birds around except this one doing the dance. I love how they show their breeding plumage to attract a mate. It was a foggy morning and the shot came out a little soft with ISO 500 and shutter at 1/125 sec but it gives it good feel. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it. I can’t wait until this spring…
Avocet Crossing
Why do Avocets cross the road? Probably because some idiot is trying to take their picture. Another trip to Bolivar Flats at low tide found this group of American Avocets in what I’d call a tide pool area near the shore. I waded out into the water to take some flight shots and then made my approach to them from the water side. Thought that a covert water landing would be better than to possibly spook them from going back on shore first. Ended up on my knees trying to carry the camera/ground pod as I got closer to shore and then belly crawled up on the sand bar. That would have made an interesting photo op in itself. Got totally wet but it was worth it as they didn’t spook but just walked past me on their way to the water. It’s the thing that I love about laying down with the ground pod – the birds don’t see you until they get very close. I liked the golden light and the look of their thin legs all grouped together in this shot.
Taken with Canon 40D and 100-400 lens
F5.6 @ 1/500 sec., ISO 250, spot metering on ground pod
Reddish Egret Portrait
This Reddish Egret was doing his best posing for me at Bolivar Flats. I really liked the side lighting on this one. This is one of my favorite Reddish portraits. Taken while laying down in the sand using my ground pod.
Canon 40D with 100-400 lens on ground pod
F5.6 @ 1/640 sec, ISO 250, spot metering
Out of Body Experience
Northern Harrier
This is a Northern Harrier taken before sunrise at San Bernard NWR. Took it hand held out the car window while waiting for a flock of geese to blast off. Used shutter priority at 1/6 sec to get a blurred shot. This one turned out looking like a double exposure. Converted it to B&W in photoshop since there was very little color anyway.
Canon 7D with 100-400 lens
F13 @ 1/6 sec, +1 exp compensation, spot metering, ISO 200
Skimmers in a Blur
Black Skimmers
Since I’ve been having fun lately with slow shutter speeds, thought that I’d try it out with some Black Skimmers. Found several hundred of them hanging out at the east end of Galveston Island in the windy, cold weather (relatively speeking). They were in two different groups and would blast off every 10 minutes or so. Took this shot panning with the flock at 1/8 sec on shutter priority.
Canon 7D with 100-400 lens out the car window
F16 @ 1/8 sec, +1 exp compensation, ISO 100
Reddish Egret Silhouette
Almost didn’t get this photo of the Reddish Egret because I didn’t follow one of my own rules for wildlife photograhy: ” look behind you”. I had been laying down shooting other birds when a couple of wade fisherman came walking up behind me and scared away all of the birds. Really ticked me off but I stuck around for a while longer but the birds didn’t come back, or so I though. Was about to get up when I remembered the look behind you rule and found this Reddish Egret. He was not in the traditional “have the sun at your back” position to get a good shot. I tend to ignore tradition and love back lit and silhouette shots so I fired away. He caught a fish and I was able to get this shot by firing off a burst.
Taken with Canon 40D and 100-400 lens on ground pod
F5.6 @ 1/1000 sec, ISO 160, 400mm, evaluative metering
Avocets at Sunrise
American Avocets
Here is another one of my favorite shots from Bolivar Flats. This was taken just after sunrise while wading out into the Gulf. I had just bought a pair of waders to use in the winter to keep my lower half dry while laying in the wet sand taking bird photos. I also finally figured out using my infinite wisdom that they also work to actually “wade” out into the water. So with my new found intelligence, I started to walk off shore before sunrise to get close to the birds flying by. On this particular morning, the water was very calm and almost like glass, which is rare for the Gulf. I was about 100 yds off shore when this group of American Avocets flew very close to me. Got this full frame shot while hand holding the camera with the ground pod attached.
Taken with Canon 40D and 100-400 lens
F5.6 @ 1/4000 sec, ISO 200, spot metering
Blast Off
Here is a blast off of geese from San Bernard NWR. There were a few thousand of them hanging out in a pond near the road. Got there about 1/2 hr before sunrise. They all lifted off at once just after sunrise. Took this shot out the car window. Slowed the action down by using shutter priority at 1/6 sec. Panned with the birds and got lots of blur with some more defined heads of the geese. The wind was just right and they flew directly in front of me. Bailed out of the car to get more shots as they flew by. I love the sight and sound of the blast off. I’m always tempted to take a video of the blast off with my 7D but don’t want to pass up the still shots.
Some favorites from 2010
Welcome to my new blog. For the first post, I wanted to show some of my favorite photos from 2010. It was a great year for taking pictures in SE Texas. I’m looking forward to more fun in 2011. Click on the photos to see larger images along with a description for each photo.
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- Yellow Crowned Night Heron
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- White Morph Reddish Egret
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- White Morph and Reddish Egret
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- Willet
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- Great Egret
Tim Timmis Photography 
