Brown Pelican as a Fishbowl
Found this Brown Pelican fishing off of the Texas City dike. It’s fun to watch them dive into the water and then to see what they come up with. He was getting harassed by a laughing gull that would stand on his head waiting for him to come up with fish to steal.
Got this shot after the gull flew off with a fish. The back-lighting helps with showing off the veins in his beak. This little fish didn’t have a chance but popped up to get his picture taken.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out my car window
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
My Favorite Photos from 2016
As 2016 comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on this year. From a work/personal perspective, it was a very busy year with less time for photography than normal for me. From a photography perspective, there were fewer local trips but more trips outside of the Houston area including California, Lubbock TX and the Valley area in SW Texas. Galveston’s FeatherFest in April was a blast as always.
My goals for 2017 are to continue to expand my photography reach beyond Texas and to also try to get back to my roots more often around the Gulf coast area.
Thanks to everyone that checked out my blog and special thanks to those who commented on my photos.
Hope that everyone has a fun and safe new year’s celebration.
Here are some of my favorite posted photos from 2016.
Juvenile Caracara in Flight
Hope that everyone had a great Christmas yesterday. Didn’t feel like that time of year in the Houston area with mid 70’s deg F temperatures and very humid. Looking forward to some cold weather in January.
Here are some more Caracara shots from my last trip to Santa Clara ranch. They were taken at the raptor blind as the birds were coming in to perch.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on trip with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm 
Caracara Head Tilt
It’s always very cool to see how far Caracaras can bend their head back. There are times that it’s a challenge to move my head side to side, let alone try this one. Very flexible raptor.
Used negative exposure compensation to keep from blowing out the whites in his neck.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
Caracara Wingspan at Sunrise
Caught this Crested Caracara as he was coming in for a landing at the Santa Clara Ranch raptor blind. Taken with my 100-400 II lens, which worked very well on this trip.
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 400mm
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Green Jay vs. Bee
This Green Jay was distracted by a bee doing a fly-by, which made for an interesting photo.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
More Harris Hawks
Here are a few more Harris Hawk photos from last weekend.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II lens or Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/6400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/4000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Harris Hawk Landing
Made another trip to Santa Clara Ranch in south Texas over the weekend. Had a great time, as always. Thanks Hector. Finally got to experience the raptor blind and it was awesome. With a somewhat slow start, the action picked up with Scott and I maxing out with 10 raptors at the same time with a couple of Harris Hawks and the rest being Caracara.
Started out using my 100-400 lens and later switched to the 500. Got several decent flight shots and wing spread photos when they came in to land. This juvenile Harris Hawk put on a good show.
I’d go back just for the raptors. Hope to make another trip next year.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400mm II lens, mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 400mm
Reddish Egret vs. Great White Egret
While taking photos of a Reddish Egret fishing, a Great Egret flew in to challenge the Reddish for the best fishing spot. The Great Egret won this confrontation.
Although the sun was reflecting off of the water, had use positive exposure compensation to get lighted up the birds. It blew out the water but it still works.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Dance of the Reddish Egret in B&W
Partial sun turned into a cloudy morning at Bolivar Flats along the Gulf of Mexico. The colors were somewhat muted so I converted these into B&W to bring out the feather detail.
Watching Reddish Egrets dance around while fishing is always a good time and provides some great photo opportunities. This egret was very energetic and would launch himself out of the water to look for unsuspecting fish as the tide was slowly receding. In the last shot, he got all puffed up while chasing a white morph reddish egret away.
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, 1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
White Morph Reddish Egret
Found two White Morph Reddish Egrets at Bolivar Flats last weekend while guiding my old buddy Newton. He brought along Ruth Hoyt, who is an excellent professional photographer/guide at south Texas ranches, like Laguna Seca, where I first met her. It was great to see both of them again.
The tide wasn’t low but the birds were out in force. We started with a group of Willets and other small shorebirds with a lone Avocet nearby. There was a group of Avocets within striking distance but they were spooked and took off.
Spotted a couple of Reddish Egrets further down the shoreline and headed that direction. The Reddish Egrets weren’t very active initially so Newton and I headed back up the shoreline to a group of Black Skimmers.
We then spotted at least two White Morph Reddish Egrets back down the shoreline so we headed back in that direction. Lots of up and down on this trip. Found two White Morph’s and two Reddish Egrets along with one Great Egret standing around. They eventually started to catch fish with one of the Reddish Egret’s trying to chase the two white morph’s away.
This White Morph was striking some nice poses with his feathers all perked up as he was checking out the other egrets.
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 @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
F-35 Stealth Fighter Over the Moon
It was a very busy weekend with my trigger finger needing some well deserved rest. Between two days at Wings Over Houston air show and going to Bolivar Flats for the first time in several months, ended up taking over 11,000 photos over the last three days.
Friday started out with Doug, David and I taking photos of the abbreviated special show for Wings Over Houston. The Blue Angels were back in Houston to show off their precision flying skills. A first for Houston was the new F-35 Lightening stealth fighter, which was on static display and participated in the heritage flight with a P-47 Thunderbolt and a F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The moon was still out on Friday morning, which made for a cool back drop for this photo of the F-35 and the P-47. Converted it to B&W to help bring out the detail in the moon. When the F-35 took off, it looked like a F-22 Raptor from a distance. Can’t wait to see it perform during an airshow.
Went inside the gates on Saturday to get some close-up shots of the F-35 and the usual array of aircraft on static display and when they performed. More air show posts to come as there were too many photos to go through after a most excellent weekend of photography.
I’ll also be posting some shorebird photos from Bolivar with the action being off of the charts. It’s prime time for Bolivar and I’ll be a frequent visitor there this fall/winter.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II, handheld at 500mm
1/2000 sec @ F 6.3, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Lying Eye Level with an Alligator
It’s been several months since I’ve been to Brazos Bend State Park so I got up last Sunday morning and decided to head that direction to check out the local wildlife. It was very dead from a bird perspective. The weeds growing in 40 acre lake have killed most of the action along the trail on the north side of the lake . Luckily found this alligator lying along the trail.
Took the first shot from a standing position with my tripod to give the perspective of him near the trail but thought that it was a boring photo. Got closer and took my camera off of the tripod and went down on one knee for a little lower shot. Didn’t like that one either so ended up lying on the trail to get the second shot, handholding my camera/500mm lens. Only minor cropping to panoramic format. Needed elbow pads for that one.
The gator looked pretty calm so I walked past him on the left side of the trail. He didn’t move his body but raised his toes up off of the ground as I walked by, which was interesting. Got to the other side and laid down on the trail again for the last photo.
Getting down low works great for gators as well as birds, as long as they are well fed….
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F 4.5, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F 5, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F 10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
White Tipped Dove
White tipped doves don’t really show how colorful they really are until they extend their wings. Very beautiful birds.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F 6.3, ISO 1600, spot metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F 6.3, ISO 1600, spot metering, 500mm
Owl Tender Landing
This Burrowing Owl tried to land in this thorny bush but didn’t stick around long. Kept his wings flapping for some good photo op’s. I’m gonna miss these little owls.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out my car window.
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Guess Who?
This juvenile Burrowing Owl seems unphased by his sibling jumping on her back. Got several shots of the encounter with him reaching around and looking like he was trying to kiss her and then they fell over.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out my car window
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 6400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Intimidation
Here are more photos of Burrowing Owls trying to intimidate prairie dogs that got too close. They do a great job of expanding their body size with their feathers, which makes for some cool photo op’s. Hoping to get the opportunity to see them again.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out my car window
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
Burrowing Owl’s Crazy Eyes
This would have been a good post for Halloween with the fully dilated eyes of this Burrowing Owl. He got all puffed up and stared down this prairie dog that got a little too close.
Saw this behavior a few times this summer but this was the only one with the owl looking in my direction.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window
Drinking Roadrunner
The roadrunners were the highlight of my last trip to Santa Clara Ranch in south Texas in June. On the last day, they were very cooperative and came to the pond to drink. Up close, they are very beautiful birds.
On the last photo, you can see the reflection of the pond in the water drop. They scoup up the water in their bill and tilt their head back to drink.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head in a photo blind
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 500mm
Bronzed Cowbird
One of my favorite birds from my last trip to Santa Clara Ranch was the Bronzed Cowbird. They have a bronzed iridescence and their eyes turn red during breeding season. When trying to impress a potential mate, the male will vibrate his wings and hover in the air a few feet off of the ground. Got lucky on the last day and caught that behavior with the last two photos.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II on Wimberley II gimbal head mounted on a tripod
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Pyrrhuloxia
Had to look up the spelling on this bird. Related to the Northern Cardinal, the Pyrrhuloxia thrives in the desert southwest. They were very skittish and didn’t stick around long so I was very pleased to get these shots, especially the wingspan shot of the female.
Took these photos at Santa Clara Ranch in SW Texas in June.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on a tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head from a photography blind
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F5.0, ISO 1600, spot metering
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F6.3, ISO 1600, spot metering
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F6.3, ISO 3200, evaluative metering
Burrowing Owl Portrait
This juvenile Burrowing Owl was hanging out near the fence line where I was taking photos. Moved my car up close to him and shot away for about 10 min as he was trying to stay awake.
He finally moved for the second photo but there was a blurred out barbed wire fence right above him so I cropped it tighter.
Had to use negative exposure compensation to keep from blowing out the whites on his chest.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 II II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Dive Bombing an Osprey
Had lots of fun taking Osprey photos on my Indiana trip. Their nest was still active with two large chicks along with two protective parents.
The parents had some challenges when flying as several small birds would chase and dive bomb them. It was obvious when the Osprey would take an abrupt turn that they were being chased. Made for some interesting flight shots.
Ended up using all focus points as it was a challenge to keep a single focus point on the fast moving action.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II lens, handheld
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Great Horned Owl
Made my summer trek back home to Indiana a couple of weeks ago with limited expectations from a wildlife photography perspective. We usually go in June when the Osprey’s are nesting and there is an abundance of Sandhill cranes in the area. Therefore, I left my 500mm lens at home and traveled light with my 100-400 II lens.
To my surprise, the Osprey’s were still around along with some Sandhill cranes. Best of all, found this Great Horned Owl along a dirt back road.
Just after sunrise, I was driving along my usual route when a bird caught my eye with just a glimpse of something flying just under the tree canopy as it spread over the road going up a hill. I crested the hill and saw the bird gliding very low about one foot above the road. Thought to myself that it wasn’t a hawk but had to be an owl. He flew up into a tree near the road. When my car got closer, he flew away and continued down the road. As he approached an intersection with a paved road, I thought that he was going to get hit by a car if he continued his path but he took a quick right turn before getting to the stop sign.
Drove very slow while scanning the area when I spotted him lying in the grass along the road on my right side. Had to go past him and turn the car around to get into position for some photos. The first photo shows what he looked like after I turned around. Slowly inched the car forward to try to get to a better position with the grass out of his face. Made it to that position but there was some trash just on the left side of his head. Had to move again to get the trash behind his head.
Had to remove my teleconverter and use ISO to 10,000 to get my shutter speed above 100. Luckily he stuck around for 10 minutes which allowed me enough time to remove the teleconverter and get several photos. On my computer, I can see the reflection of my car in his beautiful eyes.
Aperture priority, 1/80 sec @ F8, ISO 12,800, evaluative metering, 560mm
Aperture priority, 1/125 sec @ F5.6, ISO 10,000, evaluative metering, 400mm
Tim Timmis Photography 