Whale Tails
My second whale watching trip last week brought sunny skies and record numbers of whale sightings. There was an abundance of krill in the area so the whales were out in force with 265 spotted on Sunday. Typical sightings this time of year are 10 to 15 whales on the four hour trip. They reported over 120 humpback whales on my Tuesday trip. It was very cool to get lucky enough to see so many whales. They were spouting and slapping tails everywhere we looked.
Here is an article from a local paper about the high whale counts.
Catching the whales diving with their tails in the air as they ready for a dive is always a good photo op. This day was more challenging with the rougher seas. The boat was rocking severely, especially when stationary. Had to try to lean on the rail, which was waist high, while trying to get the shot. Had to keep grabbing the rail to keep from falling over.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II lens, handheld, 400mm with minimal cropping
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/4000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 640, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Breaching Humpback Whale
Made a trip to Monterey Bay in California last weekend for some whale watching with my daughter. Went back again on Tuesday as it’s very addictive. On Saturday’s trip, we saw 10 humpback whales, 3 blue whales and 1 fin whale. It was foggy/cloudy but still made for some decent photography.
Got to check one photo off my bucket list when this humpback jumped out of the water. It was very cool to see and was hoping that I got the shot as it happened very quickly.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II lens, handheld
Aperture priority, 1/4000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Roadrunner Stare-Down
He must have been wondering where the machine gun fire was coming from nearby.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with Wimberley II gimbal head on a tripod.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Roadrunner Close-up
During my recent trip to Santa Clara Ranch, our goal was to see bobcats that have been frequenting the ponds lately. The ponds in front of the blinds are the only water source on the ranch so they attract lots of wildlife, especially during the hot summer months.
It was looking very promising for us with the previous visitors seeing bobcats at multiple blinds. Our hopes were dashed when it rained on both days. With water available elsewhere on the ranch, the cats didn’t show up. Bummer…
However, we did hit the jackpot on roadrunners. Our guide, Hector Astorga, is an expert at getting roadrunners to come into the blind area. He was calling one with his voice and it tried to come down the stairs into the blind.
This Greater Roadrunner eventually made his way to the pond and started drinking. He was too close for full body shots at the pond so I kept my focus on his eye for head shots. They are beautiful birds that are very colorful and look a little prehistoric, in my opinion.
More photos to follow with direct eye contact and drinking out of the pond.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head from a sunken blind
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Female Painted Bunting at Laguna Seca Ranch
Made another trip to south Texas last week for some photo blind photography. Had a great time as usual. Thanks again Scott for the invitation and Richard for the six-hour ride down south. Spent Friday morning at Laguna Seca Ranch and Saturday/Sunday at Santa Clara Ranch.
It was a little toasty sitting in the blinds with the temps around 98 deg F in the afternoons but it wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Just felt like another warm summer day in the Houston area. Although, I’m not usually sitting in a box at those temp’s, but it was well worth it.
Larry Ditto was our guide at Laguna Seca . It was great to spend some quality time with Larry again as our paths usually only cross briefly at Galveston’s FeatherFest.
The activity was slow on Friday but there were still lots of birds around. We saw some of the usual suspects, including painted buntings, bobwhite quail, green jays, cardinals, bronzed cowbirds, thrashers, etc.
We only saw one of the brightly colored male buntings for a few seconds but there were several female buntings that came up to the water. It’s always fun to shoot off a burst of photos while they are bathing.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.0, ISO 3200, spot metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.0, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Backlit Jackrabbit
Found this jackrabbit running across a field while taking photos of prairie dogs. He stopped and looked at me for a few seconds and then took off. Thought that he was long gone when he appeared right next me.
The back lighting worked well for his oversized ears.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out my car window.
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F7.1, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 700mm
Bobwhite Quail
The call of distant quail seemed to be everywhere on this morning in Lubbock, TX. They move quickly and are very fast runners, which makes it challenging to get photos of them. Did a little stalking and was able to get some photos of these elusive birds.
On the last photo, used the back-focus button to lock focus on the bird and then repositioned my lens to get both rows of barbed wire in the photo with the quail in the left third of the shot, i.e. rule of thirds.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 2/3 exposure compensation
Prairie Dogs
This is my 400th post since starting my blog in Jan 2011. Thanks again Sheldon for talking me into doing it. With 166 followers and over 67,000 hits, it’s been a very good time and thanks everyone for checking it out.
Here are some of my original targets from my trip to Lubbock, TX – prairie dogs. They are cute little critters that I’m sure drive farmers crazy with all of their burrows in the fields. They were very photogenic and would come out just after sunrise.
The youngsters were getting older but still fun to watch interacting with their parents. I missed the money shot as one got too close to a burrowing owl and the owl attacked him. Maybe next time…
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out my car window
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2000, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Burrowing Owls
During my visit to Lubbock, TX a couple of weeks ago, saw my first burrowing owls while checking out the local prairie dogs. They are very cute little owls with bright yellow eyes that use abandoned prairie dog burrows.
Pulled my car up along a fence line and shot between the rows of barbed wire out the car window. It was lots of fun and I’m looking forward to going back again sometime in the future.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F6.3, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2000, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2000, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F6.3, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
My First Jackrabbit
Got my first jackrabbit photos while in Lubbock, TX this week. They are actually hares and not rabbits and are much larger than the common cottontail with very large ears. They almost look like a mutant with those large back legs/feet, which propels them very fast, up to 40 mph.
The first two photos were taken in partly cloudy conditions while I was getting photos of prairie dogs and burrowing owls out my car window. He walked out right in front of me, very unexpected. He sat down long enough for a few shots and then took off.
On the last two photos, he bolted out in front of my car as I was leaving the area. Couldn’t get a good angle on him so got out of my car and got these photos hand-held as he crossed the dirt road.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window.
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Reddish Egret Attacking Snowy Egret
Reddish Egrets are very territorial and will usually chase off other birds that invade their feeding area. This Snowy egret got more than he bargained for when the Reddish Egret attacked. He quickly dove at the Snowy and grabbed ahold of his tail feathers, swinging him around. He then grabbed the Snow’s head with his beak pinning him in the water. The Snowy ended up escaping and didn’t come back.
Made for some exciting shooting with 37 photos in 3 seconds.
Previewed the last photo at a presentation that I made at the Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association on Wed night, which was also a great time.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter and a beanbag out the car window.
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret Jackpot
It’s been a very good year for Reddish Egrets in SE Texas. Hit the jackpot on Saturday morning at the Texas City Dike. My original plan was to head to Bolivar Flats with low tide and almost calm winds. Luckily, I wasn’t feeling Bolivar and decided to head to the Dike instead looking for Oystercatchers. It was a bust for Oystercatchers, which turned out to be a very good thing for me.
This Reddish Egret more than made up for it while fishing in a tidal pool area. Spent about 45 min taking tons of photos of him out my car window as he moved back and forth catching small fish with his wings outstretched. Had to switch my position once when a family pulled up and unloaded their car near me. Finally left after the action slowed down and my thumb was getting sore from using the rear focus button.
A Snowy Egret also showed up to catch fish in the same area but the Reddish Egret was having none of that and attacked the Snowy. More on that in my next post.
I could tell that this was a good outing by how many photos that I took and ended up saving. In order to reduce how many photos that I have to store, I’ll rate them using Photoshop, by either 3 or 5 stars, and then quickly delete the ones that aren’t rated. I’ll consider processing some of the 5-star rated shots with only a handful actually being processed. A typical outing for me results in 25 to 50 top rated photos. This was a very good day with 334 top rated shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, using a beanbag out the car window.
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Reddish Close-up
This Reddish Egret walked around us at FeatherFest during my Ground Level Photography field trip. He was too close for a full bird shot so got these head shots with minor cropping.
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.
Update: I’ve added copies of the original uncropped photos to show how cropping is a necessity sometimes when there are distracting backgrounds. In this case, we were shooting back towards our cars parked on the beach.
Original photo:
Cropped photo:
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Original photo:
Cropped photo:
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Oystercatcher Action
The goal of my trip to the Texas City Dike last weekend was to find Oystercatchers. Didn’t find any in the usual spot so I kept driving down the 5 mile long dike looking along the rocks on the north side. Got a glimpse of something white on a bird and pulled off of the road to check it out. Found 4 Oystercatchers walking along the rocks. They would jump/fly from rock to rock, which provided some nice photo op’s with outstretched wings.
Ended up following them for about 45 minutes until a 5th Oystercatcher flew in. They then displayed “piping” behavior (last photo) for a few minutes and then all five flew off together.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter out the car window using a photography beanbag for support.
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F9, IS 1600, evaluative metering
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F10, IS 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F10, IS 800, evaluative metering, – 1/3 exposure compensation
The Making of a Bird Silhouette
Spent last Sunday at sunrise hanging out at the Texas City Dike with tons of birds including Avocets, Black Skimmers, Black Crowned Night Herons and some very cooperative American Oystercatchers. More on the Oystercatchers later.
While trying to find the Oystercatchers, came upon this Great Blue Heron standing on some rocks. Thought that I could turn this into a decent shot but knew that the sun reflecting off of the water behind him was going to be a challenge. From instinct, bumped up the exposure compensation to +1 as the camera’s light meter was going to automatically darken the scene due to the bright background. Checked the histogram and saw that the bird still wasn’t properly exposed per the first photo below. It was going to take a lot more positive exposure compensation to be the Heron looking good, which would have really blown out the background.
Instead, decided to turn this into a silhouette shot. Backed my car up so that the sun reflection was directly behind him. Lowered the ISO to 100, removed all exposure compensation and let the light meter in my camera automatically darken the scene as it was very bright. Was very pleased with the result on the first try. Checked my histogram expecting that a little negative exposure compensation could be needed but it wasn’t. Another silhouette for my portfolio.
Used the back focus button on my camera to set the focus on the bird and then reframed the shot to get him in the right third of the photo.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter, hand-held out the car window using a camera bean bag
Original photo: Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Silhouette photo: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F10, ISO 100, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation
Sanderling Steals the Show
Ironically, with Avocets and full frame shots of Reddish Egrets in abundance, one of my favorite photos from last weekend’s FeatherFest ground level field trip on Saturday was this little Sanderling. I’m always looking for small shorebirds when they are bathing and preening trying to get their beaks sticking straight up in the air. Scored with this one.
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 @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation
Galveston FeatherFest 2016
FeatherFest in Galveston, TX was held this past week and it was a great success. This was my fourth year being a photography event leader with four classroom workshops and three field trips this year. Had lots of fun and got to meet some great people with several repeat photographers from previous years. Thanks to everyone that participated. Special thanks to Scott, Julie Ann, Barbara, the liaisons and all of the volunteers. They made the leaders days go very smooth.
The weather didn’t fully cooperate but the birds sure did. I was amazed at how well the field trips went with the cloudy and sometimes extremely windy weather. I’m hoping that everyone on the field trips had a good time and got some great photos. Can’t wait to do it again next year but my ‘ol body needs a little rest first.
Shore Bird field trip on Friday
On Friday, we had a great time with photographing shore birds on Galveston Island. Since it was cloudy when we got to the jetty on East Beach at sunrise, I encouraged the group to take blurred photos. The usual flock of black skimmers launched for us several times, providing lots of practice for birds in flight and blurred photos, some of which are shown below.
We stopped at the east end of the island to see a few boring Avocets, some other shore birds and a cooperative Reddish Egret, which is always a good time.
We then headed to 19th St. pier to check out the Pelicans near the fishing boats. There were lots of photo op’s of the pelicans and a lone Black Crowned Night Heron. The colors of the Brown Pelicans were amazing but I ended up converting the photo below to B&W based on the texture of their perch and their wings.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 100-400 II, handheld
Black Skimmers: Shutter priority, 1/10 sec @ F 16, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Black Skimmers: Shutter priority, 1/10 sec @ F 16, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Willet: Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure
Brown Pelicans: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation. Converted to B&W using NIK Silver Effects Pro (which is now free!!)
Ground Level Photography field trip on Saturday
On Saturday, it was off to Bolivar Flats for some good old fashion down and dirty bird photography using ground pods. Even though it was supposed to be low tide, the high winds from the south drove the surf to near the shore line. However, there was a flock of Avocets right next to the parking area and we enjoyed some great photo op’s. After about an hour, we got up (thankfully from my body’s perspective) and went down the shoreline to another group of Avocets and Royal Terns. We laid down but there was a ridge of seaweed blocking the view of the birds. We were cutting off the legs of the birds in our photos. With no other good option, we practiced doing some belly crawling to try to get on a higher section of sand adjacent to the water, with limited success.
The shooting wasn’t ideal so we headed back to our original location as there were no other birds in sight down the shoreline. Unfortunately, the Avocets spooked and flew away before we could get into position. I instructed the group to lay down and wait for them to come back as it was a good location, considering the conditions. The Avocets didn’t come back but a Reddish Egret ended up landed right in front of us. It was very sweet. He put on a very good show for us, although he was too close for me at times at 700mm, which is a good problem to have.
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
American Avocet: 1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation; full frame shot
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation
Ground Level Photography field trip on Sunday
It was obvious going into the weekend that Sunday was going to be challenging with the weather forecast of storms all day. Got up at 3:30 a.m. to check the radar with no rain in the Galveston area, which was very good news. However, it was raining off and on during on my drive to Galveston. Made the 6:00 a.m. ferry and met the group on the Bolivar side. I was hoping for the best based on Saturday’s outing but it was very windy (20 to 30 mph), which is usually a kiss of death at Bolivar Flats for birds being along the shoreline.
The first challenge hit when we turned onto the road to the beach and found that it was flooded. Put my boots on and walked the road with Kevin and confirmed that there was only a few inches of water on the road. We found the second challenge when we got to the beach and found that the beach was flooded and we couldn’t make it to the “flats”. What could have been a major bust turned out to be a great outing with finding a couple of Oystercatchers, several Avocets and a Reddish Egret along the shoreline near the entrance to the beach.
We geared up and got down and dirty with our ground pods. Always leery of getting too close and spooking the birds, I kept the group back a ways to start. We then ended up belly crawling closer pushing our ground pods along in the sand. I could tell that Kevin was really getting into it as he ended up in the water ahead of the rest of the group. We eventually caught up with him and enjoyed some good shooting.
Then the third challenge hit when someone pulled up in a car with two kids and walked very close to the Reddish Egret to collect shells along the beach. Some people have no clue. The Terns scattered but luckily, the egret didn’t fly away. I’ve learned over the years to not get too angry at clueless people but to take advantage of the situation. Seeing that the Egret was more interesting in feeding than people, I got the group up and we shifted to be closer/more in line with where the egret was feeding. It was a very good move as we were able to get very close to him and he ended up walking right by us at one point.
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
American Avocets: 1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 1/3 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 1/3 exposure compensation. Full frame shot with being cropped to vertical format.
Splish Splash
This male Northern Cardinal was busy taking a bath on my last trip to Santa Clara ranch in south Texas. Made a cool subject to photograph from the recessed blind that was almost level with the pond.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II
1/1250 sec @ F 8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Happy Easter
Seems like an appropriate day to post this rabbit photo from my trip to Santa Clara ranch last year. While taking bird photos from a blind, this bunny hopped out in front of us and did a nice pose. He was too close for a full body photo so I got this head shot.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/250 sec @ F4, ISO 6400, evaluative metering
Avocet Wearing Water
Bathing birds can provide for some good photo op’s. With a high shutter speed, froze the action when he came up out of the water. Captured the water going over his head and body. Always a good time seeing these birds up close.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod
manual exposure, 1/1600 sec @ F10, ISO 400, spot metering, 700mm
High Hopes Dashed…Activated Plan B
After a tiring work week, it was a challenge to drag my old carcass out of bed early on Saturday. However, calm winds in Galveston coaxed me out of bed at 4:00 a.m. and I headed to the gulf coast. The last two trips have been less than stellar with the tide being too low, which spreads out the birds with Avocets nowhere to be found. Had high hopes on the way to Galveston with seeing the distant water vapor from Texas City plant stacks going straight up with no wind. The clouds were a gorgeous pre-dawn red color as the ferry approached Bolivar. All promising signs.
Geared up in my waders and headed out across the flats as the sun started to break over the gulf. That sight in itself made the trip worthwhile. Found a flock of Avocets nearby. Walked slowly towards them and laid down in order to not spook them. Started belly crawling to get closer when some birds to my left took off. Looked behind me and saw two wade fisherman walking along the shoreline, which is not a good sign for getting good bird photos. As anticipated, they ignored what I was doing and walked out into the water and headed straight towards the Avocets, per the photo below. Needless to say, my Avocet high hopes for the day were dashed.
With my prime targets flying away, had to come up with a plan B. After looking around at my options, decided to move closer to the water line and wait it out, hoping that the birds would return. No Avocets but the Willets and a Yellowlegs cooperated for me. Frustration turned into some decent shots and incentive to go back again another day. A slow morning at Bolivar is 100 times better than sitting at home.
On the way back to the car, got a chance to talk to a couple of other bird photographers, which is always a good time.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod and Wimberley II gimbal head.
My original target – flock of American Avocets
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation
My two new best friends…
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation
Willets with some nice crossed beak action
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 2/3 exposure compensation
Yellowlegs checking me out with some direct eye contact
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 1 exposure compensation
Elegant but Sad
I really like the elegant curved wing position of this Royal Tern photo but my feelings are tempered by the scene that unfolded before Newton and I on this outing. While lying on the beach at high tide taking photos of Terns and some smaller shore birds, this Royal Tern appeared in front of us flapping his wings in and out of the water trying to make it to shore. He eventually made it to dry land but appeared to have an injured leg. We couldn’t see any obvious reason for his injury. Very sad…
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 @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
White Pelican Line-up
These White Pelicans were feeding close to my position and provided a nice line-up to photograph.
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, 1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret
Found this Reddish Egret hanging out close to the car while walking back from seeing the Peregrine Falcon per my last post. He walked along a sandbar and turned to check us out and then continued on his way.
It was later in the morning so the light was harsh but he still made a good photo op. Had to crank up the exposure compensation on the second shot to keep it from becoming a silhouette with the sun behind him.
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 @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 2/3 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 