Caught this Snowy Egret as he was coming in for a landing while fishing. He ended up catching the fish but his landing poses made for better photos.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500MM F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1250 sec @ F14, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation
1/1250 sec @ F14, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation
Made my first trip back to Bolivar Flats yesterday since Galveston’s FeatherFest in April. Took a new client along to show him the ropes of getting down and dirty shooting shorebirds. He got up close and personal with some birds along with the sand of Bolivar. Good job Newton.
It felt really good to get back out there and luckily the tide/winds cooperated, along with the birds. We found the usual suspects, along with two Reddish Egrets and a White Morph Reddish Egret.
Reddish Egrets are very territorial and this one chased a juvenile away right in front of us. Got a series of 64 photos of this chase. Changed to all focus points during the action to make sure that they would stay in focus. Only needed some minor cropping on these 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.
All photos are Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Make my second trip to see the Swallow-tailed Kites in Dayton, TX this morning. Found one in the usual location but this time he was sitting at the top of a tree. He dove off of the tree and soared around and eventually caught up with another Kite. Tried to catch him going past the moon but just missed it.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on tripod
1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Found the Swallow-tailed Kites near Dayton, TX again this year. Saw six of them up high with only one of them coming in closer. They catch insects and eat them while soaring with their large wings. Will have to make another trip one of these weekends.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld
1/2500 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Headed to Brazoria NWR on Saturday to check out the Wood Storks. Thanks for the tip Doug. Slept in until 4:15 a.m. (not kidding) and headed to the NWR for some sunrise shooting. The Storks typically aren’t there at sunrise so I had some time to check out the other birds in the area.
Found more Yellow Crowned Night Herons than I’ve ever seen on one spot before, around 100. Most appeared to be juveniles. My first reaction was that I already had too many YCNH shots, until I saw that they were feeding on crawfish. Turned out to be a very good time. Got about 50 shots in this series as he dove in for the catch and eventually flew to the road to chug him down.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window
1/800 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
1/2500 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
This little Mexican Ground Squirrel put on a good show at Laguna Seca Ranch. It was very cool to see him climb one of the perches and then come get a drink out of the pond.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
Made my first trip to the Dow Chemical plant in Freeport, TX last weekend for their annual open house to see some of the 2000 Black Skimmers that are nesting in the middle of their plant. They have one of the largest nesting colonies along the gulf coast and they have done a great job of maintaining the nesting area in an old parking lot in the plant since the late 1960’s.
http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0503/kac0503-1.html
It’s not an ideal set up for bird photography but it was very cool to see that many Skimmers in one location and get a few photos. They apparently started nesting late this year with all of the rain in SE Texas so there were very few chicks to be seen.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/4000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering
1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
1/640 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
It’s been almost 2 months since I’ve taken any wildlife photos so it felt great to break out the camera again last weekend. On my way to see the Dow Skimmers in Freeport, TX, headed to Brazoria NWR to check out the action at sunrise. The NWR had an abundance of water, which leads to fewer photo op’s for shorebirds. Was hoping for some Wood Storks but none were to be seen at sunrise.
My best luck came on the drive into the refuge when I spotted this Caracara along the paved entry road. Had to turn around and slowly approach him with my car. They can spook easily so didn’t want to get too close to him. Took a few photos and then moved closer. He checked out his feathers and flew off to another perch. Tracked him down one more time for the last shot and went further into the NWR.
The sun had not come out yet from behind the clouds so had to crank the ISO up to 3200 to get any decent shutter speeds. Used positive exposure compensation on the first two shots with the bright sky in the background. Used some noise reduction on the second shot but not on the first and last photo. It would be very hard to go back to my old 7D.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window
1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/160 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/200 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
This male Northern Cardinal was striking a good pose with a clean background.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 