Found this Northern Harrier at Bolivar Flats while taking shorebird photos. Tracked him from my prone position as he flew along the shoreline for a good series of shots. This photo is my favorite pose but sometimes you can’t control the backgrounds.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Here are a couple of Reddish Egret photo’s from last weekend at Bolivar Flats. Found this bird while walking along the beach back to my car. Wasn’t really in the mood to lay down again as my neck was hurting but am glad that I did. He was waiting patiently for fish to swim by with his neck retracted close to his body. He stuck it out a couple of times which made for a more interesting photo. In the first shot, he was probably wondering who the idiot was lying on the ground taking his picture. That would be me…
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/400 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/400 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
It felt like going home again when visiting Bolivar Flats last weekend. My favorite place to take shorebird photos, it has been almost 6 months since my last visit in April when leading a workshop at Galveston’s Featherfest. The weather, tide and my schedule finally cooperated, so it was off to Bolivar.
Saw the usual suspects including a reddish egret, great blue heron, white pelicans, avocets, sanderlings, snowy egret, etc. This Long Billed Curlew got his feathers ruffled, but not at my presence. He didn’t see me while I was lying down with the ground pod shooting away as he walked back and forth in front of me. This was very close to a full framed shot with using my teleconverter to get some extra reach. The sun was behind the clouds at sunrise but eventually peaked out.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/400 sec @ F9, ISO 500, evaluative metering, 700mm
My goal is always to get up close and personal with wildlife but this encounter was a little too close for comfort.
While taking my usual early morning tour of the Indiana countryside while on vacation, I rounded a corner while looking off to the left in a large field to see if any Sandhills were waiting for me. No luck on the left but suddenly caught a glimpse of something coming quickly from my right and three Sandhill cranes were flying right in front of my car. I locked up the brakes on the dirt road and missed them by a couple of feet at most. My reflexes are apparently still in tact as I was able to quickly hit the brakes and grab my camera on the seat at the same time to keep it from crashing into the dashboard. My life didn’t flash before my eyes but what did was the thought of having to tell my dad that I wrecked his car after getting hit by some very large birds. Luckily, that didn’t happen.
They were hanging out in the ditch on the right side of the road and darted in front of me. Apparently the family truckster, aka SUV, wasn’t very intimidating as they landed just on the other side of the road to my left. Grabbed my camera and started shooting. They were too close at 700mm so ended up taking off the teleconverter after several close-up’s. They gradually walked further away and were the subjects for my previous silhouette post once the sun poked through the fog.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld out the car window.
1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 700mm
With some early morning fog and backlighting, these Sandhill Cranes were made for silhouettes. Since I’m a major fan of wildlife silhouettes, didn’t take much arm twisting to get me to take advantage of the opportunity. Used negative exposure compensation to darken the scene and enhance the shot. Taken handheld out the car window.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens and 1.4x III teleconverter
1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
Made a trip home to north eastern Indiana recently to visit family. It was later in the year than we usually go so wasn’t sure what to expect from a wildlife photography perspective. Was pleasantly surprised with the abundance of Sandhill Cranes that were near Mongo, IN. Went out several mornings at sunrise to find them. It was down to 37 deg F in the mornings, which felt great. Such a nice change from the Houston heat.
This was my first trip home with my 500mm lens. Had to drag it around the week before while on a business trip before heading to Indiana. It was worth the effort as I needed the extra reach with most of the shots. Didn’t have room in my suitcase for my tripod so had to handhold it.
Got a little too up close and personal with the Sandhill’s as I almost hit three of them with my car. More on that later…
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens, handheld
1/20 sec @ F4, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
1/125 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering
On my last trip to Brazos Bend State park a few weeks ago, there was very little bird action except for this one lone Anhinga at Elm Lake. He was drying out in their typical wings out pose. Walked behind him and had to move off of the trail to try to get a full framed shot with my 500mm lens. With the sun directly behind him, I backed up as far as I could go up against a tree to get this shot. Didn’t want to go any further off the trail with the abundant local alligator population. Used negative exposure compensation to enhance the silhouette.
Just got back from vacation and had some decent luck with Sandhill Cranes, which I’ll post later. Still going through a few thousand photos.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Gitzo tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/3200 sec @ F4, ISO 100, evaluative metering, -2 exposure compensation
Here are a few more action shots of Skimmers trying to catch fish. Easier said than done sometimes.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
It looks a little like chocolate on his foot but I’m sure that it doesn’t taste like it. Just a little stuck in the mud but a nice pose none the less.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F11, ISO 400, -2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
It can be a challenge to get close to Black Crowned Night Herons. Got a bonus on this trip to Bryan Beach, TX with seeing three BCNH’s at eye level with this one eating breakfast. Unlike my previous post with the Tern that couldn’t swallow the fish, this BCNH had no problem swallowing it whole. I was able to get fairly close using my ground pod as he was too preoccupied with feeding. Apparently he was really hungry as he kept fishing after chugging this one.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
Tim Timmis Photography 