What did the Snowy Egret tell the Cattle Egret? Get the heck out of my way dude!!
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
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Cattle Egrets in Breeding Plumage from High Island
Cattle Egrets tend to be overlooked by birders and bird photographers, including myself. However, with breeding plumage on display and some decent early morning light, they can be quite beautiful. These shots were taken at the High Island, TX rookery on Friday. There are more cattle egrets at the rookery this year than I’ve ever seen. Since the Great Egret’s weren’t doing much, I focused on these little guys. The early morning light gave me some good back-lit photography opportunities.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
1/5000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 250, spot metering with +1 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 250, spot metering with +2/3 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 250, spot metering with +2/3 exposure compensation
1/1000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 250, spot metering with +1/3 exposure compensation
High Island in a Blur
One of my favorite things to do at the High Island rookery is to get there early before the sun comes up and shoot blurred flight shots in silhouette. If you can handle the pre-dawn mosquitos, the flight shot opportunities with awesome colors are almost endless. It’s too early at that point to get sharp photos so I’ve learned to embrace the blur. About 1/2 hr before the sun comes up, the skies are filled with birds launching from far and wide. I typically use aperture priority, wide open, ISO 400 and +1 exposure compensation and let the camera set the shutter speed. I love the randomness of the shutter speeds that I get and the affect on the flight shots.
Here are a few Roseate Spoonbill’s in a blur from the rookery.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
1/40 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/13 sec @ F5.6, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/20 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering
Little Blue Heron Catching Crawfish
Made a trip to Brazos Bend State Park this weekend. The best area to shoot at was the spillway bridge where there were a couple of Little Blue Herons feeding. They would fly off when someone walked across the bridge but they always came back. Patience pays in wildlife photography. The reflections from the trees helped to make a pleasing background. My rule of thumb is to start shooting when their heads start to go down towards the water, which can lead to some interesting splash shots. Every once in a while they would come up with a crawfish. It was a good time while hanging out with David and Fred.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens mounted on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount. No flash.
Roseate Spoonbill
Here is an early morning shot of a Roseate Spoonbill from the High Island, TX rookery. There appears to be more of them around this year. Most of the nesting is being done by the Great Egrets but the Spoonbills are always fun to watch and shoot. This guy was taking off and I was able to catch some wing blur and decent light in his eye.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
Aperture priority, 1/160 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering + 2/3 exposure compensation, no flash
Won “Best in Show” at Migration Celebration Photo Contest
Got some good news from the Migration Celebration photo contest this weekend. My Wilson’s Phalarope won the “Best in Show” as well as first place in the “Birds of Texas Mid-Coast” category. I knew about the first place but had not heard about winning the grand prize until I went there on Sat. so it was a very pleasant surprise. I’ve been on a roll lately and hope that it continues.
Successful Classes at Galveston FeatherFest
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that attended my photography classes at Galveston’s FeatherFest this year. I had fun doing it and hope that you picked up some good info along the way. Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions about any of the topics that we covered.
Although it was my first year teaching classes at this event, I received very positive feedback from the participants with some comments blowing me away. I had a blast and really appreciate the opportunity. Thanks to Barbara Rabek, Kathy Adams Clark, Scott Buckel and the rest of the team for their support and letting me participate this year. Looking forward to next year already. Thanks again everyone.
Great Egret Breeding Plumage
This great egret was showing off its breeding plumage at the High Island, TX rookery last weekend. While preening, the plumage was is full display for everyone to see. I’m thinking that she was showing off, just a little. Worked for me.
Taken about an hour after sunrise with the light getting a little harsh but still usable. Used spot metering on the bright backlit area of the plumage to properly expose the bright areas and darken the background.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens mounted on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
1/1250 sec @ F7.1, ISO 250, spot metering
Published in Texas Explorer Magazine
I’ve been published in Texas Explorer magazine. Thanks to George Hosek for the invitation and the great job with the publishing. I really like how it came out. Got a chance to show off some of my favorite photos and do a little writing along the way. I definitely need to try this more often.
http://www.texasexplorer.com/Tim-Timmis-Bird-Photography.htm
Great Egret Mating Dance from High Island
Made another road trip yesterday to the High Island rookery. Just can’t get enough except for the mosquitos. They are very intense before the sun comes up. Hosed myself down 5 times with bug spray and still got several bites. Not for the faint of heart but worth the reward of seeing the morning light shine through the breeding plumage.
Tried shooting from the upper level on the last platform this time and liked it better than the lower platform. On the upper platform you can get the distant trees in the background which allows for a dark background with the white birds. Had better luck this day with some mating dance action. This Great Egret spent about an hour strutting her stuff but didn’t have any takers except for a few photographers. She flew away rejected and dissatisfied. I left with a smile on my face and craving a cigarette for some odd reason…
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
1/640 sec @ F5.6, – 1/3 exposure compensation, ISO 400
1/1000 sec @ F5.6, spot metering, – 1/3 exposure compensation, ISO 400
Tim Timmis Photography 