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Great Egrets in a Fog

I’m a big fan of foggy weather.  I love it when the sun comes poking though the fog early in the morning.  That was not to be on this outing to High Island rookery in late March.  Lots of fog with lots of clouds.  Tried to make the best of it with some Great Egret shots.  Another nice to have at High Island is a little wind so that the breeding plumage feathers get some movement and definition.  It also gives them a “beatnik” look, IMO.  Although, I may just be having a flashback from the 60’s…

All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod, no flash.

1/320 sec @ F5,6, ISO 250, spot metering, +1 exp compensation

1/400 sec @ F5,6, ISO 400, spot metering, +1 exp compensation

1/320 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation

1/400 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation

1/500 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation

1/640 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation

Posted by  |  April 14, 2011 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Black Skimmers

I participated in FeatherFest again this year with helping out Larry Ditto on his advanced photography field trip and class.  The field trip went to San Luis Pass west of Galveston.  I haven’t been there in a few years so it was nice to go back and check it out.  The weather wasn’t very cooperative with fog and cloudy sky’s.  Typical around here lately.  Luckily there were some black skimmers around.  I took my ground pod and shot from the prone position most of the time. 

Had a great time and got to meet some nice people and to see Larry again.  The class room setting the following day included a critique of the photos from the previous day.  Larry did a very good job with the critique.  The session ran a little long but most everyone stayed to see all of the photos.

Here are a few of my shots, taken in between my lock-up issues with my camera.  My first skimmers actually skimming this year.

All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens

1/400 sec @ F5,6, +1 exp comp, ISO 800, spot metering, fill flash with better beamer

1/640 sec @ F4.5, +1 exp comp, ISO 500, spot metering, fill flash with better beamer

1/1000 sec @ F5,6, +1 exp comp, ISO 400, spot metering, fill flash with better beamer

Posted by  |  April 13, 2011 | Categories: Birds | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Canon 7D Custom Function Settings

I’ve had a few people interested in my 7D settings so I’ve decided to share them.  The Canon 7D is a great camera with many advantages over my old 40D.  However, it is more complicated to use and set up properly.  I did lots of research on the web and got advice from other photographers on the custom function settings.  Here are my settings for wildlife photography.  Once you get the settings that you like, I’d highly recommend that you write them down.  If you send your camera in for repairs, like me, they change all of your settings back to the original factory settings.  If you didn’t write them down you have to start over again.

Custom Function Description Setting Setting Description Notes
C.Fn I: Exposure        
1 Exposure level increments 0 1/3 stop  
2 ISO speed setting increments 0 1/3 stop  
3 ISO Expansion 1 On  
4 Bracketing auto cancel 0 On  
5 Bracketing sequence 0 0,-,+  
6 Safety shift 1 Enable  
7 Flash sync speed in AV mode 0 Auto  
C.Fn II: Image        
1 Long exposure noise reduction 0 off  
2 High ISO speed noise reduction 0 standard Affects JPG’s only.  Depends on how much in-camera noise reduction that you want when shooting jpgs.
3 Highlight tone priority 0 disable may cause more noise if enabled
C.Fn III: Autofocus/Drive        
1 AI Servo tracking sensitivity 1 Slow Keeps AF from hunting too quickly if you lose focus temporarily
2 AI Servo 1st/2nd image priority 0 AF priority/tracking priority  
3 AI Servo AF tracking method 1 Continuous AF track priority  
4 Lens drive when AF impossible 0 Focus search on  
5 AF microadjustment 0 Disable  
6 Select AF area select move varies    
7 Manual AF point selection pattern 1 Continuous  
8 VF display illumination 1 Enable  
9 Display all AF points 0 Disable  
10 Focus display in AI Servo MF 0 Enable  
11 AF assist beam firing 1 Disable  
12 Orientation linked AF point 1 Select different AF points  
13 Mirror lockup 0 disable  
C.Fn IV: Operation / Others        
1 Custom controls default personal perference  
2 Dial direction during TV/AV 0 Normal  
3 Add image verification data 0 disable  
4 Add aspect ration information 0 Off  

Posted by  |  April 11, 2011 | Categories: Equipment | Tags: | 7 Comments

My 7D is D.O.A.

My Canon 7D died this weekend.  It started acting up on Friday at FeatherFest at San Luis Pass.  Shutter would lock up with error 20.  Took the battery out and got it to work after trying it several times.  Went back out yesterday to Brazos Bend and it started doing it again.  Took it back to the car and got my 40D.  I forgot how much difference there is between the 7D and the 40D.  The autofocus on the 7D blows the 40D out of the water.  There is no comparison.  Got frustrated and left early.  Packed the 7D up and sent it back to Canon for repairs. 

I’m guessing that the shutter will have to be replaced, which is a surprise since I’ve only had it since last June.  I’m guessing that I’ve got around 100,000 actuations with 85 shooting trips in the last 10 months.  The 7D’s shutter is supposed to be rated for 150,000 actuations.  I’ve been through 4 shutters on my other cameras so this may be the 5th.  I’ll just have to wait and see what Canon says.

Posted by  |  April 10, 2011 | Categories: Equipment | Tags: | 12 Comments

Flight of the Pelican

Here is a shot of a couple of Brown Pelicans taken from the Bolivar ferry which runs from Galveston Island to the Bolivar peninsula.  The ferry is a great place to get up close to pelicans and gulls.  The focusing on the 7D came though again on this one.

1/1,000 sec @ F 5.6, +1 exp compensation, ISO 250, spot metering

Posted by  |  April 7, 2011 | Categories: Birds | Tags: | Leave a comment

Nesting Ritual at High Island

The rookery at High Island is my favorite place to go this time of year.  Lots of Great Egrets, Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets and a few others right in front of you.  The best place around to get up close and personal with the birds.  I usually get there way too early before the sun comes up and have to use a flashlight along the trail to get to the platforms.  I didn’t used to use a flashlight until I found an alligator on the trail one year.  I love the back lighting that you can get in the morning.  The sun comes up in your face but the lighting can be magic.  Just have to put up with a few thousand mosquitos at that time of day.

The Great Egrets are fun to watch when they build their nests.  They make quite the scene when one finds a stick and brings it back to the nest.  Lots of squawking ensues and you would have thought that he brought back a gold plated stick, but no, just a stick.

All taken with Canon 7D on tripod.

1/640 sec @F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, + 1/3 exp compensation

1/250 sec @F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, + 2/3 exp compensation

Posted by  |  April 6, 2011 | Categories: Birds | Tags: | Leave a comment

Coyote at Bolivar Flats

Got up at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, like usual, and checked the weather.  Looked cloudy on radar but I don’t trust the weatherman.  Went outside and looked up.  Stupid weatherman was right, for once, at least in my neck of the woods.  Decided to go out and shoot anyway since the radar looked similar to Sat morning which turned out to have some sun.  Decided to head South this time to Bolivar as I haven’t been there is a few weeks.  Not a good sign at the ferry with some flags blowing in a stiff wind.  Got to the beach and saw that the waves were fairly high and decided that it was going to be a bust for bird shooting.  Had someone following me driving on the beach so I decided to turn off and let them by.  Headed down the beach again and saw what I thought was a dog taking garbage out of one of the garbage cans near the fence.  Quickly realized that it was a Coyote.  Pulled up fairly close with my bright lights on  and watched him.  Then decided that I should try to get a picture even though it was pitch black out with only my headlights for illumination.  Said what the heck and then remembered that my camera was in the trunk.  Decided to back up and drove backwards down the beach for a ways and then got out and grabbed my camera.  Headed back towards him and he was luckily still there.  Cranked the ISO up to 3200 and tried to get some shots after opening up my door and shooting between the door and the car.  He apparently couldn’t see me with my headlights in his eyes.  Got very slow shutter speeds.  Moved the ISO up to 6400 and got off a few more shots before he ran away.

It was very cool to see a Coyote that close.  Just wish that it would have been after sunrise but I’m sure that he wouldn’t have stuck around like he did.  Took this shot at ISO 3200 and 1/25 sec shutter speed.  No noise reduction on this shot.  Not a sharp picture by any means but decent enough for me to remember what happened.  He had lots of garbage at his feet that I cloned out.  I had seen animal tracks at Bolivar before and often wondered if there were any Coyotes around.  Guess there are.  Continued down the beach to the parking area, turned the car around and headed back to the ferry.  No birds for me at Bolivar that day but a cool encounter with a Coyote made the trip worth it.

Posted by  |  April 3, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: | 2 Comments

Bird Photography Workshop

Had a great time last week hanging out with the Woodlands Photography Club.  I was invited to put on a bird photography workshop including a separate class and a field trip to Brazos Bend State Park, thanks Lisa.  The class covered equipment, camera settings, techniques, local locations and my golden rules.  Topped it off with a slide show with some of my photos.  The session ran over the 1 1/2 hour timeframe due to getting lots of questions during the presentation.  I’m hoping that they picked up some new information that they can use in their photography outings. 

It was a great way to spend my birthday.  I’m looking forward to doing this again.

http://www.woodlandsphoto.org/

Posted by  |  March 29, 2011 | Categories: Birds | Leave a comment

Photo Exhibition at Tommy’s Restaurant

For anyone who wants to eat some great food and check out some of my shore bird pictures, I’ve got 8 of them on display at Tommy’s Restaurant/Oyster Bar in the Clear Lake area on Bay Area Blvd, see link below.  Got the opportunity through fellow Bay Area Photo Club member Peter Bowman.  Thanks Peter and thanks Tom for allowing me to display my photo’s in your restaurant.  All photo’s are mated in 20″ x 24″ frames and are for sale.  Took the day off on Tuesday and spent a couple of hours hanging them and ate lunch there as well.  The grilled shrimp po boy is to die for.  They will be on display for two months until May 23.

http://www.tommys.com/

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Posted by  |  March 24, 2011 | Categories: Birds | 6 Comments

Bathing Long Billed Curlews

A few shots from the archives of a couple of Long Billed Curlews taking a bath at Bolivar Flats.  Got fairly close to them as they were splashing away.

All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on ground pod

1/1250 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering

1/800 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering

1/320 sec @ F7.1, +1 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering

1/800 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 200, evaluative metering

1/16000 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 200, evaluative metering

Posted by  |  March 19, 2011 | Categories: Birds | Tags: | Leave a comment