Blue Crab
Blue crab taken on my last trip to Bolivar Flats on the Texas gulf coast on July 1. This was my first time seeing a live blue crab so had to get a few photos. The birds weren’t very cooperative that day so was very happy to get a chance to photograph this crab.
Shows how even at F10, you can see the depth of field with blurring out the background and foreground when lying down.
1/800 @ F10, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm (R3 + 100-500 + 1.4X), Skimmer ground pod
Honorable Mention in Audubon’s 2024 Contest
I’m honored to have won “Honorable Mention” in Audubon’s 2024 contest. I’ve been taking lots of slow-motion videos over the past couple of years and it’s starting to pay off.
This video of avocets was taken this year at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary on the Texas gulf coast.
Tri-Colored Heron in Silhouette
Tricolored heron in silhouette taken with my ground pod from the mud bath at Bolivar Flats in Texas. He kept going back and forth catching small fish right in front of me, which was amazing. Don’t often see them offshore in this location.
The mud was deep so had to take a selfie to show that it was a great day in the mudflats. One of the first times that the mud was so deep that it came over the top of my ground pod. Had to wade out in the gulf to wash off the mud from my boots before throwing them into a garbage bag for clean-up when I got home. Clean-up is a major pain but well worth the effort to get low level photos.
1/1600 sec @ F10, ISO 640, manual exposure, 700mm (R3 + 100-500 + 1.4X), Skimmer ground pod
Galveston’s FeatherFest 2024
Spent 5 days last week leading field trips for Galveston’s FeatherFest. It was my 13th year doing it and had a blast. The light didn’t cooperate with cloudy skies most days with just a sliver of sun peeking out a couple of times. Made trips to Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary on Wed/Thurs/Sat/Sun and East Beach on Galveston Island on Friday.
Here are some cell phone photos of the groups at Bolivar Flats, where they got the full ground pod treatment, including lying in some water, sand and mud. I always like to take photos of the groups at the end of the session to prove that they were active participants with getting down and dirty.
Thanks to everyone that came out to play in the mud with me. Looking forward to doing it again next year.
American Avocets at Sunrise
Had beautiful weather this weekend along the Texas gulf coast. Needed to add to my shorebird portfolio for Audubon’s photo contest so made a trip back to Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary. Will see out there next time Sheldon.
Tide was going out and fairly low when I got there before sunrise. It was one of those rare days with no wind and flat surf on the Gulf of Mexico.
The surprise of the morning was seeing a fin coming out of the water behind a small flock of avocets, just offshore near the parking area. It was a dolphin hunting for fish, which was only the second time that I’ve seen a dolphin out there in the past 15 years. Took some video of him but missed the money shot when he jumped out of the water with a fish just off of his nose.
After that excitement, settled into getting some avocet photos and videos. Here is one of my favorites with back-lit feathers on some incoming birds. My happy place for sure.
1/3200 sec @ F10, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 700mm (R3 + 100-500 + 1.4X), Skimmer ground pod
Top 100 in NANPA’s Photo Contest
Honored to have one of my bird photos in the Top 100 winning images in NANPA’s (North American Nature Photography Association) 2024 photo contest. Congratulations to everyone in the Showcase!
This is a white morph reddish egret that was fishing in the Gulf of Mexico at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary. He ended up scaring the fish out of the water and was in hot pursuit.
Success in Bird Photographer of the Year Contest
Honored to have my favorite willet photo “commended” in the Bird Photographer of the Year international contest in the Birds in Flight Category and published in their 8th edition book. Was very pleased to be in the top 1% of 20,000 photos. Congratulations to all of the winners and those that were published. My first time entering this contest and it paid off. It won’t be my last.
I was notified back in July that this photo was going to be published in their annual photo contest book so ordered one. It showed up last week and it’s a high quality “coffee table” type of book. Would be cool if other contests provided books for their top photos.
Taken with my original Canon 1DX + 500F4 + 1.4x
Nov 2019 at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary, Texas gulf coast
Gray Ghost
Broke one of my golden rules yesterday at Bolivar Flats on the Texas gulf coast: have your camera ready at all times when driving off the beach. Saw this male northern harrier sitting on a fence post along the road and my camera was in the trunk. There was a good reason for that as I couldn’t get the lens off of my fluid head. Went past the harrier, stopped, took my camera off my 500F4 and put it on my 100-500, and headed back to the gray ghost.
He was very cooperative and let me get several photos before he flew away. Luckily for me, he landed on the other side of the road, which allowed for more photos and some video in better light. He was finally spooked when another car came down the road.
The not so fun part of this encounter was that I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos. Didn’t have bug spray on as there were no mosquitos on the beach, but they were very intense along the grassy area leaving the beach. Had taken my jacket off so plenty of exposed skin for the feeding frenzy that took place in my car. As they say, everything is bigger in Texas, including the mosquitos. One of those times that you just grin and bear it as it’s always worth a little blood letting for a good photo op.
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1000, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm (R3 + 100-500), minor cropping off left side.
Riding the Wave @ Galveston’s FeatherFest
Took this photo during my first Galveston FeatherFest field trip to Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary on the Texas gulf coast. I led four trips to Bolivar Flats again this year in April with this one being challenging with the weather that morning. The wind was blowing at 25 – 30 mph with heavy surf for this area. If it wasn’t for FeatherFest, I typically would have stayed home in those conditions, which makes me wonder how many great photo ops that I’ve missed over the years by not going in adverse conditions. This outing was unique as only one participant, Peggy, showed up for this trip.
In this photo, a group of dunlins and one ruddy turnstone were hanging out on a batch of seaweed that was bobbing up and down with the waves. A small wave came in that made the first dunlin launch up into the air. This group would then feed off of the material that washed up on the mound of seaweed.
I finally made the dive into mirrorless cameras with a Canon R3, which I’ll provide some more information on in a future post.
Taken with Canon R3 with 500mm F4 IS II lens, 1.4X teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1000 @ F11, ISO 4000, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Avocet Gliding
American avocet gliding along after sunrise on Texas gulf coast this morning. Sunrise was amazing with the cloud formations and red light. The sun eventually popped out of the clouds providing some good light. Ended up leaving when the sun went behind the clouds as I’m not a fan of flat light.
1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm from Skimmer ground pod, minor cropping
Taken with Canon 1DX III, Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Water Explosion Frozen in Time
Reddish egret diving for fish in a tidal pond at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary. While heading back to my car after a successful early morning taking shorebird photos, found this reddish egret that was catching some small fish in a separate small tidal pool. Got some very cool splash shots but didn’t like the background so converted this one to B&W and cropped in on the splash.
1/1250 @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm from ground pod
Published in PetaPixel.com
Got published yesterday on the photography & camera news website PetaPixel after my ground pod photo was published in Audubon. Was contacted by one of their columnists recently requesting usage of my photo and looking for one of me in action with my ground pod.
He then contacted me later about using another one of my photos including some writing from me on why I like that photo. Stay tuned for that in Sept.
Thanks again Phil for the opportunity.
Great Reads in Photography: August 15, 2021
Grand Slam in 2021 Audubon Top 100
Four of my photos made the top 100 this year in Audubon’s 2021 photo contest. Although 2020 was a very challenging year from a pandemic perspective, it challenged me to get out an shoot more with over 60 local field trips, which paid off in the Audubon contest.
Great egret in silhouette through her breeding plumage from High Island TX rookery
White moph reddish egret spreading its wings just after landing at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary last summer.
Two lesser yellowlegs running in unison at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary.
American avocets at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary.
Drop in a Splash – Expensive Outing
American Avocet at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary
When using a high shutter speed, sometimes the splash is more interesting than the shorebird. I always start shooting when their head starts going towards the water as you never know what you may capture. In this case, the frozen splash also shows a cool water drop.
As mentioned in my previous post about becoming “one with the flock”, my 1DXIII camera got wet from the salt water lapping at the bottom of my camera after the tide came in while I way laying on my stomach with shooting from my ground pod. After that outing, had some issues with my fully charged camera batteries being fully discharged before I took one shot with them. Would put another battery in and it worked fine.
Sent my camera to Canon to have them check it out. My salt water encounter ended up costing me a $1,200 repair bill. Canon described the issue as: “The bottom multi-controller on the back cover is stuck and will not move. At this time the PCB ASS’Y, MAIN W/LI BATT and COVER ASS’Y, BACK will be replaced.” Apparently, it got dunked a little more than I thought in the salt water.
Will it make me think twice about doing it again next time? Nope.
1/2000 @ F11, ISO 2000, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm (500+1.4X) from ground pod, minor cropping
Galveston FeatherFest 2021
Had a great time again this year leading field trips for Galveston’s FeatherFest. Very glad that we could have the field trips this year as last year had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. We reduced the size of the groups this year for social distancing but it turned out great. Actually like the smaller groups better from an interaction perspective at Bolivar.
The weather did not cooperate with day 1 trip to Bolivar Flats being cancelled with high surf. Had everyone cancel ahead of time except one participant that was driving from Winnie. She called me as I was waiting at the Galveston side of the ferry and the highway along the Bolivar peninsula was getting flooded and had debris on the road. Safety first so I cancelled that trip. Had another day with very high winds that turned out very well. I’ll post some of my bird photos later.
Here are some cell phone group shots from 2021 FeatherFest at Bolivar Flats and the east end of Galveston Island.
White Morph Reddish Egret
Spent some quality time last week at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary on the Texas gulf coast. Found several reddish egrets at sunrise with this white morph really standing out from the rest. Right place at the right time for some great action and beautiful light.
This was about 1/2 hour after sunrise. Had to cranked up the exposure compensation to get the proper exposure. Having 16 frames/sec from my new 1DX III comes in real handy in these situations with being able to capture the action as it happens. The focusing ability of this camera is just off of the charts.
Taken with Canon 1DX mark III, Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on a Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
All photos at: 1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2 exposure compensation, 700mm from ground pod, minor cropping
Incoming Pelicans
Took a couple of vacation days this past week and headed to the Gulf coast for some quality social distancing at Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary. Was well worth the time and effort.
Saw these 3 brown pelicans flying close to each other at a distance and started tracking them with my camera. Got about 80 shots of them just waiting for this photo when they were side by side, coming right at me with their wings outstretched.
Pre-visualized this shot as I’ve gotten some similar pelican photos probably 10 years ago and have been waiting to recreate it ever since. Was very pleased on how this one turned out.
Taken with Canon 1DX mark III, Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4X III telconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, aperture priority, + 2 exposure compensation, 700mm from ground pod
Audubon Top 100
Honored to make the top 100 in Audubon’s 2020 photo contest again this year. Entered several photos but only got one to make it. Always appreciate Audubon’s support with my bird photography. Can’t wait until next year.
White morph reddish egret from Bolivar Flats Audubon Shorebird Sanctuary on the Texas gulf coast. This shot was taken last July and was a great time. He was almost too close, which is always 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.
Magnificent Frigatebird
Paying attention to bird behavior really paid off on Friday morning. Was taking photos of a reddish egret when he started looking up in the air. Reddish egrets don’t usually pay attention to other birds in the sky unless it’s another reddish egret. This one kept glancing to the sky which peaked my couriosity so I decided to look up from my prone position and got a fantastic surprise when this magnificent frigatebird was right above me.
Decided to quickly take my camera off of the ground pod and rolled onto my back and started shooting straight up in the air. The wet sand in my hair was a new experience but well worth it. She was almost too close as I was clipping wings off of the frame. Got a few shots from that position but it was too difficult to control my 500mm lens so rolled over and sat up to shoot. Didn’t want to stand up and potentially spook her. She kept circling me and I wondered if she was checking me out, which I confirmed was the case after looking at the photos on the computer.
Magnificent frigatebirds are huge with a 7 ft wingspan and a forked tail. Have seen them at the east end of Galveston Island and while in my car on the ferry several years ago but never at the flats. Getting that close was a major bucket list event for me. Was thinking about frigatebirds a few weeks ago while on the ferry and envisioned having a close-up encounter. I need to start dreaming about birds more often…
Bathing Willet
I always get excited when seeing shorebirds take a bath as they almost always jump up and flap their wings to dry off. Usually a good chance for a great photo op.
Took these shots a couple of weeks ago at Bolivar Flats Audubon shorebird sanctuary along the Texas gulf coast. Cranked the ISO up to 3200 to get a decent shutter speed to freeze the action.
Taken with Canon 1DX III and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/2500 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 