Northern Harrier
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
Reddish Egret Stare Down
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
All Shook Up
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
The Catch
My Reddish Egret buddy dove his head into the water and came up with this very large fish. Another one of my tips from my bird photography classes is to start shooting when you see their head starting to go down towards the water. That way you can get a cool spash shot or if your lucky, a fish coming out of the water. I was surprised at how big the fish was and I’m always amazed that they can swollow it whole.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head.
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering
Dance of the Reddish Egret
What a difference a week makes. At FeatherFest, Bolivar was at high tide with limited shorebird activity. A week later, it was low tide with lots of birds. I was disappointed that my field trip participants didn’t get a chance to see what I did. There was another photographer already at the flats shooting when I got there before sunrise. Good for him. Made my way past him to check out my favorite spot and eventially hit the jackpot.
During my classroom presentation, two or my recommended tips are to 1) keep your head on a swivel and look behind you as your best shot may be there and 2) be patient. Luckily I practiced what I preached and laid down and waited for the action to happen. Was taking photos of some small shore birds when I turned around at one point to find a Reddish Egret dancing around right behind me while trying to catch a fish. Had to turn around slow enough not to spook him. Luckily he was more interested in the fish than me. They are one of my favorite shorebirds to watch and photograph. They dance around with their wings outstretched to scare the fish. This one was in prime form and a second one joined the fun a few minutes later.
He was almost too close at 700mm but was able to get some decent nearly full framed shots of him dancing around and catching a very large fish. I’ll save the fish photos for later.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with Canon 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash, 700mm
FeatherFest Bolivar Flats Field Trip – Part II
Here are some more of my photos from my workshop at FeatherFest at Bolivar Flats. These Pelicans were hanging out on the barricade poles where you park. We took advantage of the early morning light with this gang of Pelicans and then moved to the opposite side to get some silhouette shots.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II, handheld
1/640 sec @ F4, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash
1/800 sec @ F4, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash
1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
1/640 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering
Galveston’s FeatherFest Field Trip to Bolivar Flats
Had a great time this week with leading 4 classroom workshops and 2 field trips at Galveston’s FeatherFest. The first field trip was at Bolivar Flats, which I kind of know like the back of my hand. The goal was to give the participants experience at using a ground pod and to get some low-level shorebird photos. Bolivar is at it’s best at low tide and of course it was high tide on Friday morning. Never the less, we packed 10 of us into a small van and headed to the flats. Note to self: get a larger vehicle next year and leave earlier.
The good news was that the sun was out and the wind and waves were low. The bad news was that with high tide, there were no exposed sand bars off of the shoreline so we had to stay on the beach. There were several Pelicans on the poles at the barricade, which made for some good shots including silhouettes. Went a little further down the beach and saw a Willet and some type of small sparrow in the brush. Got down on the ground to shoot some small Sanderlings and 3 Marbled Godwits came walking towards us. It was a good example of how close the birds will come to you while lying down on the ground.
We ended up working our way down the beach and got up and down several times. My sharp-eyed liaison assistant, Phil, spotted a lone Avocet in full breeding color mixed in with some other birds further down the shoreline. I told the group that it would be a miracle to get close to him but we would give it a shot. We ended up walking closer to him with my goal to get to a point where there was some yellow plastic on the beach. The birds started to stir a little, so we went down to the ground. The Avocet was mixed in with several other birds and was difficult to get a good shot of him at that distance. We ended up doing the old belly crawl trying to get closer while pushing the ground pods along. When we made it to the yellow plastic, I was satisfied that we had reached that goal. My group was very ambitious and wanted more so we kept crawling. This is where a Skimmer ground pod really shines with it being easy to move along the sand.
We ended up crawling fairly close to the Avocet but ran out of time and had to head back to the van. I was hoping that he would give us a good stretch and fly but he looked too tired. It’s rare to see a lone Avocet like that as they are usually in a large flock. The field trip turned out better than I expected with being stuck on the shoreline.
Thanks to everyone who came on this field trip. It was a good time and can’t wait to do it again next year. I’ll post of few more photos from this trip and my second trip on Sat. around Galveston later.
All of these photos were taken with a Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on a Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Marbled Godwits with my goal while taking this shot was to get the first two with their beaks together. Got an added bonus with the 3rd one. Shows the depth of field with a 500mm lens.
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash
Got this Marbled Godwit taking off as he walked around us along the beach.
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash
This Marbled Godwit was doing his best pose for us.
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash
Our targeted Avocet in full breeding colors as he finally walked away from the other birds around him.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation or flash
Avocet Water Mask
This is one of my favorite photos from Bolivar this year, so far. This Avocet was taking a bath very close to me as I was lying down with my ground pod. He started dunking his head/body into the water and I kept trying to get a photo of him with water on his head. This one went above my expectations when he came up with his entire head covered with water and the splash coming off the top. This is where 8 frames/sec comes in handy.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F10, ISO 400, manual exposure, 700mm
Dripping Avocet
What a difference a day makes. The previous day at Bolivar Flats was cloudy with few birds within reach. The next day was sunny with Avocets right in front of me. My rules of thumb are 1) If you have a bad day photographing wildlife, go back the next day and try again and 2) If you have a great day of shooting wildlife, don’t go back to the same location the next day as you will likely be disappointed as it won’t be the same.
The challenge with Avocets is that they are very skittish, can be difficult to find in a good shooting location and travel in large flocks making it hard to get an isolated bird shot. Found a group of Avocets near a sand bar but didn’t want to get too close and spook them. Found a good shooting location and laid down and waited for them to come to me, which is usually the best strategy. It paid off this time and they made their way towards me. Got several isolated birds and had some being too close at 700mm.
Liked this shot with him looking right at me and the water dripping from his beak. Shot in aperture priority and had to use negative exposure compensation to keep from blowing out the white areas of the bird.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4xIII teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Sticky Water
The chemical engineer in me wants to call this “viscous water” but I won’t go there. Caught this White Morph Reddish Egret just at the right time when his beak separated. Haven’t seen this before with and Egret so it made for an interesting shot. Taken just after sunrise in the good ‘ol early morning golden light.
1/1000 sec @ F9, manual exposure, ISO 400, 700mm
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod and Wimberley II gimbal head.
Peregrine Falcon
Searched far and wide along the beach for the Peregrine Falcon at Bolivar during this outing with no avail. Had a great day with the Avocets so it wasn’t a total loss. I have learned over the years to keep my camera in the front seat just in case some photo ops present themselves while driving off of the beach. It paid off this time as the Falcon was perched on a fence post on the road to the beach. Slowed down to get a shot and he took off. Turned the car around and following him as he landed on another post. He was on the opposite side of the road from me so I decided to drive fast by him and then turn around. That didn’t spook him and was able to get some photos. Didn’t like the light so I went by him again and turned my car and blocked the road to the beach to get shots from the other side.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4xIII teleconverter, handheld out the car window.
AV mode, 1/640 sec @ F6.3, ISO 400, evaulative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Willets Part II
Here are a couple more Willet shots from my cloudy outing at Bolivar. The same subject as my previous post but in some different poses. The last one is a full framed shot at 700mm with no cropping.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/640 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Willet Portrait
I typically stay home when it’s cloudy but may have to rethink that strategy. Got up last Sat., looked at the radar and saw clouds with some showers in the area. Would have stayed home but was going to meet up Daniel Lim, who introduced me to Bolivar Flats and shooting from the prone position back in 2006. I must have been a slow learner though as I didn’t start shooting this way until 2009.
Couldn’t get close to the Avocets so had to concentrate on the good o’l stand by, the Willet. This is one of my favorite shots. I’ll share a few more later. And yes, I’m still in love with my 500mm lens.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Incoming Harrier
While focusing on shorebird shots at Bolivar Flats, the small birds would frequently spook and fly away. Didn’t pay much attention to why until the photo op’s died down. Then I noticed that they were scattering due to raptors flying overhead. I was laying on a sand bar within about 30 ft of the shore line and the Northern Harriers were doing flybys over the grassy area on shore. Spotting this one flying towards me. My 7D did a great job with maintaining focus as he flew behind the weeds and then landed on a log nearby. Caught him landing with his talons out which was cool. He stayed around for only a couple of minutes and took off with outstretched wings.
Taken with a Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with a Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Fish Flipping
It’s fun to watch shorebirds feed. Egrets like to flip their food in the air before they eat it. Got lucky as this White Morph Reddish Egret was pointed in my direction as he was flipping his breakfast.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1000 sec @ F9, manual exposure, ISO 400, 700mm
Snowy Egret Pose
This Snowy Egret was hanging out during my last trip to Bolivar Flats. Another example of early morning light on a white bird. His plumage gets me in the mood for the upcoming activity at High Island’s rookery. Can’t wait.
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
1/1000 sec @ F9, manual exposure, ISO 400, 700mm
Willet Silhouette
I just can’t resist taking silhouette shots at sunrise. I was walking along the beach at Bolivar before sunrise with Avocets off to my right and Willets to my left. My goal is always to get Avocet shots but my gut told me to go for the Willets in silhouette as the sun was getting ready to come up. Glad that I made that decision as the Avocets ended up flying away as I was shooting the Willets.
This silhouette shows a good example of the narrow depth of field with a 500mm lens with the blurred foreground and background and a little strip in between that’s in focus.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with a 1.4x III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with a Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
The Stand Out
How do you make a white bird stand out? White bird + golden light + dark background + down low + eye contact + water+ reflection = Stand Out.
Got several action shots of this White Morph Reddish Egret along with this pose against a grassy background. I’m pleased with how this one came out. Took a few shots with spot metering and checked the histogram to confirm the exposure was good and then switched to manual exposure mode using the settings that I came up with.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/800 sec @ F9, manual exposure, ISO 400
Snowy Egret on the Move
Spent some quality time yesterday morning at Bolivar Flats. The tide and sun were cooperating for once. Found a decent spot where birds were feeding and laid down on a sand bar for about 1.5 hrs to get some shorebird action shots. There was a White Morph Reddish Egret feeding along with this Snowy Egret. They would tolerate each other to a point but the White Morph finally had enough and tried to chase the Snowy away. Caught this shot when the Snowy was running from the White Morph. Luckily he didn’t leave and I ended up with over 3200 photos to sort through. Used manual mode for shooting these white birds to maintain the proper exposure as they were on the move.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberlly II head
1/1000 sec @ F9 on manual mode
Sanderling Feeding
Sometimes it takes some effort to get to your veggies. This Sanderling is in full stretch mode to get his breakfast out of the sand.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod and Wimberley II head.
1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Blurred BIF Silhouette
There always seems to be flocks of small shorebirds flying around near sunrise. Caught this group doing a fly by while I was walking down the beach. Made for an interesting blurred silhouette shot. Cranked up the ISO to keep the shot from being a total blur.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter, hand-held
1/40 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation
Great Blue Silhouette
Here is an early morning pre-dawn silhouette of a Great Blue Heron. I typically don’t like shots of birds flying away from me but this one works because of the calm water and the wing almost touching the water. Cropped this one as a pano just because I could. Go figure.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter, hand-held
1/200 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
The Year of the Falcon
2012 started and ended with Peregrine Falcons at Bolivar Flats in Texas. Got some take-off shots of a Falcon back in January and had the opportunity again in late Dec. After spending some quality time shooting shore birds, headed back to my car when I spotted something out of the ordinary further down on the beach. Looked like a small post sticking up from my vantage point. Raised my camera and saw that it was my old buddy, the Peregrine Falcon. He was perched on top of a plastic bin that was sticking out of the sand.
Made my way towards him and ended up laying down to get a few photos. Wasn’t satisfied with my first position so I got up and moved to my right to get a better angle if he took off. They don’t shift their perched position much and tend to take off in the direction that they are facing. They also like to stretch out their wings right before they take off which can give you a good opportunity for a wings-up position. This one stretched, but did it with his wings down by his side. Shortly afterwards, he took off and flew towards me. Got several shots that I liked with the best of them shown below.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Tim Timmis Photography 