Snowy Egret Catching a Fish
It always a good time when you see a shorebird plunge his head into the water and come up with a fish. This Snowy Egret was working his way towards me and put on a good fishing display. A high-speed camera comes in handy in this situation as you can get a series of shots of the action. Had to use negative exposure compensation to keep the whites from blowing out on this bright white bird.
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
1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 250, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 250, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compenation
1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 250, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compenation
1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 250, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compenation
Avocets in Flight Silhouette
The Gulf of Mexico was very calm last Sat. at Bolivar Flats. It’s a rare occurence that I only see once or twice per year. Makes for some great pre-dawn photo op’s of birds in flight with the nice orange glow before the sun comes up. Took this hand-held shot while standing about knee-deep in the Gulf while waiting for the birds to fly by. The slow shutter speed helped to blur their wings.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II leans with 1.4X III teleconverter, hand-held
1/13 sec @ F5.6, ISO 500, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Drip…drip…drip…
Caught this Willet with water dripping out of his beak as he was pulling his head out of the water. I always start to shoot when their beak starts going into the water to help capture what they may come up with when coming out of the water.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens and 1.4x III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/500 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 700 mm
Avocets in Flight at Sunrise
It can be challenging to get flight shots while laying down with a ground pod. It’s difficult to keep panning with the birds for any distance since your range of motion is limited in that position. This group of Avocets from Bolivar were flying near a sand bar with the Gulf of Mexico in the background. Close to a full frame shot.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens and 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Landing Difficulty
Sometimes life can make it hard to find a good spot to land. Same is true in the animal kingdom.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod and Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, 700mm
Yellow Legs
The elusive Yellow Legs can be hard to find and difficult to shoot as they dart around so much. They typically hang out near the weeds along the shore line. Was fortunate to have one very close to me at Bolivar. He was attracted to the area right in front of me when the Snowys and Avocets moved in to feed. Very little cropping on these shots.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III mounted on Skimmer ground pod and Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Avocet Close Ups
Here’s what happens when Avocets get too close. These are full frame shots from Bolivar Flats. Good times were had by all…me and a few hundred of my bird friends.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 @ F10, evaluative metering, ISO 250, 700mm
1/800 @ F10, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation, ISO 250, 700mm
Snowy Egret Head Shot
Here is a headshot of a Snowy Egret from my last trip to Bolivar Flats. He was too close for anything but a close up at 700mm. Didn’t want to try to take off my 1.4x so I settled for a close up. Had to use negative exposure compensation to keep from blowing out the whites. I used to use spot metering a lot but am switching to using evaluative metering and adjusting the manual exposure compensation to keep the exposures accurate when they move around.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 250, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
Shorebird Jackpot
Hit the jackpot last weekend at Bolivar Flats with my shorebird friends. The morning started out a little boring but ended up with a bang. Tried to get close to a group of Avocets by wading out into the Gulf with my intent to lay down on a sandbar that was still several inches under water. Decided that it wasn’t a great idea with a pricy lens in tow. Moved my position around a couple of times and ended up lying next to a small tide pool area with several Avocets hanging out beyond it. Couldn’t get closer without spooking them so I decided to get into a decent shooting position and wait for them to come to me, I hoped. Was rewarded when one Snowy Egret came into my area to catch a fish. That attrackted several more Snowy’s and other birds. Ended up with having 6 Avocets, 6 Snowy Egrets, 3 Willets and a Yellow Legs within 30 ft of me. They got too close at 700mm and I had to settle for head shots in the end. A great problem to have.
It was a good day with taking 3627 photos. Took a while to sort through them all but ended up with saving 1200 with 146 being potential wall hangers. Here is one of my favorite Avocets from this outing. Only cropped to a vertical shot. More to come…
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter using a Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1000 sec @ F 10, ISO 250, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Avocet at Sunrise
The Avocets are finally back at Bolivar Flats. It was great to see them again with low tide in the morning, which doesn’t happen until this time of the year. I almost left without taking any photos based on what I was seeing when first showing up. About 15 mph winds, waves and no exposed sand bars which is not conducive to decent bird activity at Bolivar. Decided to stick it out and was glad I did when spotting a group of Avocets feeding near the shore line. Got down on the ground and got lots of full framed shots with the 1.4x teleconverter.
It was about 52 deg F, which is finally cold enough to break out my neoprene waders for laying the in the wet sand. My bottom half stays relatively dry and warm but I get totally soaked with salt water on my top. I need to get a water proof coat one of these days.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/500 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, spot metering, 700mm
1/400 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, spot metering, 700mm
1/500 sec @ F8, ISO 400, spot metering, 700mm
Caracara Portrait
Spent Saturday morning at Bolivar Flats and found the best photo-op on the way out in my car. This Caracara was on the beach and flew to a fence post when I drove along the beach. Luckily had my camera in the seat next to me and was able to get a few shots before he was scared off by another car driving by.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens, 1.4X III teleconverter, hand-held out the car window.
1/1250 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Down the Hatch, Reddish Egret Style
Found this Reddish Egret chugging down a fish at Bolivar Flats. Faster shutter speed would have been good but I’ll take it. Ended up chopping off his feet in the original shot so I cropped the photo to this perspective.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II, 1.4X III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod/Wimberley head.
1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1 exposure compensation
1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 
