Fish Racing
This Reddish Egret was trying to catch a fish but didn’t notice that he had scared another one out of the water right beside him. Let the fish racing begin! Taken at Bolivar Flats while laying down with my ground pod.
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
1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
American Oystercatcher Close-up’s
I thought that this trip was going to be a bust. Headed to Bolivar flats before sunrise and found high tide, no exposed sandbars and waves in the gulf. Also forgot to put my rubber boots back into the car. Listened to my gut and turned the car around and headed to the Texas City Dike to look for my Oystercatcher buddies. It took some searching but I found one of them in the usual spot walking along the edge of the dike looking for, guess what, Oysters. Got lucky as he found one in my line of sight. Was able to get another shot of one walking in my direction, which is always a cool perspective. The morning turned out better than anticipated. It’s always good to have a plan B in mind when heading out to the field.
Had the 1.4x attached and got almost full framed shots. Considered taking the teleconverter off as I was almost too close but didn’t want to take the time and lose more shots.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter out the car window, setting lens on my bean bag
1/1000 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
1/1250 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Reddish Wings
The Reddish Egret saga continues from Bolivar Flats. Here are a couple of photos of a Reddish Egret is full fishing mode. They are very animated with spreading their wings out to scare the fish. These full frame shots were taken while laying down in the sand with my ground pod. Had to crank up the exposure compensation on this one with the bright background of the water causing the camera to reduce the exposure. Always have to play with the exposure compensation while using Aperture priority to get the proper exposure. Becomes second nature after lots of practice.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II, 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head.
1/800 sec @ F7.1, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F7.1, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher
I’ve never had any luck finding Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers until recently. I’ve spent the last couple of weekends at Brazoria NWR trying to get photos of much larger birds when I found some of these flycatchers in the same spot on each trip. They are fun birds to shoot as they kept taking off and landing trying to catch bugs. Got these two shots out the car window as he was taking off from his perch. The 500mm lens worked well with the 1.4x teleconverter.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4X III teleconverter.
1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Reddish Egret…almost but…
Here are a few more shots of a Reddish Egret fishing from Bolivar Flats, TX. From stalking its prey to going for the gold. This one was so close to catching the fish in mid-air. Would have been the money shot. I’ll have to settle for bronze. Hopefully won’t have to wait another 4 years to try again.
It’s always challenging to shoot action shots from laying down on your stomach but using the full Wimberley head on the ground pod makes it easier. Having practiced with my 100-400 and Wimberley Sidekick for about 5 years made for an easy transition to the big lens.
Taken with Canon 7D + Canon 500mm F4 IS II + 1.4x III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with full Wimberley head.
1/800 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering
1/800 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering
1/800 sec @ F7.1, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F7.1, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret Close-ups from Bolivar Flats
After five months, finally made it back to my favorite location for shore bird photography, Bolivar Flats. The high tides in the morning have kept me away but went back today to continue to test out my Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens. Very glad that I went as there was more action than anticipated, including several Reddish Egrets. Used the 1.4x III yesterday at Galveston and today at Bolivar. Didn’t even take the bag along to put the teleconverter in, which ended up being a mistake as one of the Reddish Egret’s was too close for 700mm. Had to settle on head shots several times. Ended up missing some great fishing sequences because that he was too close. Live and learn. The teleconverter worked well but the focus would hunt with busy backgrounds. Ended up using all focus points on the close up shots when he would go for the fish. I’ll post some of the action shots later. I’m going to have some fun with this lens.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley gimbal head. These are all close to full frame shots.
1/640 sec @ F7.1, 700mm, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, AV mode
1/1250 sec @ F7.1, 700mm, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, AV mode
1/800 sec @ F7.1, 700mm, ISO 400, evaluative metering, AV mode
Tim Timmis Photography 