Skimmer going away…
I’ve got tons of bird “butt shots” but this is one of my favorites from a recent trip to Bryan Beach. As well as getting photos of Black Skimmers coming towards me, I was able to get some as they were heading away. This one stood out with the tail feathers in the “flaps down” position and his beak just barely in the water.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
Reddish Egret Landing
While taking Skimmer photos, this Reddish Egret came in for a landing right in front of me. There were 4 of them that flew in together and this one made the most dramatic landing in decent light.
1/1250 sec @ F4, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Spoonbill Fishing
A couple of Spoonbills were wondering around the pond at Bryan Beach on one of my recent trips. Took the opportunity to get some shots of them fishing. My usual Spoonbill photos aren’t water shots so this was a nice change of pace. The shape of the bills work very well for fishing along the bottom of the pond. My first photos of them actually catching fish.
1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation
Scaring Fish Out of the Water
This Skimmer was doing such a good job fishing that the fish were jumping out of the water as he was flying around.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/250 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering
Avocet Posing
My goal for the last trip to Bryan Beach near Freeport, TX was to concentrate on Avocet shots as some of them are in full breeding plumage. Of course, when David and I got into position near the pond, most of the Avocets were on the other end. After getting some Skimmer shots, ended up moving to the other end in search of the elusive Avocets. Ended up doing the old belly crawl to get close to them, which is always fun in the stinky muck around that pond. Well worth the effort to get close to these guys. The interesting part was after getting in to position, I felt something started crawling under my stomach. Likely a small crab but I wasn’t about to move at that point so was glad that it didn’t bite.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Tern vs. Fish
The fish won this battle as the Tern miscalculated just a tad as his eyes were apparently bigger than his stomach, or throat. He kept trying to swallow the fish to no avail. He finally gave up but it made a cool photo-op.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
My 4th of July Skimmer Fireworks
My 4th of July celebration started at sunrise this year instead of sunset. Still had lots of sparks flying (lame analogy for Skimmers) in the pond at Bryan Beach. Positioned myself this time at one end of the pond where they would fly directly towards me. Also got some photos of other birds like Black Crowned Night Herons and Reddish Egrets which I’ll post later.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F4, ISO 500, evaluative metering
1/400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, -2/3 exposure compensation, evaluative metering
1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering
1/400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering
Black Skimmer Challenges & Rewards
The past couple weeks have challenged my patience and photography skills. Headed to Bryan Beach last weekend in search for Black Skimmers after hearing that the water was drying up in the ponds, which helps to concentrate the fish and the birds.
One of the challenges at Bryan Beach is finding a place to park without getting your car stuck in the sand, which I’ve had lots of experience with over the past few years. With my highly functioning brain waves, ended up getting stuck in the mud instead of the sand this time. Saw some tracks where someone else had driven across what appeared to be dried out muck from the pond so I dove in and got stuck in the “wet” muck. While sitting in the car with wheels spinning and contemplating my options, looked towards the birds in the pond and said the heck with my car. It wasn’t going anywhere and the birds were begging to be photographed, which turned out to be easier said than done.
Experienced some of the most challenging shooting that I’ve seen while using my 500mm lens on a ground pod. Even with using a gimbal head, there is a very limited range of motion available while lying down on the ground when shooting flying birds. Skimmers fly with their beaks in the water to grab fish. The challenges included acquiring the birds in the frame with the 500mm lens, getting them in focus while flying around other birds, getting a clean foreground/background and then getting the shot before running out of room to move the lens around. Standing up would have been much easier but the shots wouldn’t have been as good. There were hundreds of shore birds in this small pond so trying to get an isolated shot was almost impossible.
My 7D did fairly well but had some trouble with locking the focus on the quick moving Skimmers with the busy backgrounds. Tried using different focus point options and ended up back with what I typically use, the single center focus point. A 1D series Canon body would have fared much better but that is another expenditure for down the road, but a good excuse to get one someday.
The first day at Bryan Beach ended up with a couple of 32 gig cards full of skimmer shots, a very stiff neck and me calling a tow truck. Almost had to call an ambulance after nearly having a heart attack when they told me that it would cost $150 to get may car pulled out of the mud. Luckily a good Samaritan stopped by and pulled me out before I had to sell my first-born child to get out. There are still good people out there and I’ve met lots of them in Texas.
Went back for two more days of Skimmer photography over the holiday, so more and better photos to come.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
Here is a shot that shows how congested the pond is just before sunrise.
1/400 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
1/400 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
1/500 sec @ F9, ISO 500, evaluative metering
1/500 sec @ F9, ISO 500, evaluative metering
Intimidation
This Great Egret was all bristled up while chasing off another egret from its nesting area. The breeding plumage can not only be used for attracting a mate, but also to intimidate an unwanted visitor. Some back-lit action from High Island’s rookery earlier this year.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 400, spot metering
Love Bite Gator Style
One of my goals while taking photos of the baby alligators at Brazos Bend State Park this year was to get a shot of a baby sitting on momma’s head. Ended up having to settle for one on her nose instead. This youngster was showing momma some affection with a little love bite to her eye. Momma didn’t seem to mind and only collapsed her eye lid on the last photo. The baby then looked like he was going to crawl up her head when someone walking up the trail stopped too close to them and she dove to her left into the water. I’m sure that the baby went flying. Wish that I had gotten that shot.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on tripod with Wimberley II head
1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/400 sec @ F11, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
You Want a Piece of Me??
This baby Alligator was holding his ground doing his best to try to intimidate the guy taking his photo. Wasn’t too scared by this little guy but always had to keep an eye out for his mother. This shot helps to demonstrate the narrow depth of field with a close-up shot using a 500mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter. Had to use F16 just to get his head in focus.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on tripod with Wimberley II head
1/200 sec @ F16, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 700mm
Love Birds
“He’s just not into you” doesn’t apply in this case. Love was is the air for both of these Great Egrets during mating season at High Island’s rookery. Used spot metering on these white bird to get the proper exposure which helped to darken the background. It’s always my goal to get a heart shape formed between the two birds necks. Got close on this one.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II head
1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 400, spot metering
Wings-Up Spoonbill
This Roseate Spoonbill was doing a nice pose while coming in for a landing at High Island’s rookery. Was able to get his head sharp with some motion in the wings with the slow shutter speed. It was a cloudy day but it worked for this photo.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/200 sec @ F4, ISO 500, spot metering
Spoonbill Silhouette
Back to the birds, finally, as some of you are probably saying. During my last trip to High Island, got there a few minutes late due to an accicent that had a road completely blocked off. I was still there before the sun came up but the upper positions on the last platform were filled up already. Had to resort to the lower platform which isn’t my favorite.
Found lots of Spoonbills flying around and was able to capture this one in silhouette as the sun was coming up. Used negative exposure compensation to help darken the scene.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/1000 sec @ F 7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Gator Crossing
Why did the gator cross the road? In this case, the mother alligator was heading to check on her babies that were on the other side of the trail after the Great Blue Heron picked one of them off. Normally when gators cross the trail, they end up lying down and resting along the way as it takes lots of energy for them to walk on land. Not this time. Momma was hiking with a vengeance and didn’t stop to smell the roses as she quickly walked from one side to the other. It only took her about 10 seconds to make the trip based on my photos. She only stayed about 10 minutes and came back to the other side. She also looked much larger and intimidating out of the water.
About 1/2 hr later, one of the little ones crossed the trail. Saw him coming up the bank and ended up taking my camera off of the tripod and laid down on the trail to get a series of photos of the crossing. I’m usually leery of laying down at BBSP around alligators but couldn’t resist this shot. Love the markings on the young gator. He was also tagged, with what looks like green fishing line, as described by one of the park rangers. A second one was also going to cross but got scared away by someone on a bicycle. He ended up coming back to momma’s side of the trail about 45 minutes later. Sometimes the grass isn’t greener on the other side…
Also, here’s a tip on how to identify a female alligator in the wild…check to see if the gator is wearing high heels 🙂 (see photo below)
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens
1/200 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
1/320 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Missed Opportunity – GBH Grabs Baby Gator
While taking baby gator photos at Brazos Bend State Park, had a very interesting experience that left me both angry at myself and also feeling very lucky.
Had the ideal, one in a lifetime, photo opportunity with a Great Blue Heron grabbing a baby alligator. Found the GBH in the area where the babies were the previous weekend but momma gator was on the other side of the trail. Knew to keep an eye on the GBH just in case the action happened. I was trying to get a decent shot of the GBH when I made a couple of major errors right before the action hit. I turned the camera vertical, switched to the top most focusing point and used F16 to get the GBH in focus as he was full framed at 500mm. Immediately after I did that, the GBH struck and grabbed a little gator right in front of me. Had my flash going but it didn’t help much as I lost the focus point and only got a shutter speed of 1/25 to 1/30 sec. It happened too quick for me to recover and change settings. Oh well, it happens.
The other interesting part was that the GBH then flew away over the trail where the momma gator was and who apparently was watching the action. The gator shot out across the water about 40 ft making a large wave trying to get to the GBH. Now that would have been a photo-op. She wasn’t even close but it was quite an experience to see the whole episode unfold right in front of me.
The biggest lesson learned for me had nothing to do with my missed photos. Note to self: don’t stand between a mother gator and her young when they are attacked. She could have easily shot out of the water and ran right into me on her way to the GBH. Therefore, I consider myself lucky to see the action and not to be in the path of an angry mother gator. In reality, I didn’t kick myself that much as it was very cool to see and there were some other decent photo op’s that day.
Here are some of the resulting photos just to punish myself on what I missed. Maybe in my next lifetime…
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II head, all uncropped full framed photos
1/60 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer, just prior to setting it to F16
1/30 sec @ F16, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer
1/25 sec @ F16, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer
1/25 sec @ F16, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer
Gator Pile
Baby alligators like to sun themselves and they are determined to climb over one another to do it. Hense, the “gator pile” syndrome. Unfortunately, the pile can only hold so many and one usually shows up to spoil the fun for the rest of them, which results in the “falling gator pile” syndrome. The babies that we spotted at Brazos Bend State Park were keeping near the weeds but eventually came out to warm up on the small log. One of them would climb on the log and the others would then pile on.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II head.
1/160 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm, no flash
1/80 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 500mm, no flash
Baby Alligators
Didn’t have high expectations from a photography perspective last weekend with cloudy weather but sometimes mother nature comes through with a few surprises. Headed to Brazos Bend State Park and eagle eye Doug ended up spotting a baby gator swimming near the 40 acre lake trail. Jackpot! We ended up spending a couple of hours on Sat and again on Sunday sitting on the bank with one eye on the babies and the other on momma. We ended up seeing about 16 small gators, which were around 8 to 12 inches long and +/- 9 months old as they typically hatch in August. We were hoping for a “baby on momma’s head” shot but no luck. Got some of those shots a few years ago and it would be fun to see it again.
The conditions posed a few challenges. As a general rule, I don’t typically shoot over ISO 500 due to the 7D noise. Didn’t have much choice on Saturday as I forgot to bring my off-camera flash cord, so no flash for me. Therefore, got to play with ISO 1600 and ISO 800, which turned out not to be the disaster that I was anticipating. The noise cleaned up nicely with Noise Ninja. I’m really glad that I couldn’t use flash on Sat as I didn’t like my flash shots as much on Sunday.
The little buggers were very cute and fun to watch and photograph. Luckily there was a small log in the water near them and they would climb up on it to sun themselves. I was very happy with the IS performance of my 500mm lens as the second shot was at only 1/30 sec. I’ll post some of the group “pile-on” photos later.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II head
1/400 sec @ F5, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 500mm, no flash
1/30 sec @ F4, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm, no flash
1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation, 500mm, no flash
So I Look Like an Elephant?
Not really…but…kinda…sorta…
The second day of my California adventure included a visit to Piedras Blancas rookery, where there were thousands of Elephant Seals on a stretch of beach near San Simeon. I’ve been to High Island rookery many times but I’ve never seen a rookery like this before. The seals were going through their molting phase but some were very cute none the less. They have a great set-up with boardwalks along the top of the beach so that you can’t get on the beach but you can get some very close-up photos.
It was a very impressive site to see so many seals all in one location. They were laying side by side which made for some interesting pattern shots. Broke out the big lens to get close-up’s. When one started moving, the other ones would get ticked off and a few fights broke out. We were a few months late for mating season when the fights are much more intense.
You can get more details on this location and info on the seals on the link below. A great place to visit if you are ever in this part of California. I’ll definitely be going back.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head, except the first photo as noted
1/640 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 100mm with Canon 100-400mm lens
1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
1/640 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
1/400 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, 500mm
California Wrap Sea Otter Style
One of the cool behaviors that we observed at Morro Bay was the Sea Otters wrapping themselves in seaweed to keep them from floating away while they slept. This one was almost totally wrapped up.
I lived in the Los Angeles area for a couple of years back in the late 80’s but wasn’t into wildlife photography in the film days, which was a shame. Jumped at the opportunity to go back to California to take photos of these awesome critters.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld
1/250 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
California Dreamin’
Still dreaming about California after spending 3 days on a photography trip last week. The tour was led by professional photographer Bill R. Shewchuk from Morro Bay, CA. Thanks Bill for an excellent tour and all of the advice. There were 7 of us on the tour and we had a blast. Thanks Beth for the invitation.
One of my goals this year was to get out of the Houston area to photograph something different. This trip definitely qualified. We had photo op’s of Sea Otters, Elephant Seals, Whales, horses, piers, fishing boats and landscapes from Big Sur. The problem now is that I’m hooked and want to go again.
Here are some of my Sea Otter photos. These were taken in Morro Bay after the fog rolled in on Monday morning before heading to the airport. The fog made for better lighting than direct sunlight. The Otters are adorable and very fun to watch. When resting, they keep their hands/feet out of the water to regulate their temperature while they roll their bodies 360 deg in the water.
I’ll post some more shots later. Ended up taking about 6300 photos, which is less than I anticipated. Took 7 – 32 gig memory cards and didn’t use them all.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld
1/200 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/200 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/250 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 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 Field Trip to Galveston
The second field trip that I led at FeatherFest this year was to East Beach on Galveston Island. It was another early morning and we got there right at sunrise. Had 12 of us total with a larger bus than the day before. We found a flock of Black Skimmers near the jetty with a few seagulls mixed in. Also found a cooperative Tri-colored Heron fishing near the jetty. It went well except for Beth’s 7D not responding soon after we arrived. We tried changing batteries, lenses, memory cards, etc. but no luck. I let her borrow my 7D and 500mm lens, which could be a problem as I sense a little 500mm fever coming on. 😉 Her camera started working again once we got back on the bus, go figure.
Spent the first hour of so on East Beach and then headed further north on the east end of the Island when the action at the jetty slowed down. We found a group of Avocets in the distance but they weren’t moving around much. We sat down and got a few decent shots of Willet’s flying around along with Black Necked Stilts hopping around on one leg.
My trusty assistant, Ed, suggested that we head to the pier area behind Joe’s Crab Shack near the Strand. It worked out great with a shrimp boat coming into the dock as we walked up. Brown Pelicans were all over the boat trying to catch scraps that the crew discarded. My 500mm lens had too much reach and ended up getting lots of head shots. Everyone had some great photo op’s including a Snowy Egret and a Black Crowned Night Heron. It worked out well that we kept searching for where the birds were the most active.
Thanks to everyone that signed up for this field trip. It was sold out and everyone appeared to have a good time, including me. Thanks again Ed for your help and recommendations along the way.
All of these shots were taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with the last 3 being handheld
Shutter priority, 1/6 sec @ F32, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 200, +1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 200, +1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/250 sec @ F9, ISO 400, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 