Playing with the Sun
My favorite part of wildlife photography is playing with the light. In this case, I was playing with the sun.
This is a great egret at High Island TX rookery. Got there well before sunrise and was taking silhouette photos before the sun came up. Kept track of where the sun was going to rise to optimize my chances of playing with the sun and one of the egrets. This one cooperated while standing in some branches. She moved to the right and displayed her breeding plumage just at the right time.
Taken with Canon 1DX III with 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation, 500mm
1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation, 500mm
Great Blue Heron Golden Silhouette
My first trip to Bolivar Flats along the Texas gulf coast in 2020 was magical. One of the rare times when the Gulf of Mexico was very calm and the pre-dawn light was amazing. Caught this great blue heron coming in for a landing and was able to get some decent shots with very slow shutter speeds @ 1/100 & 1/80 sec. Had to crank my ISO up to 6400 and use 1 2/3 exposure compensation as it was before the sun came up. Wish that I would have used ISO 10,000.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wilberley II gimbal head
1/100 sec @ F5.6, ISO 6400, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation, from ground pod
1/80 sec @ F5.6, ISO 6400, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation, from ground pod
The Making of a Bird Silhouette
Spent last Sunday at sunrise hanging out at the Texas City Dike with tons of birds including Avocets, Black Skimmers, Black Crowned Night Herons and some very cooperative American Oystercatchers. More on the Oystercatchers later.
While trying to find the Oystercatchers, came upon this Great Blue Heron standing on some rocks. Thought that I could turn this into a decent shot but knew that the sun reflecting off of the water behind him was going to be a challenge. From instinct, bumped up the exposure compensation to +1 as the camera’s light meter was going to automatically darken the scene due to the bright background. Checked the histogram and saw that the bird still wasn’t properly exposed per the first photo below. It was going to take a lot more positive exposure compensation to be the Heron looking good, which would have really blown out the background.
Instead, decided to turn this into a silhouette shot. Backed my car up so that the sun reflection was directly behind him. Lowered the ISO to 100, removed all exposure compensation and let the light meter in my camera automatically darken the scene as it was very bright. Was very pleased with the result on the first try. Checked my histogram expecting that a little negative exposure compensation could be needed but it wasn’t. Another silhouette for my portfolio.
Used the back focus button on my camera to set the focus on the bird and then reframed the shot to get him in the right third of the photo.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter, hand-held out the car window using a camera bean bag
Original photo: Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Silhouette photo: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F10, ISO 100, evaluative metering, no exposure compensation
Long Billed Silhouettes
Another quick trip to the Gulf coast yesterday found several Long Billed Curlews at sunrise that were prime time for some silhouette shots. Was hoping for some more Skimmers but didn’t see any on this trip. The randomness keeps me going back as you never know what you are going to see.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500 F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1000 Sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/2500 Sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Long Billed Curlew in Silhouette
Here are a couple more silhouette shots from Bolivar Flats. This time, Long Billed Curlew’s. Just can’t resist silhouette shots before the sun comes up. A guilty pleasure of mine.
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.
1/125 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 2/3 exposure compensation
1/125 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 2/3 exposure compensation
Sandhill Silhouettes
With some early morning fog and backlighting, these Sandhill Cranes were made for silhouettes. Since I’m a major fan of wildlife silhouettes, didn’t take much arm twisting to get me to take advantage of the opportunity. Used negative exposure compensation to darken the scene and enhance the shot. Taken handheld out the car window.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens and 1.4x III teleconverter
1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, -1 exposure compensation
Spoonbill Silhouette
Here is another, yes another, Spoonbill silhouette from High Island, TX. This time there were some interesting clouds in the sky that gives this silhouette a more dramatic look.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens mounted on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount
1/8000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation
Spoonbill Partial Silhouette
Here is what I’d call a partial silhouette of a Roseate Spoonbill from the High Island rookery. The body is dark but the wings are back-lit. It works for me. My plan was to go back this weekend but a little too much jet lag from recent trip kept me from wanting to drive 1.5 hrs to High Island.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount, no flash.
1/2500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering with +2/3 exposure compensation
Winged Silhouette
Caught this Cattle Egret with a silhouette of his head visible though his wing with the early morning back lighting at High Island. It’s always one of my goals when shooting back-lit shots is to get this effect. I’ve gotten shots of Great Egrets doing this but this is a first for me with a Cattle Egret. Had a blast last Friday. It was a very nice change of pace to not have any clouds at sunrise.
One of my favorite photo’s of the year so far. More to come….
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 250, spot metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
High Island in a Blur
One of my favorite things to do at the High Island rookery is to get there early before the sun comes up and shoot blurred flight shots in silhouette. If you can handle the pre-dawn mosquitos, the flight shot opportunities with awesome colors are almost endless. It’s too early at that point to get sharp photos so I’ve learned to embrace the blur. About 1/2 hr before the sun comes up, the skies are filled with birds launching from far and wide. I typically use aperture priority, wide open, ISO 400 and +1 exposure compensation and let the camera set the shutter speed. I love the randomness of the shutter speeds that I get and the affect on the flight shots.
Here are a few Roseate Spoonbill’s in a blur from the rookery.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod with Sidekick gimbal mount.
1/40 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/13 sec @ F5.6, ISO 500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/20 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, evaluative metering
Great Blue Landing in Silhouette
Spent about 1.5 hrs lying around at Bolivar Flats yesterday taking shorebird photos. Go figure. As I was concentrating on a group of Willets, this Great Blue Heron started squawking above me as he circled twice and then finally landed fairly close to me. I tracked him as he was coming in for a landing, which was a challenge while laying down with a ground pod. Got my sweatshirt all twisted up while spinning myself around on my stomach. Luckily for me, he landing into the sun which produced a nice series of silhouette shots. This one came out the best with his wings outstreatched and feet just starting to enter the water.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on Skimmer ground pod.
1/2000 sec @ F6.3, evaluative metering, + 2/3 exposure compensation, ISO 250
Tim Timmis Photography 