Pyrrhuloxia
Had to look up the spelling on this bird. Related to the Northern Cardinal, the Pyrrhuloxia thrives in the desert southwest. They were very skittish and didn’t stick around long so I was very pleased to get these shots, especially the wingspan shot of the female.
Took these photos at Santa Clara Ranch in SW Texas in June.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on a tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head from a photography blind
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F5.0, ISO 1600, spot metering
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F6.3, ISO 1600, spot metering
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F6.3, ISO 3200, evaluative metering
Roadrunner Stare-Down
He must have been wondering where the machine gun fire was coming from nearby.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with Wimberley II gimbal head on a tripod.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Roadrunner Close-up
During my recent trip to Santa Clara Ranch, our goal was to see bobcats that have been frequenting the ponds lately. The ponds in front of the blinds are the only water source on the ranch so they attract lots of wildlife, especially during the hot summer months.
It was looking very promising for us with the previous visitors seeing bobcats at multiple blinds. Our hopes were dashed when it rained on both days. With water available elsewhere on the ranch, the cats didn’t show up. Bummer…
However, we did hit the jackpot on roadrunners. Our guide, Hector Astorga, is an expert at getting roadrunners to come into the blind area. He was calling one with his voice and it tried to come down the stairs into the blind.
This Greater Roadrunner eventually made his way to the pond and started drinking. He was too close for full body shots at the pond so I kept my focus on his eye for head shots. They are beautiful birds that are very colorful and look a little prehistoric, in my opinion.
More photos to follow with direct eye contact and drinking out of the pond.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head from a sunken blind
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Female Painted Bunting at Laguna Seca Ranch
Made another trip to south Texas last week for some photo blind photography. Had a great time as usual. Thanks again Scott for the invitation and Richard for the six-hour ride down south. Spent Friday morning at Laguna Seca Ranch and Saturday/Sunday at Santa Clara Ranch.
It was a little toasty sitting in the blinds with the temps around 98 deg F in the afternoons but it wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Just felt like another warm summer day in the Houston area. Although, I’m not usually sitting in a box at those temp’s, but it was well worth it.
Larry Ditto was our guide at Laguna Seca . It was great to spend some quality time with Larry again as our paths usually only cross briefly at Galveston’s FeatherFest.
The activity was slow on Friday but there were still lots of birds around. We saw some of the usual suspects, including painted buntings, bobwhite quail, green jays, cardinals, bronzed cowbirds, thrashers, etc.
We only saw one of the brightly colored male buntings for a few seconds but there were several female buntings that came up to the water. It’s always fun to shoot off a burst of photos while they are bathing.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.0, ISO 3200, spot metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.0, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Reddish Close-up
This Reddish Egret walked around us at FeatherFest during my Ground Level Photography field trip. He was too close for a full bird shot so got these head shots with minor cropping.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Update: I’ve added copies of the original uncropped photos to show how cropping is a necessity sometimes when there are distracting backgrounds. In this case, we were shooting back towards our cars parked on the beach.
Original photo:
Cropped photo:
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Original photo:
Cropped photo:
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Galveston FeatherFest 2016
FeatherFest in Galveston, TX was held this past week and it was a great success. This was my fourth year being a photography event leader with four classroom workshops and three field trips this year. Had lots of fun and got to meet some great people with several repeat photographers from previous years. Thanks to everyone that participated. Special thanks to Scott, Julie Ann, Barbara, the liaisons and all of the volunteers. They made the leaders days go very smooth.
The weather didn’t fully cooperate but the birds sure did. I was amazed at how well the field trips went with the cloudy and sometimes extremely windy weather. I’m hoping that everyone on the field trips had a good time and got some great photos. Can’t wait to do it again next year but my ‘ol body needs a little rest first.
Shore Bird field trip on Friday
On Friday, we had a great time with photographing shore birds on Galveston Island. Since it was cloudy when we got to the jetty on East Beach at sunrise, I encouraged the group to take blurred photos. The usual flock of black skimmers launched for us several times, providing lots of practice for birds in flight and blurred photos, some of which are shown below.
We stopped at the east end of the island to see a few boring Avocets, some other shore birds and a cooperative Reddish Egret, which is always a good time.
We then headed to 19th St. pier to check out the Pelicans near the fishing boats. There were lots of photo op’s of the pelicans and a lone Black Crowned Night Heron. The colors of the Brown Pelicans were amazing but I ended up converting the photo below to B&W based on the texture of their perch and their wings.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 100-400 II, handheld
Black Skimmers: Shutter priority, 1/10 sec @ F 16, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Black Skimmers: Shutter priority, 1/10 sec @ F 16, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Willet: Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure
Brown Pelicans: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation. Converted to B&W using NIK Silver Effects Pro (which is now free!!)
Ground Level Photography field trip on Saturday
On Saturday, it was off to Bolivar Flats for some good old fashion down and dirty bird photography using ground pods. Even though it was supposed to be low tide, the high winds from the south drove the surf to near the shore line. However, there was a flock of Avocets right next to the parking area and we enjoyed some great photo op’s. After about an hour, we got up (thankfully from my body’s perspective) and went down the shoreline to another group of Avocets and Royal Terns. We laid down but there was a ridge of seaweed blocking the view of the birds. We were cutting off the legs of the birds in our photos. With no other good option, we practiced doing some belly crawling to try to get on a higher section of sand adjacent to the water, with limited success.
The shooting wasn’t ideal so we headed back to our original location as there were no other birds in sight down the shoreline. Unfortunately, the Avocets spooked and flew away before we could get into position. I instructed the group to lay down and wait for them to come back as it was a good location, considering the conditions. The Avocets didn’t come back but a Reddish Egret ended up landed right in front of us. It was very sweet. He put on a very good show for us, although he was too close for me at times at 700mm, which is a good problem to have.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
American Avocet: 1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation; full frame shot
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation
Ground Level Photography field trip on Sunday
It was obvious going into the weekend that Sunday was going to be challenging with the weather forecast of storms all day. Got up at 3:30 a.m. to check the radar with no rain in the Galveston area, which was very good news. However, it was raining off and on during on my drive to Galveston. Made the 6:00 a.m. ferry and met the group on the Bolivar side. I was hoping for the best based on Saturday’s outing but it was very windy (20 to 30 mph), which is usually a kiss of death at Bolivar Flats for birds being along the shoreline.
The first challenge hit when we turned onto the road to the beach and found that it was flooded. Put my boots on and walked the road with Kevin and confirmed that there was only a few inches of water on the road. We found the second challenge when we got to the beach and found that the beach was flooded and we couldn’t make it to the “flats”. What could have been a major bust turned out to be a great outing with finding a couple of Oystercatchers, several Avocets and a Reddish Egret along the shoreline near the entrance to the beach.
We geared up and got down and dirty with our ground pods. Always leery of getting too close and spooking the birds, I kept the group back a ways to start. We then ended up belly crawling closer pushing our ground pods along in the sand. I could tell that Kevin was really getting into it as he ended up in the water ahead of the rest of the group. We eventually caught up with him and enjoyed some good shooting.
Then the third challenge hit when someone pulled up in a car with two kids and walked very close to the Reddish Egret to collect shells along the beach. Some people have no clue. The Terns scattered but luckily, the egret didn’t fly away. I’ve learned over the years to not get too angry at clueless people but to take advantage of the situation. Seeing that the Egret was more interesting in feeding than people, I got the group up and we shifted to be closer/more in line with where the egret was feeding. It was a very good move as we were able to get very close to him and he ended up walking right by us at one point.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
American Avocets: 1/640 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 1/3 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret: Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, + 1 1/3 exposure compensation. Full frame shot with being cropped to vertical format.
High Hopes Dashed…Activated Plan B
After a tiring work week, it was a challenge to drag my old carcass out of bed early on Saturday. However, calm winds in Galveston coaxed me out of bed at 4:00 a.m. and I headed to the gulf coast. The last two trips have been less than stellar with the tide being too low, which spreads out the birds with Avocets nowhere to be found. Had high hopes on the way to Galveston with seeing the distant water vapor from Texas City plant stacks going straight up with no wind. The clouds were a gorgeous pre-dawn red color as the ferry approached Bolivar. All promising signs.
Geared up in my waders and headed out across the flats as the sun started to break over the gulf. That sight in itself made the trip worthwhile. Found a flock of Avocets nearby. Walked slowly towards them and laid down in order to not spook them. Started belly crawling to get closer when some birds to my left took off. Looked behind me and saw two wade fisherman walking along the shoreline, which is not a good sign for getting good bird photos. As anticipated, they ignored what I was doing and walked out into the water and headed straight towards the Avocets, per the photo below. Needless to say, my Avocet high hopes for the day were dashed.
With my prime targets flying away, had to come up with a plan B. After looking around at my options, decided to move closer to the water line and wait it out, hoping that the birds would return. No Avocets but the Willets and a Yellowlegs cooperated for me. Frustration turned into some decent shots and incentive to go back again another day. A slow morning at Bolivar is 100 times better than sitting at home.
On the way back to the car, got a chance to talk to a couple of other bird photographers, which is always a good time.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod and Wimberley II gimbal head.
My original target – flock of American Avocets
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation
My two new best friends…
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 1/3 exposure compensation
Willets with some nice crossed beak action
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 2/3 exposure compensation
Yellowlegs checking me out with some direct eye contact
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, + 1 exposure compensation
Elegant but Sad
I really like the elegant curved wing position of this Royal Tern photo but my feelings are tempered by the scene that unfolded before Newton and I on this outing. While lying on the beach at high tide taking photos of Terns and some smaller shore birds, this Royal Tern appeared in front of us flapping his wings in and out of the water trying to make it to shore. He eventually made it to dry land but appeared to have an injured leg. We couldn’t see any obvious reason for his injury. Very sad…
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
White Pelican Line-up
These White Pelicans were feeding close to my position and provided a nice line-up to photograph.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret
Found this Reddish Egret hanging out close to the car while walking back from seeing the Peregrine Falcon per my last post. He walked along a sandbar and turned to check us out and then continued on his way.
It was later in the morning so the light was harsh but he still made a good photo op. Had to crank up the exposure compensation on the second shot to keep it from becoming a silhouette with the sun behind him.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 2/3 exposure compensation
Peregrine Patience
Made another trip to Bolivar Flats on Friday with Sheldon to see if we would have any better luck with finding birds than on our last trip. It was very low tide again with some wind but not too bad. While walking out to the sandbars just before the sun came up, I spotted what looked like something sitting on a piece of PVC pipe that was sticking out of the sand. Taking a look through my camera revealed a Peregrine Falcon perched on the piece of pipe.
We slowly walked towards him and laid down on the sand. We were very patient with this Falcon in order to not spook him before we got closer. We ended up spending 2 hrs watching him and crawling closer. He faked us out several times by stretching his wings and doing his duty but he never took off. He may have spent the night sitting on that pipe by the way that he was acting.
It was challenging to keep focused on him for that long and my neck/back/arm got very sore along with my right hand falling asleep. Ended up rolling on my side several times to rest my neck and stomach.
We knew that the photos of him sitting on the pipe wouldn’t be very good with the unnatural perch so we waited very patiently until he took off. He was facing into the wind and we were laying in front of him hoping that he would fly towards us, however he took off in the opposite direction. It was disappointing but it’s always cool to see one of these birds and sometimes you have to take what you can get. My old body is still paying the price from that outing with a very sore back/neck.
Luckily we found a more cooperative Reddish Egret on our way back to our cars. I’ll post some photos of him later.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
All photos are aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Clapper Rail
While taking photos of some Willets, this Clapper Rail came out from the weeds and surprised us. He then walked straight towards us and turned left right while coming very close to where we were lying, which resulted in only minor cropping on the last two shots. Helped to prove the point that birds don’t recognize you as a person while lying down with a ground pod.
These Rails usually stay close to the weeds for cover so it was very cool to see this one out in the open.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
B&W Pelican
This Brown Pelican was coming in for a landing and filled the frame. The colors were very muted so I converted it to B&W.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Little Ones
I’ve learned not to ignore the little shorebirds while lying down. They can be a challenge to photograph as they move around quickly but they can be very photogenic.
When they are standing still, I’ll use a single focus point but change to all focus points when they start moving, if they are close enough. Getting direct eye contact is always a favorite pose. Preening can also reveal some interesting photos. These were taken on a cloudy day so the ISO had to be cranked up to get a decent shutter speed.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III telconverter
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Snowy Plover
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
End of 2015 = Peregrine Falcon + Avocets
2015 ended on a high note with my last trip this year to Bolivar Flats in Texas. The sun hasn’t been out much lately in this part of Texas so it was time to shoot in cloudy conditions. It was great weather to be lying on the wet sandbars at 44 deg F (with waders on of course). The Avocets were out in mass with several hundred of them hanging out off shore near sandbars. Found a decent location and ended up crawling closer to a flock of Avocets. Several more came in to land, which provided some action shots.
Just before getting up to leave, all of the birds took off, which usually means that a raptor is in the area. Turned to my right and saw that a Peregrine Falcon had landed on a sandbar. I’ve never seen one land that far from the shoreline before. Didn’t think that he was going to stick around long so I stayed in place focusing on him while anticipating some lift-off and flight shots. He obliged soon after and it was a great way to end this outing.
Also it was nice to meet Hal on this trip, a follower of this blog.
Have a great new year everyone!!
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600 + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, + 1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600 + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Avocets with New 7D II
Made a trip back to Bolivar Flats last weekend working as a guide, which gave me a chance to try out my new Canon 7D mark II camera.
From a guide perspective, it turned out to be a good trip with Newton. It was very low tide and we found a large flock of Avocets not too far off shore before sunrise. Got some decent shots and moved on to several other locations shooting Willets, Long Billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, a Yellowlegs and several smaller shorebirds. Ended up working our way around the bend and found a Reddish Egret and then a flock of Avocets worked their way towards us, as I predicted. What appeared to be a lucky guess was actually an accurate prediction based on several similar encounters at that location. Ended up being a very good morning.
From a testing out the new camera perspective, it was also a good outing. I’m a little too spoiled with my 1DX but the new 7D II worked well. It’s obviously not as good with high ISO as the 1DX but it’s much improved over my old 7D. Looks like it will be a good back-up camera. It’s also very light compared to the 1DX.
Ended up getting the new camera as I recently experience problems with my 1DX. Made a trip during the week of Thankgiving and found that my 1DX wouldn’t focus on my 500mm lens. Experienced issues with the contacts as the mounts were bent up from a previous crash/burn from my kitchen table. Got my lens repaired from a local repair shop in Houston but have to send my camera to Canon as they wouldn’t sell him (or me) a replacement ring mount. Took my old 7D to the Santa Clara ranch a few weeks ago as a back-up but would have had major issues with the low light levels. That convinced me that that I needed a newer back-up camera and getting $500 off during black Friday week also helped my cause.
These photos were taken with Canon 7D II with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
This photo was a little dull due to being taken before sunrise so I increased the exposure in Photoshop to make it more of a “high key” image which worked better.
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F5, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Taken after the sun came up
Bobwhite Quail
Bobwhite Quail are beautiful birds with very distinct feather patterns. Males have a bold black and white head pattern with the females having buff colored heads. They are very fast and can be hard to track with a camera as they run around.
Had mostly cloudy skies on this trip and had crank up the ISO and break out my flash for some of these shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Roadrunner from Santa Clara Ranch
Made another trip to the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, this time to the Santa Clara Ranch. Had a great time, thanks again Scott for the invitation. This property has a ranch house that you can stay at and get meal service, which was a highlight of the trip with some of the best Mexican food that I’ve eaten. I wanted to bring the cook home with me. Hector, the ranch manager, was our guide and did a great job.
This Roadrunner surprised us as we were in the blind taking photos of other birds when he came up to the water. He walked away then came back to give us a good opportunity for some close-up shots. Ended up with over 8000 photos and still haven’t gone through them all yet.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Reddish Egret in Partial Silhouette
Time to get back to posting some winged subjects with feathers. These Reddish Egrets were doing their usual dancing around while fishing. Two partial silhouette shots taken at different locations along the Gulf of Mexico from the beach at Bolivar Flats in Texas.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1250 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Tern and Burn
I was watching a small group of Royal Terns close to shore when they started to fly away. Focused on the last one and caught him taking off, flying towards me and making a hard right turn. Got several shots in this sequence. This turn and burn sequence was good practice for the upcoming Wings Over Houston airshow.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Brown Pelicans Fishing at Sunrise
Brown Pelicans were out in force last weekend at sunrise along the Gulf coast. They would come close to shore diving for fish. Had a blast tracking them as they flew in and dove into the water. The take-off’s were fun as well. Good opportunity for some action silhouette shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
High Key Reddish Egret Portrait
Went back to Bolivar Flats yesterday to scout out the conditions for a Sunday shoot with a couple of clients. Thought that it was going to be a major bust when I first arrived. The tide was up near sunrise and there were no expose sandbars. Had to work the shoreline which isn’t my preference. Very few birds to be seen at first but it was still a little dark out about 45 min before sunrise.
Found a group of Skimmers and ended up belly crawling to get close to them, until a couple of wade fisherman walked right in front of me scaring all of the birds away while pulling a wagon behind them with their gear. Didn’t have time to get too angry as I’ve learned to take advantage of that situation by getting up and quickly moving forward and getting into position. As anticipated, the birds came back to that same spot and I spend then next 1.5 hrs shooting from that location.
Ended up being much better photo op’s than expected. Especially when the Reddish Egrets showed up. While taking photos of other birds, this Reddish landed right in front of me as he was chasing a White Morph Reddish Egret away. He ran in front of me and luckily stopped to bask in the glory of his conquest with his feathers all puffed out. He had his feathers puffed out in this position for about 1 second, so I was glad to get this shot.
Glad that I went yesterday as today was a wash out with the rain along the coast.
Taken with a Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
The Look
After a couple of hours shooting shorebirds, hiked back to the car worn out and ready to clean up/pack away my gear and head home. However, this White Morph Reddish Egret was fishing just off shore close to the parking area and he forced me to lay down one more time. Glad that I’m easily influenced by birds.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F14, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
Raise Your Wings
Fishing action with a White Morph Reddish Egret. More ground pod action from my last trip to Bolivar Flats. Converted to B&W using NIK Silver Efex.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500MM F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Tim Timmis Photography 