photoartflightMonarch Butterfly On Buttonbush
Posted on July 6, 2021
I was looking for Dragonflies to photograph at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge Maryland, but came across this Monarch Butterfly on this Buttonbush plant. I was using a 400mm DO lens with a 1.4x Teleconverter on a Canon 1DmkIV. I thought it looked interesting hanging upside down on the spherical pincushion blossoms. They are composed of dense clusters of tiny white tubular flowers. Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is often lauded for its utility rather than its beauty. Its commercial introduction in 1735 was primarily for beekeepers (hence, its other common name of honey-bells), who cultivated this deciduous shrub as a pollen and nectar resource for honeybees. This wetland shrub can be found in low-lying areas, swamps, marshes, bogs, and wetlands, and along the edges of ponds, streams, and rivers. It is often used to develop and restore wetlands, control erosion in riparian areas, and create wildlife habitats.
Osprey FlyBy At Blackwater NWR
Posted on March 9, 2021
An Osprey Flyby image taken on the Wildlife Drive at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, Maryland. This was from a few years ago and never got around to working on them. Luckily I had time to shoot a vertical image as it quickly flew by providing a frame filling image with very little cropping. Then the Osprey circled back and I got a few more images as it flew by in the opposite direction. Featured image taken with a Canon 400mm f/4DO lens on Canon 1D mkIII. (f/8, 1/2000 sec, ISO 400, aperture priority).
American White Pelican Flying In At Blackwater NWR
Posted on March 8, 2021
These are from a past trip a couple of years ago in April. I was photographing a Bald Eagle when I noticed a lone American White Pelican heading straight towards me. I started photographing it and was shooting a series of images as it was coming towards me. It banked sharply and landed in the water. After it landed in the water I noticed a whole flock flying in from the side that was apparently following the lone Pelican. So I guess he was the leader of the group. The bright white Pelicans really stood out against the deep blue color of the water. Also you can see the lone American White Pelican was in Breeding Plumage with the fibrous epidermal plate on it’s upper mandibles about one third of the way up their bills. All images were taken with a Canon 400mm DO lens with a Canon 2X Teleconverter on a Canon 1D mkIII.
Osprey Defending Nest
Posted on February 23, 2021
On a visit years ago in the Spring to Blackwater NWR there was a lot of activity around the Osprey Nests along the Wildlife Drive. It was in mating season and the Ospreys were busy on the nests. This image was when an other osprey kept trying to get to the nest. On this pass the defending Osprey almost went upside down with claws out defending the nest. Plus there was a lot of screeching of the birds going on. This was the best image of the series because the more it was going up to defend the nest I cut off some of the Osprey in the image. Not sure if there were eggs in the nest or just wanted the nest. Image taken with a 400mm f/4 DO lens with a 1.4x Teleconverter on a Canon 1D mkIII.
Blackwater NWR Sunrise Panoramas
Posted on February 20, 2021
These images are a series of multi-image panoramas of a Blackwater NWR Sunrise on a visit there in July 2018. Blackwater NWR is a great place to visit for sunrise & sunsets. We were trying to get there for the sunrise and we just made it before the sunrise started. Most images were taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a 24-105mm lens at various focal lengths. The featured image is made from 12 horizontal images taken @ 85mm to show less foreground and more height to the distant tree line. The full final size pano is 118″ long x ~20″ high.
Bald Eagles On Branches At Blackwater NWR
Posted on February 17, 2021
A few more Bald Eagle images taken in December 2008 from the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. The Featured Image was taken with a Canon 400mm DO lens with a Canon 1.4x Teleconverter on a Canon 1DmkIV.
More Bald Eagles From Blackwater NWR
Posted on February 14, 2021
During our visit to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland we did see quite a few Bald Eagles flying in the distance. But many not close enough to photograph. We did finally find a few to get somewhat closer images. These images are also cropped in quite a lot to have the Bald Eagles large enough to see in the image. The Featured Bald Eagle was in a tree by the Entrance to the Wildlife Drive.
Blackwater NWR Mergansers
Posted on February 13, 2021
On our visit to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, I was looking for some different photo subjects than the usual ones we see. I did find some Mergansers in different areas along the Wildlife Drive. The Featured Image is a Hooded Merganser. It was swimming in a small water channel under a bunch of trees so I hardly could make it out in the shadows. It was just one black blob moving in the water so I adjusted my exposure in the camera to +1 stop hoping that would be enough to get some detail. Then when working on the image in Adobe Camera Raw, adjust the shadows in the Raw file to bring out more detail in the shadows and reduce the noise in the image. So it seemed to work out ok. This was taken with a Canon R with a 150-600mm lens @ 600mm. Then near the end of the Wildlife Drive I found a pair (male & female) of Common Mergansers swimming in the channel.
Blackwater NWR iPhone Multi-Image Panoramas
Posted on February 12, 2021
On our visit to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge I was traveling light thinking only of Birds & Wildlife images. I only was using a Canon R with a Tamron 150-600mm lens. But when we got there the clouds with the landscapes were amazing. So I tried shooting quite a few multi-image panoramas with a variety of the iPhone lenses. The featured image is 10 vertical images (4:3 format iPhone format) assembled and blended in Photoshop.
Blackwater NWR Snow Geese In-Flight Panoramas
Posted on February 12, 2021
On our visit to Blackwater NWR we saw quite a few large groups of Tundra Swans & Canada Geese, but I was looking for large groups of Snow Geese. There was one large group way out in the Blackwater River, but none close to photograph. Also saw one large group in the distance behind the Visitor Center but could not get a clear image of them from the Wildlife Drive. After driving one loop of the Wildlife Drive we stopped by the Visitor Center to photograph a large group of Canada Geese in the fields by the Center. Then off to the left of the Visitor Center I noticed a large group of Snow Geese flying in. It was still early so I liked the color of the sky behind them. When photographing multi-image panoramas of flying birds I tend to photograph them from the far end of the direction they are flying and shoot my series as quickly as I can. So if the group is flying to the right, I start my series on the far left and shoot quickly going along with them to the right to capture the whole group. If you go the opposite way you get more uneven spacing and more spacing between the birds in the group. Which is harder to touch up for the final image. The featured image is 5 images shot with a Tamron 150-600mm @600mm on a Canon R. These are about 80 – 122 inches for the original file, so making them so small in length for the post I loose some detail in the image.
photoartflight 