Bald Eagle Guards @ Blackwater NWR

One of my favorite subjects to photograph are Bald Eagles. I have found them in a variety of locations, even a nesting pair in a Shop Rite Parking lot. But my Favorite place for photographing Bald Eagles is the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. Many times you see them just hanging out along the Wildlife Drive and they do not seem to be bothered by your presence as long as you do not get too close, so I use a Canon 400mm with a 2X teleconverter or a 150-600mm lens with or without Teleconverters.

Bald Eagle along the Wildlife Drive, Canon 400mm,, 2x Teleconverter for 800mm, Canon 1D MK III

Bald Eagle along the Wildlife Drive, Canon 400mm,, 2x Teleconverter for 800mm, Canon 1D MK III

Bald Eagle along the Wildlife Drive, Canon 400mm,, 2x Teleconverter for 800mm, Canon 1D MK IV
Bald Eagle In Flight, 400mm DO lens, 2x Teleconverter, Canon 1DmkIV
Bald Eagle along the Wildlife Drive, Canon 400mm,, 2x Teleconverter for 800mm, Canon 1D MK IV

Hawk Portrait @ 800mm

A close-up Hawk Portrait taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a 400mm DO Lens with a 2X Teleconverter. With the Canon 1D mkIV 1.3 crop factor I was shooting @ 1040mm which helped to have a smooth uncluttered background.

Sunrise & Early Evening Cloud Landscapes From Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

From the archives, early morning and early evening cloud landscape images from the Wildlife Drive at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, Maryland. The Featured image is near the start of the Wildlife Drive. Image taken with a 17-40mm lens @ 17mm, f/11, 1/640 sec., -0.67 Exposure Comp, Canon 1D mkIII.

Blackwater NWR Sunset Panorama, 14mm, m43 Olympus OMD-1, 3 Image Panorama
Blackwater NWR Sunset Panorama, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm, f/4, Canon 1D mkIII, 4 Horiz. Image Panorama
BWR Sunset, Olympus OMD-1, f/18, 1/200th sec., ISO 320, ISO 320
Blackwater NWR Early Morning Panorama, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm, f/4, Canon 1D mkIII, 2 Image Panorama
Blackwater NWR Late Afternoon Panorama, 2 image Panorama, f/18, Panasonic 100-300mm lens @ 81mm, Full Frame Equivalent 162mm, OM-D1
Blackwater NWR Late Afternoon, f/18, Panasonic 100-300mm lens @ 32mm, Full Frame Camera Equivalent 64mm, OM-D1
Blackwater NWR Late Afternoon, f/18, Panasonic 14-140mm lens @ 41mm, Full Frame Camera Equivalent 82mm, OM-D1
Blackwater NWR Late Afternoon, f/18, Panasonic 14-140mm lens @ 14mm, Full Frame Camera Equivalent 28mm, OM-D1
Blackwater NWR Late Afternoon, Panasonic LX-1 Pocket Camera @ 25.2 mm
BWR Colorful Clouds, Panasonic LX1 Pocket Camera, 5 pm, 7.5mm, Full Frame equivalent 33mm
Blackwater NWR Late Afternoon, Canon 24-105mm lens @ 85mm, Canon 1D mkIV, 12 image Panorama
Blackwater NWR, Canon 24-105mm lens @ 85mm, Canon 1D mkIV, 2 image Panorama, 6 o’clock pm
Blackwater NWR Early Morning Panorama, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm, f/4, Canon 1D mkIII, 2 Image Panorama
Blackwater NWR Early Morning Panorama, Canon 24-105mm lens @ 85mm, f/4, Canon 1D mkIII, 12 Image Panorama
Blackwater NWR Late Evening Panorama, Sigma 12-24mm lens @ 24mm, f/5.6, Canon 1D Mk IV, 12 Vertical Image Panorama
Blackwater NWR Early Morning Panorama, Canon 24-105mm lens @ 24mm, f/10, -0.33 Exposure Compensation Canon 1D Mk III, 12 Vertical Image Panorama
Blackwater NWR Late Evening Panorama, 14-140mm Panasonic lens @ 14mm, Full Frame Equivalent 28mm, Olympus OM-D1

Assorted Ice Images

I have been busy on other projects but I am getting back to working on the blog. Here are a series of assorted images of ice taken over the years.. The Featured Image is a photo of ice patterns that was on my car windshield one frosty morning taken with my iPhone.

Ice on my old pond, iPhone 6, 4.2mm lens, FF equivalent 29mm
Pond Ice Image taken at the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale, NJ. Canon 300mm lens,
1.4x Teleconverter, 420mm, 1/40th sec, f/16, Canon 1D mkIV.
Ice Image taken with Polarizing filter to get Rainbow Coloring in Ice. Canon 1D mk IV, 70-300mm Canon DO Lens @ 300mm
ICE Covered Branch, 24-105mm lens @ 105mm, f/5 for softer background, Canon 1D mkIV

Reddish Egrets At J.N. Ding Darling NWR

I am going through my Hard Drives cleaning up & removing images I do not need. But as I am cleaning up disk space I am finding images that I could use on the blog. These 2 Reddish Egret images were from a visit to J.N. Ding Darling years ago. The Featured Image was taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a Canon 400mm DO lens @ f/4.5, 1/250 sec. The Courting Dance was interesting to watch and went on for about 1/2 hour.

Reddish Egret Courting Dance, Canon 400mm DO lens & 1.4X Teleconverter, 560mm, f/11, 1/2oo sec.

Blue Dasher Dragonflies

Dragonfly season will soon be ending but here are a series of Blue Dasher Dragonfly images from a series of different outings. The Featured Image was taken with a Canon 400mm DO lens on a Canon 1D mkIV, @f/8, 1/400 sec.

Blue Dasher Female, Canon 400mm DO lens, f/11, Fill Flash for Detail, Canon 1D mkIV
Blue Dasher Male, 300mm lens, 1.4x Teleconverter, Canon 7D, @ f/11
Blue Dasher Male, Canon 400mm DO lens, f/11, Fill Flash for Detail, Canon 1D mkIV @f/11
Blue Dasher Male, Canon 300mm lens, 1.4x Teleconverter for 420mm, @ f/16, Canon R

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly Images

A series of Twelve-Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly images taken with a Canon 400mm DO lens with an Extension Tube added for closer focusing on a Canon 1D mkIV. I was also using a Canon 600EX-RT Flash with a Better Beamer Flash Extender for filling in the shadows & to get more detail on the Dragonfly. All images are full frame, not cropped. I was shooting @ f/8 or f/11 for a smoother clean background.

Osprey FlyBy @ Blackwater NWR

A series of images of a close Osprey flyBy at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge Maryland.

All images were taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a 1.4x Teleconverter.

2 – Twelve-Spotted Skimmer 5 Image Focus Stacks

I was going through my some of my back-up drives to clear up space for newer images. I am trying not to add even more drives that I have to deal with! As I was clearing up space I was finding interesting images that I have not posted here. These 2 images are of a Twelve-Spotted Skimmer dragonfly that was visiting my pond at my old home years ago. Both images are a series of 5 images focused at different points along the wings, tail & head. I used to use this technique when I could not get closer to my subject Dragonflies because they were out in the middle of my pond. I lowered my camera to look a little more up and to get a more colorful background on the Featured Image. I was using a Canon 7D with a 400mm DO lens with a Canon Flash with a Better Beamer Flash Extender to fill in more details on the Dragonfly. I was also using stacked Teleconverters with extension tubes in between so I only had a limited in-focus window. Arranging the Teleconverters & Extension Tubes in different orders or different size Extension Tubes gives you different zones of focus. So it takes a little practice to get used to using this technique for predictable results! The Dragonfly was 15.4 feet away (according to the Raw Data). The focused-stacked images were loaded into a Photoshop file and auto-aligned & auto-blended for the final images. The images of the Camera Setup showing the Extension Tubes & Teleconverters placement were on a Canon 1D MkIV. I did not have an image showing the 7D with this setup!

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer, 5 image stack with very close overlaps, 400mm DO, Fill-Flash w/ Better Beamer Flash Extender.
Camera Setup with Flash Extender & flash, Teleconverters & Extension Tubes (This was from a different day so camera here is a Canon 1D mk IV)
Camera Setup with Flash Extender, Teleconverters, Extension Tubes & Flash

Black Skimmer FlyBys & Skimming @ Brigantine Division

A series of images of Black Skimmers flying and skimming from previous trips to the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR in Oceanville, NJ. The Featured image was taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a 400mm DO lens & 1.4x Teleconverter

Black Skimmer FlyBy, Canon 400mm DO lens, 1.4X Teleconverter, Canon 1D mkIV
Black Skimmer FlyBy, Canon 400mm DO lens, 1.4X Teleconverter, Canon 1D mkIV
Black Skimmer FlyBy, Canon 400mm DO lens, 1.4X Teleconverter, 1D mkIV
Black Skimmer FlyBy, Canon 400mm DO lens, 1.4X Teleconverter, Canon 1D mkIV