photoartflightBrown Pelicans in Flight
Posted on January 12, 2014
Brown Pelicans seem so bulky and slow, but are quite agile and are amazing flyers, especially for such a large bird. They fly a little slower so they are easier to track, until they go in a dive to get their meal. You can get great textures with the variations in the dark feathers and their colorful head. They are fun to watch as they are very animated and seem almost clown like. You often see them flying fairly low over the water and suddenly they nose dive into the water to shock their prey. It is more spectacular to see them dive from a greater height and they make quite a splash.
Low Fly By
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/1250 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 exposure compensation
Low Fly By
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 exposure compensation
Looking for a Meal
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/1250 sec, ISO 3200, +0.33 exposure compensation
Finding a Meal – Splashdown
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1250, +0.33 exposure compensation
Wingbeats
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 400, +0.33 exposure compensation
Wingbeats
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 400, +0.33 exposure compensation
Wingbeats
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 400, +0.33 exposure compensation
Checking us out
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 400, +0.33 exposure compensation
Opened up shadow detail in Adobe Camera Raw
Moving On
Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400 mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 400, +0.33 exposure compensation,
Opened up shadow detail in Adobe Camera Raw
Anhinga Portrait
Posted on January 11, 2014
I came across this male Anhinga sitting on a branch, drying himself in the sun. He did not seem to bothered by me and I was able to get fairly close and get some portraits. You can clearly see the very pointed beak which it uses to spear fish under water and it’s red eye.
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO Lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/400 to 1/800 sec, +0.67 exposure compensation, ISO 1250
Immature Little Blue Heron
Posted on January 9, 2014
I saw this Immature Little Blue Heron looking for a meal along the shoreline. At first I did not pay attention because I was watching an Immature Bald Eagle circling above. I had noticed the white bird close to the shore, out of the corner of my eye and just assumed it was an Egret, then I noticed the blue bill and greenish legs. I was excited because it seems harder to find Immature Little Blues compared to other Immature birds because they seem to be more elusive. It was moving slowly along the shore giving me time to get a few photos before it retreated in the Mangrove roots along the shore. The Little Blue was in a dark area and I was handholding the camera, so I was shooting bursts to try to get a few sharp images out of the sequence since the shutter speed was only 1/40 of a second. I kept the f/stop at f/8 because I was using a 1.4X teleconverter and I wanted to add 1 additional stop to the f/5.6 of the lens with the teleconverter added for a little more sharpness.
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, 1/40 sec @ f/8, ISO 400, -0.33 Exposure Compensation
Immature Bald Eagle – Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4 lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, 1/500 sec @ f/11, ISO 400, +1.33 Exposure Compensation
Mature Little Blue Heron, Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6 DG lens @ 572mm, 1/250 sec @ f/8, ISO 400,
Osprey Getting Nest Building Materials
Posted on January 8, 2014
We saw a lot of Ospreys flying through the refuge throughout our visit. When you did not see them, quite often you could hear them shrieking in the distance or hear them in trees along the Wildlife Drive. We often saw them carrying sticks or other nest building materials, bringing them to the nest.
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter @ f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1250
Snowy Egret’s Breakfast
Posted on January 6, 2014
I was photographing a wide variety of birds flying in to the water close to where we were setup early in the morning soon after Sunrise. This one Snowy Egret started working the shoreline close to the shore right in front of us. At times he was too close to focus on and I did not want to take the time to add an extension tube so my 400mm lens would focus closer, so I backed up when I could to get him in focus. He was bobbing up and down grabbing shrimp as he went. Shooting bursts I was hoping I was stopping his action and would get a few sharp images. I was trying to shoot at the peak or end of his movements before he moved the other way. Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, @ f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO 400.
Mr Pelican Finds a Free Lunch
Posted on December 30, 2013
We have been traveling the last week and spent 5 days at the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel, Florida. Got lots of great photos and have a lot to edit through. Here is a Brown Pelican that came upon a fish laying on the ground and could not let it go to waste. See the animated gif below, the last image. I was hand holding the camera for this sequence so it jumps a little bit. Canon EOS 1D MkIV with a Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens with a Canon Series III 1.4X Teleconverter, 1/640 sec, f/11, @ ISO 1250. Effective focal length of 728mm with the 1.4X Teleconverter and the 1.3 crop sensor of the MkIV.
Brigantine Sunset
Posted on December 17, 2013
This is a sunset taken 2 years ago in December at the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Came across them on an external backup drive. We were winding down our day there and this was our last trip through the Wildlife Drive. Nearing the end of the Drive before going into the wooded area we were treated with the colorful sunset.
Header Image – Canon EOS1D MkIII, EF24-105mm f/4L IS lens @ 105mm, f/13 1/250 sec, ISO 400, Aperture Priority, +0.33 exposure compensation, effective focal length with MkIII 1.3X sensor,136.5 mm.
Canon 7D, Canon 400mm DO f/4, f/8, 1/640 sec, ISO 400, Aperture Priority, -0.33 exposure compensation, effective focal length with 7D 1.6X sensor, 640mm.
Ospreys at J.N. Ding Darling NWR
Posted on October 27, 2013
Because of my busy work schedule, I usually do not get to work on some of my personal files as soon as I would like. Going through my Ding Darling files I found quite a few that I wanted to work on. Here are some Ospreys from that trip. It is fun to photograph them fishing an area for their meal, diving into the water to catch a fish. Ding Darling is so large that it is hard to get Ospreys fishing. Usually you see them here flying by to another area or in a tree eating what they have caught. All images here were taken with a Canon 7D with the 400mm f/4 DO with a Canon 1.4X teleconverter giving a effective combined focal length of 896mm at f/5.6. This combination works well when you are photographing in a large open area plus it is extremely hand holdable for fast moving subjects. With the 7D it is important to shoot Raw images and use Adobe Camera Raw or the Canon Software that comes with your camera to process your files to control your image noise for cleaner images. If you ever get to Ding Darling look for them flying through the refuge or sitting in trees along the Wildlife Drive, either resting or eating their catch. Also note that J. N. Ding Darling’s Wildlife Drive is closed on Fridays. Hope you enjoy them.
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