photoartflightDragonfly Closeup With Telephoto lenses
Posted on June 11, 2022
The Featured Image is a closeup image of a male Blue Dasher Dragonfly resting on a stem. Image taken with a 400mm Canon DO lens with extension tubes to get closer focusing on the small subject Blue Dasher dragonfly but taken from a distance away. I found that using longer lenses with extension tubes for close focusing works well on these skittish dragonflies instead of macro lenses. You have a much longer working distance so your subject dragonfly does not get nervous & fly off giving you more time for shooting a variety of angles & compositions of images. And a bonus of using a 400mm lens or 300mm lens with extension tubes is you get very clean smooth blurred backgrounds. You can also add a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter for more working distance and even smoother backgrounds.
Common Terns At Brigantine
Posted on May 24, 2022
I usually do not photograph some of the smaller birds I see at Wildlife Refuges. Usually they are far off in the distance or are very skittish and fly off. On this trip to the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR these Common Terns were more cooperative. All images here were taken with a Canon 400mm DO lens with a 2X Teleconverter on a Canon 1DmkIV. The last image in the series was actually a panorama shot as it was flying right at me and I wanted to get the right wingtip in also. So I quickly shot a series of images hoping to get the right wingtip in also for my final pano image.
Northern Harrier FlyBy At Blackwater NWR
Posted on May 22, 2022
A series of Northern Harrier images taken at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. All images were taken with a 400mm DO lens with a 1.4X Canon Teleconverter on a Canon 7D.
Damselfly & Dragonfly Season is Starting Soon
Posted on April 19, 2022
It will not be long before we start seeing Dragonflies & Damselflies here in NJ. These are some of my favorite photo subjects. The images here were taken years ago at my pond at my old home. These were taken with an old 200mm Canon FD Manual focus macro lens adapted to a m43 Panasonic GH2 Camera or a Canon 400mm DO Lens with extension tubes for closer focusing. FOV of the Canon FD lens on a m43 body gave me the equivalent of a 400mm Macro lens. The Featured Image is a Damselfly with a raindrop on it’s head.
Bald Eagle In Tree Portrait
Posted on April 5, 2022
On a previous visit to the Blackwater NWR we saw this Bald Eagle in a tree at the entrance to the Refuge. I thought this was going to be a Great Day for photographing Bald Eagles. After I went through the Entrance Gate I pulled over to get out of the car to photograph the Eagle. The Featured Image was taken when I got a little closer and is cropped for an Eagle Portrait. I got quite a few images before I continued on the Wildlife Drive.
Another Blackwater NWR Bald Eagle FlyBy
Posted on March 14, 2022
Another Bald Eagle flyby taken from a different visit at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. These were taken from the Tubman Road Trail which is a small walking trail down the road from the main Refuge & Wildlife Drive.
Preening Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron
Posted on October 2, 2021
This Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron image is from a previous trip to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Rookery in Florida. It is an interesting place to photograph Florida birds. Many types of birds nest here because their nests are protected from predators because of the Alligators below the Boardwalk. Image taken with a 400mm DO lens on a Canon 7D.
Osprey Landing At Nest
Posted on September 30, 2021
These are from a previous visit to the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, Brigantine Division in Oceanville NJ. There are many Osprey Platforms with nests scattered along the Wildlife Drive. So if you are patient and wait for the Ospreys to return you can get some interesting flight & landing images. If there are young Ospreys in the nests there is usually more activity with the adult birds bringing food and feeding the young. These are images are of a landing sequence. Images were taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a Canon 400mm DO lens with a 1.4x Canon Teleconverter. Looking at the Camera Raw Data the nest was 154 feet from the Wildlife Drive .
A Series Of Blue Dasher Dragonfly Images
Posted on September 7, 2021
Here in NJ Dragonfly season will be ending soon. I am seeing fewer Dragonflies & Damselflies at our local parks, Wildlife Refuges and even our yard. Here is a collection of Blue Dasher Dragonfly images from a variety of local Parks & Wildlife Refuges. The Featured Image was taken with a Canon 400mm DO lens, Canon 2X Teleconverter, Canon 1D mkIV @ f11 & with Fill Flash. Dragonfly distance from camera ~15 feet. Some images were also taken with Extension Tubes on the lens, but Extension Tubes do not show in the RAW Data in Adobe Bridge so I did not list them in the image info on each image.
More Blue Dasher Dragonflies
Posted on July 13, 2021
Another series of images of one of my favorite dragonflies, the Blue Dasher Dragonfly. These were taken over quite a few years and lots of locations. Almost all were taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a 400mm DO lens. Some with 1.4x or 2X Teleconverters for added reach since they were out a ways in a pond or stream.
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