photoartflightRED-BREASTED MERGANSER
Posted on January 14, 2014
We saw quite a few Red-breasted Mergansers in with the Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills and Cormorants. They were spending a lot of time diving looking for a meal, scooting around through the other wading birds in the water. This one came on shore after it was done diving around for 20 minutes and was flapping its wings to dry off.
Red-Breasted Merganser
Canon EOS 1D-MkIV, Canon 400 f/4 DO, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/1250, ISO 1250, +0.33 exposure compensation
Red-Breasted Merganser Scooting and Diving around a Reddish Egret while the Egret was hunting.
Canon EOS 1D-MkIV, Canon 400 f/4 DO, Canon 1.4X Teleconverter, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1250
Brown 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.
Pelican Eyes
Posted on December 31, 2013
An evening photo of a group of American White Pelicans settling down for the evening on a little dune of sand surrounded by water. I thought it was interesting most of them were still keeping an eye open for what was going on around them. Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Sigma 300-800 f/5.6 zoom @ 800mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 800
American White Pelican Panorama
Posted on December 24, 2013
We are spending Christmas at Sanibel Island in Florida with lots of photo opportunities at the J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Here is a 5 shot panorama of a lineup of American White Pelicans. The photo looked more interesting as a panorama rather than using a shorter lens and cropping into the image. Taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mk IV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X MkIII Teleconverter, 1/200 sec @ f/8, ISO 400. Manually stitched together in Photoshop. Effective focal length 728mm with the 1D MkIV cropped sensor.
Blackwater NWR Bald Eagle
Posted on December 20, 2013
This Bald Eagle was sitting in a tree along the Wildlife Drive. He was back on the branch in the shadows. Usually they seem a little skittish when you come upon them along the drive, but he did not seem to pay any attention to us. I used a flash with a Better Beamer to brighten him up somewhat. I set the flash to – 1 f/stop and set the camera to -1.33 exposure compensation in aperture priority.Canon EOS 1D MkIV, 1/125 sec @ f/11, 2500 ISO,400mm f/4 DO with Canon 1.4X teleconverter, effective focal length of 728mm.
Favorite Bald Eagle Snag at Blackwater NWR
Posted on December 8, 2013
Bald Eagles like their snags to roost on at Blackwater NWR. Over the years you get to know where the popular spots are, and also good opportunities for photography. Not only for them on the snags, but also going to and from these spots for great opportunities for in flight photos of Bald Eagles. This was one of the favorite snags year after year, near the end of the Wildlife Drive. But this year, sadly it is gone. It was often used by multiple eagles at once. Nothing stays the same, so hopefully this will open up new possibilities for even closer spots in the future. Header image Canon EOS 7D, Canon 400mm DO w1.4X teleconverter, 1/1250 sec @ f/8, ISO 400. Being Old School, I usually stop down at least 1 additional stop, over the additional f/stop loss when using a teleconverter. I believe this just adds a little more sharpness.
Eagles on snag. Water was frozen over so this Eagle picked a Red-winged Blackbird for a meal. You can see the feathers falling. Canon EOS1D MkIII, 400mm DO f/4, w/ 2X Teleconverter, 1/1250 sec f/14 , ISO 640, effective focal length 1040mm
Crop from above series.
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