photoartflightWhite Ibis Portrait
Posted on January 21, 2014
This White Ibis was feeding along the shoreline. The Ibis kept coming closer until it was getting too close to even focus on. I got quite a few shots but I liked the portrait head shot. I especially liked the intensity of the eye and the prominent distinctive shape of the Ibis beak.
White Ibis Working the Shoreline Closeup
Canon EOS1D MkIV, Sigma 300-800mm DG f/5.6 lens, f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 640
White Ibis Closeup showing the Distinctive beak, legs & feet
Canon EOS1D MkIV, Sigma 300-800mm DG f/5.6 lens, f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 640
White Ibis Closeup
Canon EOS1D MkIV, Canon 400mm DO f/4, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, total 560mm
f/11, 1/400 sec, ISO 400
RED-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.
Brown Pelicans
Posted on January 2, 2014
Here is a small group of Brown Pelicans on a sand dune at J.N. Ding Darling NWR. They were fairly far out, but I liked the feather detail and textures plus their eyes seem to be looking at you. They were also positioned in an interesting group with the tallest bird on a small tree branch, almost giving a triangular composition of the birds . Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Sigma 300-800mm DG f/5.6 Zoom, @ 731mm, f/8, 1/500 sec, ISO 400. Effective focal length of 950mm with the 1.3 crop sensor of the Canon 1D MkIV.
Surfacing Cormorant
Posted on January 1, 2014
I was following this Cormorant fishing in the water below where I was setup with a Sigma 300-800mm zoom. He kept popping up and then diving down again looking for his meal. I caught him just as he surfaced with the water flowing down his beak and head and thought it was an interesting look and helped show how they fished. Canon EOS1D MkIV, Sigma DG 300-800mm f/5.6 zoom @ 800mm, f/8, 1/400 sec. ISO 640., effective focal length 1040mm with MkIV 1.3X crop sensor.
Sanibel Night Sky
Posted on December 31, 2013
While in Sanibel Florida, I tried shooting a few night sky shots. In the Northeast it is usually too bright to shoot night skies with stars, so I thought Sanibel on the Gulf would be a good place to try. When I started it was a clear night, but as soon as I got setup, clouds started to come in. I got a few shots anyway and it was fun to try. Exposures are fairly long and use ISOs that are higher than usual. I used exposures from 10 sec to 30 seconds. I did not have an Intervalometer or cable release to control longer exposures, so I was limited to the built in maximum shutter exposure of 30 seconds. Most digital camera bodies limit you to 30 seconds. Battery life at long exposures and long exposure noise reduction in the firmware really drains the batteries quickly. Also use a sturdy tripod and try not to touch the tripod or camera during the exposure, any little movement will show in your image. As it was, there was a slight breeze so some leaves have a slight movement. You can also try painting the trees or foreground with a small flashlight during the exposure to add texture to foreground subjects. This takes a little practice, but adds some more dimension and depth to your images. I seemed to like the look I got using ISO 1250 for most of the images, but this is all based on the camera body I was using. All images were shot with a Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 24-105mm f/4 L set to 24mm and manually focused either to the trees or infinity.
The header photo exposure was f/5.6 @ 25 seconds, ISO 1250.
f/4 @ 30 seconds, ISO 1250 , you can see the glow along the horizon from the city of Ft. Myers and then drops off to the right once you get past the city lights & land.
f/6.3 @ 30 seconds, ISO 1250 trees painted with light from a small LED handheld flashlight
f/4 @ 30 seconds, ISO 1250 The streak on the right side is an airplane with its light flashing giving a dotted line streak.
f/8 @ 30 seconds, ISO 1250 tree lite with ambient light from a nearby outdoor light on the path.
f/4 @ 30 seconds, ISO 1250 – photo below
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