Male Snail Kite with snail captured by Z 9 / 500PF w/TC-14eIII
These highly specialized raptors are simply grace on the wing! They eat basically nothing but snails, snails, snails, and are able to pluck them from the lake and after four of them, are full. Being incredibly efficient, you don’t have much time after the sun comes up to work them when they are hunting. You also have to get where they are which requires an airboat. It was the most amazing experience! mtc
Snail Kite captured by Z 9 / 500PF w/TC-14eIII
As we pushed off from the dock in the airboat, I thought we were taking off on a kinda hopeless odyssey. I had been warned when I first contracted the airboat, a month before when I reconfirmed the dates and that morning, that we might come back empty-handed. Within minutes of leaving the dock, the Z 9 was blasting away and the illusive Snail Kite appeared in the viewfinder. Three hours and 15k images later, we had spent our entire time on the water with three kites. It was an amazing morning that continues today and tomorrow. mtc
Yellow Warbler captured by Z 6 / 800f5.6AFS
Where we live near the Canadian border, it’s still a little hard to believe it’s that time already when it’s two degrees in the morning. But as the radar map shows, 10.8 millions birds have started to make their move north for spring. This amazing rhythm of life that is nearly as old as life unfolds each spring bringing with it the joy and challenge of photographing this explosion of color and life. Research shows that birds are migrating over a week earlier now than they did fifty years ago which means now is the time to get ready for their arrival. How?
A good place to start is to find out where they might be coming to your area. Your local Audubon Chapter is a great resource in this pursuit. Tap into the large pool of knowledgeable birders to learn where and when to find the spring migrants. Some locations like Point Pelee publish not only publish dates of arrivals, but dates of arrival by species. There are fortunately many avenues to find out this information these days which leaves us to our favorite pursuit, thinking about gear.
The Yellow Warbler above pushed the 800mm to its limit, its MFD limit that is. How close your lens can focus is really important for most small birds like warblers. These days the winner of the best lens for this IMHO is the Z100-400 that focuses down to nearly 2.5 feet! That produces a great image size in a small package. And when connected to the Z 9, you have a killer package so then the only challenge is getting the lens on the subject fast enough because they are moving. Literally, moving north and don’t hold still much if at all. A great way to practice is placing small egg-sized balls on tree limbs and then you move around, swing the lens, and put your lens on that object fast and get a sharp capture. Getting ready now makes you ready for when they hit your neighborhood because they are making their move.
“Snoopy” captured by Z 6II / 180-400VR
This time between winter and spring when the snow melts and before the flower bloom can be a photographic challenge. Dirty snow is not inviting and most plants/trees aren’t greening up yet. It’s a great time to head out for the creeks and rivers and see what water can do for your photographic passions. I am aware there are some who only like their water frozen, that’s cool. I, I like to show the passage of time and the influence of the flowing water so I go with the flow. I have a “system” that helps me get to the point where I actually start to make the final shot. It’s really simple so I can remember it.
I start with determining what lens I want to use, for these photos, it was the 180-400VR. I then take a series of photos (Aperture Priority) changing the aperture from wide open to closed down one frame / f/stop at a time. This slows the shutter speed by one stop for each exposure. I then look at which image has the “flow” effect I like and then I get to make the final image. In the Z 9 when it comes to making the final image, I set the aperture giving me the shutter speed I want, then go into the menu and set the self-timer to shoot every 2 seconds and take nine images then set the camera to self-time and shoot. When I depress the shutter release, the camera fires off nine frames and as soon as it’s done, I hit the button again and when that’s finished, one more time. Then I set up the next photograph in the viewfinder and start all over again.
It’s really a calming sort of photography and there are times I can really use that!
Coyote captured by Z 9 / 180-400VR
With the 20+ winds, the falling and fallen snow whipped about the truck putting us in a near whiteout! We were near Grizzly Point and going nowhere, way off in the distance we could see the NPS groomer slowly making its way towards us. All we could see were its two lights “floating” above the snow off in the distance, the only thing telling us what it was. There we sat parked. Then off to the left, a pair of infatuated Coyotes came up a rise and appeared out of the blowing snow a short distance out. The truck was white but I can’t believe they didn’t know we were there. It didn’t seem to matter to them so I put down my window. Snow came flying in coating Sharon & my lap with fresh snow. I stuck the 180-400VR with Z 9 attached out the window and pointed it at the pair. I was too late, they were already tied, it happened really, really fast (tied = copulating). By the time I had hit the AF-On button, the male was already celebrating. What could I do but take the photograph. As I rolled up the window, I asked, “got a cigarette”?
Old Faithful captured by Z 9 / Z14-24f2.8
Old Faithful is an iconic symbol of so many things. While mostly of Yellowstone Nationals Park, but also of the west and those first explorers who brought back its wonders to the world. It got its name back in 1870 from the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition because it seemed to spout “faithfully” every 63 to 70 minutes. It can push out nearly 8400 gallons of very hot water when it erupts! I don’t know how many times I’ve stood there and watched it go over our forty years of visiting it, but it never grows old. I’ve been very fortunate to see Steamboat blow which is much larger but there is just something about Old Faithful that never gets old!
While I watch it blow every time I’m there, I don’t always photograph it. The photo above is the only photo I took of it on this last trip that was two weeks long. I watched it with the camera at my side but no clicks. Why? I think sharing my favorite of mine of Old Faithful photograph (below, from 2020) probably explains it the best. I’m looking in my photo of Old Faithful the power it brings to the landscape. I want a combination of that powerful background with a great eruption which for me is not height, but vertical strength. I like it best when it’s cold so you can see the steam really well (-10 or colder) and no wind. I then stand where I can have that column of steam as vertical as possible. Then I want to be able to go as wide as possible because Old Faithful belongs in that vast grand landscape. She’s not the same as first described in 1870, not the same power, and doesn’t blow as faithfully. They say it’s possible she might go away in our lifetime which would be a great loss to me. Such a grand symbol of our wilderness and exploration. It’s why I try to capture its power, Old Faithful, keeping it young.
