Dec 3, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
Gulls, they are everywhere and really takes no skill to find them and make them the subject of your photograph. The skill comes in taking a common subject and approaching it in an uncommon manor. In this case it was no more than getting down in the surf with it. What attracted me to this individual Laughing Gull was the way the wind blew up the feathers and the shadow made them pop.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6161.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I kind of feel like a peeping tom look up some skirt lying on the sand photographing these birds. But getting down low has so many positives that I just can’t get enough of being down low. My only negative of being down low is you can’t move quickly to react to the background. In this case a watercraft went by messing up the surf and turning it more brown than I would like. That’s the price you pay though when you comment to getting down.
Photo captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 3, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
Watching, watching through the lens the critter as it goes about its daily life is something I could spend a life time doing and never get tired of it. And there are times when I do just that and totally forget to push the shutter release because I am just so caught up in the story in front of my lens.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6798.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Gulls and terns like this Royal Tern spend a lot of time working on their feathers, it’s the nature of living at the shore. This photo and pose is pretty common and easy to capture. The trick is to know that this leads to other things. The more typical is the wing stretch, a cool body posture. What they do sometimes and then for only a brief second is rub their head on their back. Often the pose looks really awkward and simply doesn’t work but don’t give up on it.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6751.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I just love Sandwich Terns, don’t know why but I just give them all my attention when they are around. How do you know they are Sandwich Terns? They have the dab of mayonnaise on the tip of their bill. This one was preening away and was really getting into it. I shot and watched, shot and watched and then the head started to turn and turn until it looks nearly upside down. I was quite happy with spending time with this tern, it produced a photo I like. And what makes both images really work is being down on their level, a perspective that works well for being intimate with the subject.
Photos captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film.
Dec 2, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
The D3s has an improvement over the D3 that’s not been documented nor that’s been in the press. I know what it is, seen it in action and can tell you that it’s a nice improvement. What is it? This photo of the Osprey shows off the improvement, can you tell what it is? And being the rotten person I am, I’m not going to tell you here but you can read about it in the upcoming BT Journal :)
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP7243.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Osprey fly with such an unique pattern that making an image with an unique pose really isn’t a challenge. The tip toeing here makes me smile.
Photo captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 1, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
While down kissing the sand, a Ruddy Turnstone came running through the scene. I was video taping when it first went through and didn’t want to cut the clip short so ignored it but hoped it would come back. I went back to shooting stills and it didn’t show. Later, yeap you guessed it, I was shooting video again when it appeared (one problem shooting video with a still camera). The D3s makes it real simple to go to still shooting from video so I sacrificed the video and made a couple of clicks.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6530.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Then I noticed the background, the very small waves rolling it at the feet of the turnstone. I really liked the little wave so I kept that in the forefront of my shooting eye. I never got the shot with the wave with the body position. I put this concept down in my idea file to follow through with it this March when we go back for FL for our Base Camp. Could make a cool shot if everything comes together in one click.
Photo captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 1, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
When it comes to shorebirds like this Black-bellied Plover (in winter plumage), I really prefer kissing the sand. Doing this permits me to control the background and really put the isolating power of the 600mm to good use. Even so when shooting at the shoreline, you’ve got to watch the background for constant changes (and the unexpected wave!).
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6011.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6016.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
You might be looking at the two images and not seeing much difference between the two images but it’s there. The degree of white in the background and how high it comes up behind the plover is what I’m looking at. The lower image is the one I like best between the two. The motordrive had to rip to capture that nuance. While I try to see it, squeeze off the shot to make the image with one click, I still ended up squeezing off three to get the one. You’ll probably also note the horizon line had got that slight slant to it. Still playing with that idea.
Photos captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
Nov 30, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
We spent a marvelous week in FL working and shooting, shooting and working with a bit of eating and carousing with good friends thrown in for good measure. A bit of the working we did was to film a new show for Kelby Training on bird photography. Jake was here and together we got five hours of tape shot, damn good day!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6279.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I was quite happy that one of the birds we got to spend a whole bunch of time, the American Oystercatcher, was around and in good numbers. On the west coast the Black Oystercatcher is the norm so when on the east coast and I get up on the American, I love the change of pace.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP5960.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
In the upper image you can see how we would normally photograph birds on the sand with the sand leveled in the viewfinder. While this looks the most normal, it’s not reality. The bottom image is with the camera plum to the earth and depicting accurately the slope of the sand into the sea. When the thought first popped in my mind and I acted upon it, I wasn’t sure if I liked the final results but now, I’m liking them more than the level sand shots. It’s something new and ponder. I like pushing myself, something good always comes from it!
Photos captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
