Fall is the time for those big, gorgeous big game photos. The moth eaten summer coats have been replaced with their lush winter coats. Fat levels are getting high storing up for winter. We’re approaching the time to get out with these symbols of wilderness. With much of North America in drought conditions, with the heat that has being intense in some areas, big game will respond possible with a shorter, more intense rut. Looking at the White-tailed Deer here in the Sapphires, they appear to be setting up now for rut. That’s about 3-4 weeks earlier than last year. Talking with some folks, they are seeing kinda the same thing in their parts of they country. In the past when these conditions were seen, an early, intense rut was the outcome. In your planning for that big fall shoot, check into the weather. Might change the timing of your photography.

It was a very challenging week, no doubt about it! Following a long ago desire, we went searching for the legendary fall migration of shorebirds that hit MA shores. The hard drive was pretty empty at the start of the last day that should have been full of images from the week. Then, the last day, the last spot, the last hour, literally, we were in the sand amongst hundreds of shorebirds! On a narrow strip of beach, fifteen feet wide with high tide an hour away, we lay there in the sand at Red River. The four of us were shooting the Z 9 / Z400f4.5 with either a Z1.4 or Z2x as shorebird flock after shorebird flock landed in front of us and then paraded past us. Sanderling and Semipalmated Sandpiper, Willet and Rudder Turnstone and much more went by within inches, walking right down the lens barrel in the process. The sun and wind were on our back, the perfect combo (though the wind was gusting to 25mph blowing sand in places I’m still discovering). After about fifteen minutes we had to stretch our necks, we don’t get up from our prone position, just stretch. It’s then we go to Battery Info to see what the image count was for each of us. Then, every time we had to wobble left so the incoming tide didn’t soak Auntie, we would check them again. The numbers were impressive! The Z 9’s AF makes shooting a ton knowing you’re getting sharp images real easy. After an hour, the birds, waves and necks said it was time to go. My count for the hour, 8545. I was very happy! Auntie hit the Menu Button, toggled over to the Battery Info and let out a huge and as happy as you can be after a shoot shout, 10402! The factual thing is that’s how many images she had taken in that hour, but that’s not why we look or talk about these numbers. It’s how over the years we gauge how much fun a shoot was. This was simply a marvelous hour with our wild heritage, brilliant. And the number, well, 10402 pegs the fun meter!

I’m in MA looking for the elusive shorebirds heading south. With overcast skies, we sat on a cement wall staring at a 1/8 acre point of sand / mud waiting for the birds to come to us. Not moving an inch, including having cameras up to you eye and feet planted, we waited. Withing twenty minutes, the birds started to fly in to us. We had some great ones but this little Least Sandpiper was a favorite as it kept working the area for food getting closer and closer. The area had that “arctic” look to it and in its breeding plumage proudly shown, I just love this simple click. It was a great shoot! On the sad note though, the historic number of birds moving south, we’ve not seen at all. I just keep wondering what we’ve done to our wild heritage and, will any one care enough to make a difference. I’ve already photographed critters that have gone extinct. I don’t want to do it again!

With all the hummers that have taken over The Ranch this summer, I’m spending as much time as I can to get photographs of them. In particular I want to photograph the Calliope Hummer you see above (an immature). Our smallest hummer in No America, adult males are spectacular. I have no adults in my digital library and I want to change that. The more time I spend with them, the more I just blend in and my odds improve of getting the shots I’m after. We have just two normal feeders out along with about a dozen plants that they feed from. The feeder you see here is at the corner of the home. I am able to set up the Z 9 / Z400f4.5 w/Z1.4x about 6.5′ away from the feeder and just stand with my coffee in hand there and shoot. There is an hour period of time (around 07:45) in the morning when the sun hits the feeder in such a way it bonces the light out on the incoming hummer. When they come in on the right side, I have that unique reflected light along with filtered light of the sun lighting them up.

With that, I’m just using the ambient light to get the shot, no flash. I’m shooting aperture priority and have, very unlike me, raised the ISO to 1600 giving me a shutter speed of around 1/800. The body is sharp but the wings are a blur which is what I like. There are some challenges with this system which I’ll mention in a moment. Focusing is taken care of by the Z 9, Auto-Area AF Animal eye detection. If you look in the lower left corner of the photo below, you will see the red of the feeder. I manually prefocus on that corner of the feeder then pan to the right until I don’t see the feeder. Once the hummer comes into frame, I hit the back button and the AF takes over focusing operation. This is the alley way the hummers fly up to feed. That’s where I’m taking the photos, in that alley way to the right. Using the Smallrig Lightweight Fluid Head makes it real simple and smooth to pan and get the hummer in the viewfinder. Then I lay on the hammer and let the Z 9 work its magic. It’s really been that simple.

The photos I’m after are not just hovering shots. I’m actually after a couple in particular. Below are an example of one, the gyrations a hummer goes through in changing direction of travel. Right below gives you a hint of what I’m talking about. The bottom, out of focus image though is a prime example of it. Why is it out of focus? Simple, it’s moving faster then the shutter speed can stop. The solution, flash! Why don’t I have the flash out? Because I’m being really lazy to be honest with you. And I’m also keeping a small profile so the small Calliope will keep coming in and not be intimidated by flashes. And that’s it, that’s how I’ve been coming up with these images I’ve been sharing. Hope that encourages you to do the same thing.

Our hummers are very seasonal here at The Ranch, seeing our first normally in the middle of May and the last one the middle of Sept. We have one or two adults at the start of the nesting season and not until the kids are out do we have a dozen or so buzzing about. We have fives species that visit us, the Anna, Black-chinned, Allen’s, Rufous and the sweet little Calliope Hummers here. We had none the first year here so we feel fortunate for those here this summer. We do most of our attracting with plants which definitely love all the attention they receive, from us and the hummers. We do have three feeders at opposite ends of the property. And as you might imagine, each one has been claimed as the sole property of one hummer. We’ve seen that “owner” change a couple of times. The feeder I set up to photograph at belonged at first to a Calliope, then it changed hands to an adult, male Rufous. And now there is an immature Rufous male and he is the funnest hummer I’ve photographed!

One of the great things is he’s not shy, not one bit! I’m right at the MFD of the Z400f4.5, about six feet away from the feeder just standing there with the Z 9 / Z400f4.5 / Z1.4x on a tripod with the SmallRig Fluid head (on a side note, the Z400f4.5 is a fabulous lens! Sharp, fast, light, I’m loving it!). This little guy is pretty darn smart, or clever, or devilish depending on your point of view. In his taking “ownership” of the feeder comes defending his new territory. He will occasionally sit on a nearby perch and swoop down on an intruder but he prefers to “hide” right behind the feeder and ambush interlopers! There is a period around 08:00 when the sun comes through the feeder striking him as he hovers in wait and creates a really cool light on this devilish little guy.

He will just hover there in place behind the feeder which is great for photography. The Z 9 in Auto Area AF animal eye-detect locks on faster than I can see it appear in the viewfinder. The 20fps burst catches a whole lot more hummer photos than the “empty” images I was use to. At times, the little Rufous will perch on the chain holding the feeder in wait. It occasionally will drink itself, but for the first hours of daylight, it’s full on guard duty. Then there are the times he hides hovering right alongside the Z400f4.5 to the right. Trying to figure out how to get that photo. He’s quite the character. We don’t have a name for him yet (but thinking Sly) but he sure has filled the void of the nesting House Wrens which now travel about The Ranch in a pack of seven.

I hope you’ve having the opportunity to photograph hummers this summer! These photos are using the KISS method, just using sunlight. If you need to use flash which I typically do, remember I posted this video that goes through my entire rig. Though the rig has now changed, all the basics are the same. Well, back out to my new little friend. He’s such a character but yeah, not so innocent!

Rain is a part of our experience outdoors photographing critters. Often though, we either run from it or curse it. It’s not very often we embrace it let alone try to tell its side of the story. In Alaska, rain is part of the summer which is why in part it is so green. The critters there including the Kodiak Brown Bear go about their day rain or shine like normal. On this particular afternoon, I wanted the gloppy Alaska rain to be as much of the story as the bears. There are two challenges with this goal, both are technically. Keeping the gear “dry” while showing the rain in the photograph. Both are actually easily once you think it through.

As for the gear, my rule of thumb is, if I can stand the rain, so can my gear. The Z 9 / 800f5.6AFS are old hands at working in the rain. You just need to “blot” your gear dry to keep water from pooling. The gear is not hiding under the towel or some cover, it’s hanging out there just like me. You blot with a clean, dry, white towel so as to not force any moisture in places it shouldn’t go. And in showing the rain, it’s a highlight so making it appear, you need something dark behind it. Then depending on the size of the rain drops and how fast its falling, you dial in the shutter speed for the “blur” you want and that makes it appear in the photograph. And with that, you photograph a rainy day in the Kodiak Brown Bear world. It’s all about capturing the rain.