Mar 12, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Speaking of pelicans … there are the Brown Pelicans in Florida. Not sure what it is about the Brown Pelican, I just gravitate towards them whenever they are within range of my lens. They are so prehistoric lookin, have a helluva bite but I know first hand they have a big heart. And when it comes to flight, they are masters of the air riding currents we can’t even feel. So photographing them in flight always fascinates me and as you’ve seen, photographing them floating on the crest of a wave is one way I love to tell the story of their flight. Then there is the another ….
When pelicans decide they are going to land, there is a moment as they change their flight that another aspect of their ability is displayed. The thing is, in order to land they need to dump air from their wings so they can land. In doing so, they twist and torque in all sorts of ways depending on how fast they want to land on a particular spot. And in photographing this folly, you have to pan in a vertical rather then the typical horizontal style. This is where the challenge comes.
While at Ding Darling, had a couple of opportunities to work on my vertical panning as the pelicans flew in. Shooting with the D4s / 800mm w/TC-1.25e, one “trick” I find helpful is picking up the subject long before it’s even in range for a the photo. The reason is to get an idea of how the pelican is flying in. You will see them start to turn their body, lower their feet and twist their primaries. With this, the panning is on a vertical movement and this is done easier when the tripod is high so you don’t have to bend your back. This makes the pan downwards smoother and that helps in getting the sharp image. The last thing is to let the shutter fly! It takes a number of passes to make the shots, but I love the challenge and those successful images. And when telling the story of the Brown Pelican flight, the vertical panning shot works.
Mar 10, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
It has been many years since I’ve been to Ding Darling NWR. Spent so much time there back in the day, film days that is because it was the mecca for wildlife photographers and bird photography. The Refuge has changed a lot in the 30+yrs I’ve been venturing to it. I remember all to well back when it was a dirt road, dust everywhere and photographers around every bush. Then with a hurricane here, water change there, the birds started to be fewer and so the photographers. The once slam dunk for Roseatte Spoonbills and thousands of waders in the viewfinder slowly faded away, and with it the hoards of photographers. Early in 2000, when I planned to shoot at Ding Darling, I would only plan on a couple of hours in the mornings and then head elsewhere to shoot the rest of the day. Well, that was not the case yesterday!
After the great weekend at the FCCC conference, we headed to Ding Darling yesterday for what I thought would be just a morning shoot. We were greeted in the first pond (there are three as we count them) by a group of Roseatte Spoonbills. The top photo is from this first encounter. This “sky pointer” is in gorgeous breeding plumes and a great example of a sexy spoonbill. Well, it was a great start and unknowns to us, just the start of what became a marvelous full day on the refuge! The bird life, variety and access was phenomenal all day at the refuge. Other then the traditional wildlife photographer break for ice cream, we shot all day at Ding Darling. It was magnificent! We ended the day with a gorgeous sunset and with the White Pelicans which entertained us all day. Shot the majority of the time with the D4s / 800mm w/TC-1.25e and the Df / 300 PF on my shoulder for the overhead flight shots. I have lots of stories, thousands of images to share over time but just wanted to say, if you want that old time Ding Darling experience, it’s alive and well there today making Ding Darling a must again for wildlife photographer … the magic is back!
Mar 9, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Friday morning found us at Harns Marsh Preserve with forty really great folks. We were there with the FCCC field trip and for Sharon & I, it was our first visit to a very well know location for bird photography. Now, like any location, just because you saw the birds there yesterday, doesn’t mean they will be there today. It has been scouted, lots of birds seen prior to our arrival but being wildlife, well, they picked up and moved on. No matter, it was a gorgeous morning so with D4s / 800 w/TC-1.25e attached, we all started to walk the perimeter of the Marsh. One great subject appeared pretty quickly. This Anhinga was T’d up drying its wings. What was cool was the really nice background in really nice light for the Anhinga. Why was it nice light for the Anhinga? If you looked at the reptilian tail it has, you only see those distinct bars in the right light. That barred tail is what really makes the “snake bird” look reptilian. The key in make the shot was a very narrow angle of view so the dead sticks on the right and the blue water on the left could be excluded from the background. With those images safely on the CF card … time to wiggle on.
We walked down the path a ways and had Sandhill Cranes with colts, ducks, herons and then some time with a Bald Eagle. After that, the light was getting hard and it was time to get back to the convention. On the way back, a River Otter was spotted. I hustled on down in time to see it porpoise through the water and then periscope for a second to check us out. I watched as it submerged and ventured underwater to a island of vegetation. I walked along with it along the shore hoping for a better shot.
As you can see, we did get a much better photo up. Ya, the light is a tad on the hard side but it’s a clean shot and with so little of Otter biology in our files, I took advantage of it. The Otter hauled out to the left of where you see here and spent a good couple of rolling, sliding and shaking in an attempt to dry itself off. And in between of all of that, it would take a moment to make sure we were behaving. It was a really fun encounter that, if we hadn’t made the walk we would have never had seen the Otter and had the fun. When it comes to wildlife, I just love a good surprise!
Mar 6, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Sharon & I are down in FL for the weekend for the FCCC Conference (come by and say hi!). And here like everywhere in North America (even had one on the ice in the Arctic), the Great Blue Heron waits for the wildlife photographer. I think there’s not a wildlife photographer, anywhere who hasn’t photographed with great earnest the GBH. They are big so you don’t need a lot of lens to get a great image size. They are pretty darn forgiving for all the silly things wildlife photographers do so build our patience. And they really aren’t too bad lookin. And these graceful birds, well, even with all their good intentions, they don’t always come out looking as majestic in some photos as they should. They definitely come under the banner of common, so we must strive to portray them in an uncommon way. There are many ways of doing this, in this instance, I was lying on the sand shooting with a slowish shutter speed to capture some movement while freezing other. Shooting with the D4s / 800mm on a Panning Plate, I used foreground and background as part of the competition. Then I was tight and waited for that gesture to make an unusual photo of this common critter. So, if you’re a wildlife photographer, at some point a Great Blue Heron gave you some time to practice your craft and set the hook as a wildlife photographer a little deeper. So, go out and capture that uncommon photo and pay homage to the GBH!
Feb 23, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Definitely NOT one of the most attractive members of our wild heritage, the Black Vulture. That head, black, withered, craggy, nasty skin tends to be, I don’t know, a turn off? And the fact they eat dead and smelly stuff, just doesn’t endear them to anybody either. Photographically though, they are a bitch to shoot. That’s because they are all black. In the Costa Rican rainforest they are everywhere and a very important part of its ecology. In the spotty light of the rainforest, a black subject on a white branch is an exposure nightmare! In making the uncommon out of the common, the Black Vulture needs just a kiss of light to bring out the cool texture in their plumage. At the same time, that head no matter how ugly needs a little love too. Making this shot was actually, pretty easy once you made the walk and dealt with the humidity. Walking down the steep trail into the valley, you are able to shoot right across at eyelevel where the Black Vultures like to roost as the sun rises. Reaching them with the D4s / 800mm w/TC-1.25 once zooming with with your feet is a synch. Then, it’s simply fine tuning where the rig is set up to peak through the vines and make the shot. And making the whole click come together is that small spot of light barely kissing the Vulture but not the branch. Look for that light, think of making the common uncommon and use the lens to bring it all together in the viewfinder!
Feb 17, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Gary with amazing skill followed the trail up from the surf, up the beach and over the top. There the trail ended in a small clump of grass. Feverishly he digs down below the grass clump. He’s found a nest that has hatch under the grass. He knows sites like this, some hatchlings get caught in the roots. After a few moments he emerges from his digging with two newly hatched sea turtles in his hands. One is dead, the other is still alive. To finish the cycle, the hatchling must travel to the surf from its nest on its own. Only by doing so will it mark on this locations and years from now, comeback to lay its own eggs. That’s only if it beats the odds and survives all the predators waiting for it on the sand and in the water. Following behind it down the beach with Df / 18-35AFS shooting away, the struggle of this endangered species had me thinking.
As photographers, we often start off all tangled up. It feels like all that goes into making a photograph intwines us holding us back from ever moving forward. Then we get that helping hand and we break loose and our path appears to be clear. Yet, with ever step there is one obstacle stopping us for a moment until we start moving forward again. And this we go through for years as we grow photographically. Then, we emerge. Photography like so many things in life is not an easy path, nor one where we ever have all the answers or find the one answer. It is and should be, a journey that with the wisdom that comes from age improves our photography, our story. As long as you keep moving forward one step at a time, you are making the journey and winning the race. But more than likely, there is no end but simply a life long adventure. Like the small sea turtle, we do break loose to experience it all.
