Winter is rapidly disappearing and the ponds are well on their way to being ice free. I was at Brick Pond yesterday and there were LOTS of Mallards and several pairs of Wood Ducks, along with the usual Canada Geese. I’ll be heading up to Montezuma in the morning to see how conditions are up there. I will let you know…. Get your cameras ready!!!!
A Pied Bill Grebe, one of our early birds……
And another early bird the Hooded Merganser
If you have been out in the woods you have seen the unmistakable signs that we are getting closer to the end of Winter. Small streams running quicker, pond ice that is melting at the edges, and the songbirds are getting more vocal by the day! I’m sure you will see geese heading North this week too.
All of this reminds me that I have housekeeping work to do on my Lightroom catalog. Time to get rid of the marginal photos that clog up your hard drive and get ready for more images to fill that hard drive! When I was doing this I found some images from late last Fall that I did not even look through or cull out the bad ones. Most are from the end of November when times are tough for a bird shooter. It was just before the ice began to form on the ponds and about the only birds around were the Hooded Mergansers and the occasional Eagle trying to catch one of the Mergansers. But being a die-hard I figured if they were still here I would be there too and try and get some late season pics. It’s a whole different color palette at this time of year. Gone are the brilliant colors of Fall. They are replaced by the more drab grays and browns but they have their own kind of beauty too, which I hope you can appreciate. Click on the images to enlarge.
The late Fall is not without it’s appeal. The woods and water are quieter. Gone are the Great Blue Heron chicks who test their parents patience at every opportunity. Even the Canada Geese have left for year. It’s almost like Nature is throwing a spell over the pond to get everyone ready for the snow and ice. It’s definitely a different world.
But get ready because Nature is about to blow the lid off of this peace and quiet!!! As soon as the ice recedes all kinds of ducks and geese will be back. They will be busy nesting and taking care of their young. The songbirds will once again greet us with their happy noise and beautiful colors. And I for one can’t wait…….
As I’m sure that you you have already noticed, backyard birds has been a main subject of this blog lately. Mostly because when I tried to walk into one of my favorite Otter spots last week I was in snow that was easily over my knees!! Even with my snowshoes on it was a heart attack waiting to happen so I will wait for the snow to settle a little before I go back and try again.
So I was out in my backyard again this afternoon trying for a perfect shot of a male Cardinal. Bird photographers call these “bird on a stick” shots because most often the bird in the shot is perched on a branch or a strategically placed landing area. I have hundreds of bird on a stick pics but I am always looking for that “perfect” shot. Well the male Cardinal just totally snubbed me but the female was in the mood for some pics! Please look at the three images below and give me your input on which you like best but more importantly, why you like one over the other. I have my own favorite but I’m interested in what others think.
I like the first one just because it is a nice composition with good light. But she has some food stuck in her teeth so there goes perfection!
The second one I like just because it’s a different look than the normal. Fortunately there was a catchlight in her eye so that helps see the eye. But I wish her head was tilted ever so slightly to her right. With more of her eye visible the composition would have been stronger. Definitely not perfect.
She finally got it together with the third shot. There’s not much difference between the first and third shot except for a slight head tilt forward and toward me. And to me it makes all the difference. I’m not sure if I like the crop yet or not but I do like the image. Not perfect mind you, but I hope I never get to “perfect”. Because then what do you aim for???
The rest of the images below were just icing on the cake. Hope you enjoy them!
Back at the end of December I posted some images of a bachelor group of Whitetail deer that showed up after the heavy snowstorm. One of the bucks was fairly impressive gentleman as you can see below.
Big Boy…
Well, I thought you might like to see what he looks like now after his makeover. Not quite as impressive is he????
Buzz Cut!
I’m guessing that life is probably a bit more comfortable without the antlers. Now he doesn’t have to deal with them catching on everything in the woods. Antlers are interesting subjects in their own right. They grow, fall off, and then re-grow every year. They are stimulated to begin in early April by photoperiodism, which triggers hormonal changes. Until early Fall they are composed of living tissue and are very sensitive to the touch. If the antler is damaged before it hardens in the fall it will grow back that way every year for the rest of the deer’s life. In early September the living tissue is replaced by minerals and the antlers harden into what you normally see in pictures. You can see in the image below the Pedicle where the antler begins growth every year. It’s that round spot right above the eye. During peak growth periods the antlers can grow an inch a day!
And those are today’s fun facts!!! Hope you enjoy them!
It’s not always easy at this time of year to get out and shoot. The number of opportunities is much lower, the temp is colder which means cold weather gear is a must, but you still want to get out and hit the shutter button a few times. If you are lucky enough to have a backyard you have the perfect place to work on your craft without spending a bundle to fly to Florida!
I was able to set up a small backyard studio near the bird feeders that I keep up all year round. It’s nothing more than a few different perches for the birds to land on while they are hanging out at the feeders. It’s nothing elaborate and it didn’t cost me a cent . Plus it gives you valuable practice with your camera so that when the million dollar shot comes along you are ready! And if you have a window that looks out to your set up you don’t even have to leave your warm house! All of the images below were taken in my backyard this year. It’s a great way to decompress from the stress of daily life and I always feel better with a camera in my hand! Enjoy the pics and get out there and shoot!!!
And remember, they don’t have to be prize winning pictures. As long as they make you happy…..
I was back looking for Otters today, hoping for something a little closer and better quality. It was another grey, gloomy day out but if you wait for the perfect day, you’ll spend a lot of time indoors!!
With the pond pretty much frozen over the only open water is near the Beaver lodge. The Otters are renting space in the lodge from the Beavers this year so I figured they would be around the lodge somewhere. I didn’t have long to wait. About half an hour after I was set up I saw the first Otter. He popped up out the lodge, looked around for a bit, walked over to the Latrine and did his business and promptly went back into the lodge. Not exactly the photo op I was looking for!
About twenty minutes later another Otter popped up out of the lodge and began fishing in the small open water pool. Of course I thought “ah here we go, we’ll get some action now.” And I was right again. The Otter got out of the water, walked up the bank and proceeded to take a poop! Right about then I figured that maybe today wasn’t going to be my day……. I stayed for 2 more hours and never saw another Otter. Plenty of Beavers but that is a story for another time.
Like I said, sometimes all you get is a pile of crap!!!
I spent yesterday trying to beat cabin fever. I knew I had to get out somewhere to shoot, because the outdoors is my therapist. But the options are a bit more limited at this time of year, unless you can get to Florida!
I’ve been interested in learning more about calling and photographing Coyotes. We have plenty of them around, I just have to find them. So yesterday found me in the woods, trying to entice a Coyote into shooting range. Which was pretty much a waste of time. There is a lot to learn about coyote calling and I was pitifully unprepared. So after a couple hours I mercifully called it quits and headed back to the car. On the way back I had to pass by a small pond which was frozen over, except for a small patch of open water next to a Beaver lodge. I knew that either Beavers or Otters were using that open patch of water to exit and enter the den. Beavers and Otters co-exist in the lodge during the winter, which was something that surprised me.
So I sat down to see if I could get lucky enough to see something worth photographing. I didn’t have to wait long. I could see the open water rippling so I knew something was coming out of the lodge. Maybe this would be a good day!
These two popped out of the water and immediately began wrestling with each other! Unfortunately they are on the other side of the pond so these are long shots with heavy crops. But you do the best you can with what you’ve got and I was glad just to see them!
Looking for trouble!!!
The next one is a favorite of mine. It looks like the Otter is praying saying “Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of this fish head which I am about to devour”.
If you have ever watched an Otter eat a fish it isn’t pretty. You can hear the bones crunching as they chew. They have very impressive teeth and powerful jaws and they eat every bit of the fish! It’s not a great image technically but it certainly tells a story!
And what would an Otter story be without a visit to the Latrine?? Otters use a common latrine area which they probably use as a way to keep in touch with each other. (I don’t think they have FB yet!!) But they will return to the same area on a regular basis to keep up with their siblings.
So all in all it was a terrific day!!! I got to watch these beautiful, funny animals live their lives. I got a few pictures, I got to see the Otter Poop Dance, and wouldn’t you know it? My cabin fever disappeared…. :) Enjoy!
Just after the big snowstorm we had a short time ago, we began having dinner guests in our backyard every night. Three handsome whitetail bucks would show up every night looking for a handout and I was happy to oblige. I got a pretty poor image of one of them and had been thinking of a way to get something a little better, even though they never showed up until it was pitch dark outside. I finally put up a temporary floodlight in the backyard, hoping I could get enough light to get a passable image. Well by the time I got to shoot the boys two of the bucks began losing their antlers. One of them had no antlers left, one had an antler on one side only, and the bigger one still had his full rack. I figured if I didn’t get the image soon, there would be no antlers at all!
I got myself all set up for the shoot. I was stationed in my bathroom with the window open and the lights off. It would be hard for them to see me and the windowsill provided a passable rest for the lens I was using.
This first pic above was just after he finished off a pile of whole corn which somehow got out in my backyard…… :) He was still about 40 yards out and kind of still in a dark area.
This next one he is slowly moving his way toward me. When there are multiple bucks like this (called a bachelor group) there is a hierarchy that becomes noticeable if you watch them interact. God help the poor smaller buck that tries to cut in front of the larger buck to get to the food!!! When the big boy is finished the smaller ones are allowed to take what is left. It’s good to be the King!! About this time he begins to hear the sound of the shutter on the camera.
He’s not alarmed by the sound but is actually curious what it is and where it is coming from. He is constantly checking the breeze to see if he can identify the strange sound. And he is coming closer, little by little. He is maybe about 20 yards away now. I think I’m going to wet my pants….. It just doesn’t get any better than this!!!
He is constantly sniffing the air to try and catch any scent that will help him identify the strange sound, but he can’t quite get a lock on the scent. He is less than 20 yards away now and I am afraid to move because at this range he would definitely catch the movement. But right now his need for food and his curiosity are overriding his sense of danger. This is a good pic to examine his rack too. If both sides were symmetrical he would be a 10 point but he is missing a brow tine on the right (the point closest to his forehead) and he is missing the third tine on the right side. But he is still a very impressive animal. I just hope at least one pic will come out halfway decently. I am shooting at 1/50 of a second and 10000 ISO which is a poor recipe for a quality image but it is at night….
Okay, now he is 15 yards away and I cannot believe how lucky I am!!!! He is at the point where I am having trouble getting his whole head in the picture! This is a full size image with no cropping. He hears the shutter very well now and he is torn between food or flight. But so far he has not picked up my scent yet so he still feels fairly secure. You can get away with some movement and some noise but if they get wind of you they are out of there! Many things move in the woods and many things make noise, but only one thing smells like a human!!
Now he is so close I can’t fit him all in the frame. I included this pic because I thought it was humorous. Here he is the big kid on the block, the king of the forest, and he is standing there in all his glory…… with bird seed stuck on his nose!!!
After this I just put my camera down and watched him feed and interact with the other bucks. There are times when the experience is worth more than the picture and I just marveled at this guy. In a week or two his antlers will fall off and he will just be one of the guys. But he definitely earned his supper tonight…… Hope you enjoy!!
I’ve been seeing a big increase from my FB photog friends lately who have been posting backyard bird images. Sarah, Cheryl, Dan and Beth (apologies if I forgot anyone) have been posting some good images lately. The snow is concentrating activity around the bird feeders and the birds have been putting on quite a show!
The good thing is that you really don’t need any special equipment to enjoy this type of shooting. No super long lenses or fancy cameras. Hell, you don’t even have to go outside to take the pics! Many of the photos you see are taken from inside the house through a clean window. And I can’t think of a better way to learn that new camera you got for Christmas. You will also learn how important the right light is to a good image. All you need to do is put out a bird feeder in a location that you can shoot in. Don’t worry, the birds will find the feeder!! And don’t worry about making mistakes, because you will make plenty of them! But that’s just part of the game. You will also get images that you are proud of and it will increase your desire to get out there and shoot more! We always talk about finding beauty in the ordinary. Well, here’s your chance. Go find it!
I have included several images that I have taken since the snowstorm. I hope you like them! And if anyone has questions please shoot me an email and I’ll be glad to help…… Now, get out and shoot!
Are these images anything special? Heck no, but they are good for my soul. They keep the cabin fever away because as long as I have a camera in my hand, I am happy…….. stay safe.
After shoveling for another two hours yesterday I thought "what the heck, I might as well go freeze my ass off in the blind for a couple hours." I have a small blind set up in my backyard with a nice piece of driftwood for the birds to land on. After I dug my blind out of the snow I got in it, closed the top, and I was in my own frozen little world. I now know what it feels like to be a package of peas in the freezer!! There were plenty of birds coming in but the one I really wanted, the Cardinal, was being stuck-up today. So I had to make do with what came by. Not the best outing but any time spent shooting birds is fun! I was impressed by the colors on the Chipping Sparrow. Much more colorful than I thought they would be at this time of year. The session ended early when the Cooper's Hawk came by. Which was just as well, because I was losing the feeling in my toes! Sooner or later I will get that Cardinal pic in just the pose I want! Click the images to enlarge
Time is getting very short for us migratory bird photographers in this area. Another week or so and the ice will form on the smaller ponds and slower moving creeks around here and that puts a damper on things. The birds will move somewhere that has open water. And it gets considerably colder for the photographers too! And when you are of a more senior age (like me), you realize you have many more days behind you than in front of you. So you tend to appreciate your days a bit more.
But I was not ready to give up on this year yet. All of my local spots were not producing very well so I knew I had to travel. The only two spots I was considering were Iroquois and Montezuma NWR. But Iroquois was a 3 hour drive away and staying overnight was not an option this time. Besides, I hadn’t been to Montezuma in several years and my buddy ML had been having good luck there this year. There were a few walking trails that I wanted to check out so I got up there just before dawn. I parked at the trailhead and got my gear ready, but that was when I saw the sign “trails closed for hunting season.” Crap! I came all the way up here to walk the trails and they were closed!!! Now what? By that time Iroquois was no longer an option. So I chalked it up to photographer’s luck and put my gear away intending to go back home. But I figured I would stop at the main pool behind the visitors center just to see what was around, and I’m glad I did!
The bird that is flying has a fractured leg, but he still kept up with the other birds…
There was a flock of around 40-50 Sandhill Cranes right behind the visitor’s center! I had been busting my butt all year trying to get images of these beautiful birds and I find them in the backyard!!! Now don’t get me wrong, these birds were still a long way away and the light was pretty crappy too. But photographers rarely look a gift horse in the mouth so I stared shooting.
Hovering
Perfect Landing!!
Tuning up….
Yoga Practice….
Choir Practice
About 10 minutes after I began photographing these birds I heard a car pull up so I figured I would soon have company. I had my eye glued to the viewfinder when I heard someone approach and ask “do you mind if I shoot up here with you?” Of course I was more than happy to have some company so I said certainly, help yourself. As I turned to see the photographer, I realized that I had a fellow club member to shoot with! It was Deb Muska from Animal Images. I have known Deb for years and I looked forward to shooting with her. But it got quiet again as we were both concentrating on the birds.
Wings down…
Wings up…… whatever you prefer…
In Sync…. my favorite BIF image…. I will probably try different compositions but I like the portrait …
Family Portrait
Because of the fact that these images are heavily cropped and the light was not what I wanted, I doubt any of these will make it to my photo gallery on my website. But they are good enough to show you what beautiful birds they are, and if this is my last shoot of the season then I appreciate that the Cranes stopped by on their way down South!! Enjoy!
The last two weeks around my area have been really slow for wildlife photography. For some reason the birds aren’t where they would normally be, and I believe it has a lot to do with the lack of rain this year. I can’t find more than 2 wood ducks in any of my normal spots and usually at this time of year they are feasting on acorns. But not this year. The only bird that has been fairly easy to find lately has been the Great Blue Heron. And I already have a zillion pics of these guys. I don’t need more GBH pics. But that is what I was faced with yesterday when I was out shooting. Lindsay Parsons was very slow so I drove up to Ithaca and hit some spots I don’t normally get to but once or twice a year. First stop was Stewart Park right in Ithaca. Right away I ran into a small flock of Common Mergansers feeding in a large pool in the park. I spent a good amount of time watching them, hoping they would get closer so I would have a chance to get a good image. They never made it that close but I was able to get a tolerable image out of it.
.
Hangin’ at the pool….
Then they wandered off so I was about to leave myself when a GBH landed on a log out in the same pool where the mergansers were. At first I thought “oh great, another GBH!!!” Just what I needed!
But then I decided that I should just stay and see if I could get something different than the GBH pics I already had. Now the bird sure isn’t going to change, at least at this time of year. But if I could get a little creative with the backgrounds maybe the bird would help me out by doing something different. So I started shooting, hoping for some divine inspiration. But the sun was starting to peek through the foliage and it was getting pretty intense. And that is when I decided to try and use the brighter sun to my advantage. So I started breaking one of those general rules of exposure. You know, the one that says your background shouldn’t be a lot brighter that your subject. And there is a good reason for that rule. Usually if your background is considerably brighter that your subject then your subject will be underexposed. So you have to try and walk a fine line and get the birds bright enough without totally blowing out your background.
So I’m moving around trying to find something different for the background without scaring the bird away. I figure the birds at this park see enough humans so that they may not be so skittish.
I call these last two “variations on a theme”
This bird above is actually a very nicely colored bird. His shoulder epaulets are big and bold and his overall coloring is strong. I’m starting to warm up to this guy. (or girl)
I was hoping for a fish or two but this guy seemed to think his personal hygiene was more important!
Slacker…..
I’m sure there are some that will say that this background above is too busy but I kinda like it!
And I seriously considered cropping this one right at the waterline but I left it alone so you could judge for yourself.
So do I think that any of them will end up in Nat Geo? Nope, not a snowball’s chance in Hell! But there’s a couple that might make it into my gallery. And it was a good lesson for me to have to really work to get the shots. I hope you like!!! As always, I am happy to hear what you think about them!!!
I spent a few days last week at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, near Batavia. I’ve trying to get back there at least twice a year because it is so peaceful and because it is a bird shooters paradise! But living in the Binghamton area makes it a bit harder. My goal on this trip was to get some images of the Sandhill Cranes. Recent sightings indicated that they were still at the refuge. The problem is that this refuge is 11,000 acres and the birds aren’t very dependable, but I took my chances and went. Click to enlarge images
I must go, my people need me!
Weaving through the trees…
The GBH’s were still there and they were willing subjects so I spent the morning with them. But the Cranes were still in the back of my mind…
Going after a trespassing Egret…..
There’s always someone around to keep you company!
By late morning I was ready to go find the Cranes. I probably blew a half tank of gas driving around to all the areas that were recommended by the great people on the Iroquois FB group. But still no luck. But I wasn’t worried, I still had another whole day to find them….
Day two started much like day one. The Herons were there to keep me company and I didn’t mind. It was such a beautiful morning to just be out there and be alive…..
Bobbing for Minnows…..
Jackpot!!!
Here comes the Sun!!
But still no Cranes. I could hear them near the Cayuga pool but was never able to get a look at them. Very frustrating, but the rest of the birds were so much fun it made for another great day!
A study in contrast….
Posing
What a way to spend an afternoon!
Flight school!
I’m sure that you can guess by now that I didn’t see one single Crane, which is what I originally came here to photograph. But how can you be upset after spending two days in such a beautiful, quiet spot with great friends to keep you company? You can be sure that I will be back in the Spring!!
So I was down at Brick Pond yesterday before dawn. It had been several days since I had been here because I spent a few days shooting at Iroquois NWR, just outside Batavia. (more on that later) Usually before it gets light enough to see you can hear the Wood ducks whistling through and landing in their favorite breakfast spots. All I heard this morning was crickets and the school bus going by the pond. Dawn arrived and I was still the only sign of life in the area. No woodies, GBHs, hawks, mallards…. nothing. I thought to myself “boy, is this going to be a dud of a day”. Oh well, I can leave sooner than I had planned (which was 8am) and go home and get the grass cut one more time and rake some leaves.
One more time I checked my watch and it was ten of eight. Great. Only ten more minutes! At 7:53 (I know that because I purposely looked at my watch) two immature wood ducks came swimming by and decided to stop and take a break on a log not too far from me. Usually when they do this they will preen for a bit and then continue to look for food or they will tuck their head into their wing and take a nap. But these two decided that this would be a good time to get into an argument! Click to enlarge
No caption needed!!!
With a reflection…
Unlike humans, duck arguments are usually very short and in no time these two were off looking happy as a clam!
All happy now!!!
So that only lasted about 15 minutes. I started to pack up and leave when I saw a strange object out in the water. It didn’t look like anything I had seen before so I walked as close to the water as I could to take a closer look. When I did that I looked to my left and about 60 yards away was a great blue heron staring at me! Of course I thought he or she would take off any second since he was staring right at me, but he didn’t move a muscle. That bird did not move the whole time I slowly walked 30 yards up the bank to my camera and then walked back down the bank to set up my gear! At first I thought maybe the bird had died on his feet! Herons never let you get away with movement like that. (unless you’re in Florida)
But he did let me set up my gear, out in the wide open and for the next hour and a half he let me take as many pictures as I wanted! So in that time I took nearly 800 images! When you get a willing subject and the light and background are good you don’t stop shooting until you run out of bullets! Things like this only happen once or twice a year, if you’re lucky!
Needless to say, I still have a backache from yesterday’s shoot. I was in some crazy positions trying to shoot the ducks and the GBH. But it was a very good day and I’ll trade some discomfort for a day like that anytime! That’s what they make Advil for…… I hope you like the pics! I had a blast taking them!
Quiet time….
I just like the feel of this image…. nothing special, it just captured the mood at the time….
On the hunt….
Angular composition pulls you right down to the frog….
Breakfast!!!
La momenta de verdad……
A closer look….
Stephen King bird….. “IT”
Preparation….
Concentration…
Like the old saying goes…. “I’d rather be lucky than good”. Yeah, me too. And boy did I get lucky!
And by the way, I never did cut the grass!!!!!
I spent the morning at Lindsay Parsons in Danby yesterday. It’s nice to see the male Wood Ducks getting their mojo back. They’re starting to look studly again!! During the summer they look pretty bad. They look like they fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down! I was hoping for a bird in flight shot but it just wasn’t to be. A Beaver decided to join the party and the woodies were scared away when he swam right into the group! But I thought I would share what I got….. Click to enlarge….
So many men, so little time…..
Kinda looks like a Little Richard haircut on the one male…..
He’s struttin’ his stuff and the female isn’t even paying attention!!!
How do you like me now????
And this little cutie stopped by to keep me company…. Can I get an ID on what kind of bird? Yellow Rumped Warbler???
Stay tuned!! I WILL get that bird in flight shot of the woodie!!!
I was down at Brick Pond this morning, not a lot of activity. I’m still figuring out the 1.4 teleconverter and the best settings for it. It seems that if I stop down just a little bit the image quality goes from “acceptable” to “pretty damn good!” Click the images to enlarge
This is a pretty serious crop….. this is only about a quarter of the original image…
Mirror, Mirror…..
Hey, look what I’ve got! It’s a great big piece of…….. yuck!
Another heavy crop, shooting through the brush. He thinks he’s hiding!
All in all, a fun morning. Temps were perfect, light was good. A great day to be alive! The only thing I’ve got to figure out is how to tell my wife that I bought the teleconverter!!! (this could be my last post!!! :)
In one corner we have Mr. Rocket J. Squirrel. In the other, a hawk. Mr. Cooper I believe. Round one ladies and gentlemen…. the bell rings. Squirrel and hawk come out, touch gloves and it’s game on!!!
Mr. Cooper makes a quick feint around the tree and tries to come down on Rocky. But with a quick flick of the tail Rocky easily evades this move! Click images to enlarge
Mr. Cooper doesn’t give up on the move though so Rocky had better watch his backside!!!
Rocky spins around the tree faster than Mr. Cooper can make the tight turn and Rocky wins that round. End of the first round!
But Mr. Cooper is very persistent and tries a different tactic. He tries to come in with more speed this time, to increase his maneuverability.
Rocky appears to be tiring and it looks like Mr. Cooper is about to have a good hot breakfast!!!
It appears that Rocky’s corner is about to throw in the towel when………
Rocky pulls his famous Spin-o-Rama move and shoots right by Mr. Cooper!!! Yay! Rocky wins!!!! (Yo Adrian!)
Actually this sequence was over in about 15-20 seconds. I was set up to shoot Wood Ducks on the ground, in the shade. There was a huge difference in the amount of light. This is one time I was really glad I had Auto ISO set on the camera! I would never have been able to manually change the camera settings in time to catch this sequence.
Please don’t judge this sequence on photographic ability because the photos are not that good. Judge it on the Wow! factor because I was blown away when I was chimping after it was all over. I was just happy that I got to see something like that happen right in front of me! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!!
I was down at Brick Pond again…… chilly morning, a reminder of what is coming.
Weather is changing and the animals are changing their routines. I’m seeing a lot more deer lately. I haven’t seen a Green Heron in 3 days so I’m afraid they are gone for the year. Which will bum me out because to me the little greenies are the clown prince of the heron world. Their antics would always put a smile on my face! And the wood ducks are eating voraciously, getting ready for the move south.
Heavy Metal Duck……. call him Spike….
I call this one ‘spin dry’….. the whole image is blurry but his eye…. click to enlarge
Two heads are better than one….. click to enlarge
Same deer, different weeds…..
We got back from Cape Cod late Friday…. I’m already missing the fresh seafood!
I didn’t get much of a chance to try the teleconverter while we were up there. The last two days of our trip the fog came in and didn’t leave until after dinner! But a few Margaritas took the edge off my disappointment…
So of course I was back out at Brick Pond Saturday morning to try and fine tune the teleconverter that I had rented. And by fine tuning I don’t just mean the teleconverter. Much of the blame for poor sharpness, especially with the long telephoto lenses, can be laid at the feet of the photographer. Shot discipline is an important part of shooting with a long lens. Making sure you have a good solid tripod setup and a smooth shutter release instead of punching the shutter can go a long ways toward getting sharper images. So I’m still working with the converter and my shooting discipline. I think it’s getting better but I’ll let you be the judge…
Nice of him to turn the fish so I could see it….
The one that almost got away…..
No need for a knife and fork….
He needs a drink after that meal!!!
Th-th-that-that’s all folks!!!!!!
And there’s more! I have a short sequence of a GBH who was nice enough to move about 20 yards from my left to right so I could practice my BIF shooting!
Cleared for takeoff…..
Serious stretch!!!
Showing off!
What a difference cloud cover makes….
A bit of a bumpy landing…. But thanks for flying Blue Air!!!!
I’m sure it will take the rest of this year for me to get comfortable with the teleconverter but Hell, that’s half the fun!!!! Thanks for looking!
We went to Cape Cod for a couple days this week for a short vacation. Mel has been working a ton of OT for the last 4 months so it was a good chance to give her some R&R. Haven’t had much of a chance to get out and shoot up here though. The last 2 days the fog has been terrible. It’s been like pea soup until after lunch!
But we stopped by an old grist mill that they turned into a small museum that is right on the main drag in Yarmouth. There’s a small pond that feeds the mill, which is where the Swan pics came from the other day. And behind the mill is a brush lot with typical sandy scrub pines and small oaks. Nothing special but we wanted to stretch our legs so we took off down the trail. About a hundred yards in we saw movement up ahead and eventually this small flock of turkeys came right by us! They didn’t pay much attention to us and continued to feed all around us until another couple came down the path. The birds moved off the path but didn’t go far. It was obvious they were used to human presence. Which makes sense because we were in one of the busiest areas of the Cape! We had seen another flock a few years ago when we were up here with Jack and Mary Lou but this time we were able to get much closer! But for 20 minutes it seemed like we were in the middle of the deep woods! We had a blast! And of course on the way out we saw the Swans so we stopped and got a few more of them too! Enjoy the pics and thanks for looking!! Click images to enlarge
Camouflage…..
Like mother, like daughter….
Berry picking….
Mama is giving me the evil eye….
Not what I was expecting out of this trip, but it sure beats the Hell out of working!!!!