Black-capped Chickadee
It is the time of the year when we start to hear the ”fee-bee” calls of the Black-capped Chickadees more frequently. The snow bells are out in the front yard and also a couple small crocus flowers. While driving to town this morning I saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes flying across the road. All sure signs that spring is right around the corner or at least not far away anymore.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S
Black-capped Chickadee enjoying the last sun of a warm spring day
During my public presentations about wildlife photography I point out that shooting the local species, the animals we can find all year long in the area where we live, is a great starting point. It will lead earlier or later to success and encouragement for further advance with wildlife photography. Even with the most common cameras, the ones we have in our cell phones, good results are possible. With this endorsement comes always the remark, make a difference by photographing the local species in great light. Having a photograph of a very rare species in mediocre light is sometimes accepted for documentary purposes. But with the local species we should make a difference. Quite often we try to tell a story about animal behavior, about the season , about a certain gesture, or just about their beauty. Sometimes all of those together. A certain quality of light may draw the attention to a picture of a common species, the animal that everybody has seen a thousand times before, it will make the difference.
Black-capped Chickadee
My retrospects 2020 series isn’t so much about the best picture for each month but for the moments that put a smile in my face when I look at the image. In November, after the leaves are all on the ground but snow hasn’t touched the land around, the one thing that makes me taking the camera everywhere I go is the crisp light. Without the haze of the warmer months here in Iowa and the sun low above the horizon, the quality of light makes photography pure fun.
Tufted Titmouse
Almost “T-shirt weather” and great light made me spent some time behind the camera on our front porch this late afternoon. As mentioned in my last blog post, there is a new “shooting gallery” in place, a little rack that holds a heated bird bath, a few bird feeders, and a couple dead red cedar trees (or at least parts of them), that serve as perches, and of course the places where I would like to make a photo. It is mobile and can be moved to a different location if I see a need for doing so. The idea behind is that I like to use “the gallery” during the “real winter” here in eastern Iowa (for my friends in South Africa and Germany: -20º to -50ºC), means having the camera on a tripod in the house and the birds still right in front of me. Right now I have my doubts that we are already in November, but there is no reason to stay inside and today we had about 22ºC (72º Fahrenheit). Oh yeah, people and animals enjoyed it the same way!
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadees are omnipresent all year long in our woods and it was also a great year for the Tufted Titmouse. We saw a lot of juveniles in late summer but now it is a little more difficult to tell what bird is an experienced adult or offspring from 2020. To be honest, it doesn’t really matter, we enjoy frequent visits of any kind of bird and both species are great to find out about the best settings for the new “shooting gallery”. I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful weekend.
