TALKING ABOUT THE ”CUTENESS FACTOR”

Double-crested Cormorant, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Eastern Iowa

Let me start with some thoughts before I come to today’s image. In the Dubuque Camera Club we participate in monthly competitions with other camera clubs in different categories with our photos each month. We also have the duty of judging a competition quite often. In the month of May it was for the ”Nature” category, means wildlife, flowers, or anything else that falls under the umbrella of nature. This is all good and helps many beginners and advanced camera owners to become better photographers.

Over the years, since I’m a member of the club, I made an observation that still keeps me wondering. Nobody can win a competition if the subject doesn’t have a certain ”cuteness factor”. For example, if you post a real blurry photo of a cat (I mean house cats, lions, tigers, you name it…), not even very well composed, and as boring as a piece of wood in the bright sun, sometimes it still may be judged higher than a tack sharp, well composed, and properly exposed picture of a beautiful snake. It doesn’t matter anymore if the story a photo can tell is good, when the ”cuteness factor” kicks against it. I understand, it’s all subjective and the three judges never have an easy job to find a fair winner. It just still amazes me what role the ”cuteness factor” can play how we can feel about a photo.

So, here we have a Double-crested Cormorant and I know this bird is considered by some people as ugly. I guess the ”cuteness factor” may be ”a bit” less than i.e. for the Great Egrets I posted yesterday. However, this very adaptable bird is an elegant diver, swimmer, and flyer an I personally think they just look great. Due to their black plumage, making a well exposed photo is often a challenge.

The Double-crested Cormorants have a home in the Green Island Wetlands during the season with open water and they are abundant. I see them quite often, but making a photo without cropping the picture to death seems to be not so easy. It was the first time this very skittish bird was within the range of the lens and in decent light. I admit, the ”cuteness factor” doesn’t play a role in my wildlife photography. All animals need our utmost attention for their protection in their still shrinking habitats.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x

NATURE CLICKS #594 - DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS

Double-crested Cormorants, Mississippi River, Lower Sabula Lake, Iowa

While shooting birds on or in the water it is always recommended to have at least one eye in the air from time to time. Overhead flying birds are often a good opportunity I don’t want to miss, even if they approach suddenly.

Double-crested Cormorants are very fast flyers and I wanted to make a picture like this one since quite some time. With my heavy Sigma 150-600 S it seemed to be always a matter of luck to get a sharp shot. Panning with that heavy lens is not always easy.

While working with the pelicans you may have seen in my last blog post, four cormorants crossed the river and flew rapidly towards me. The exposure compensation was quickly changed by one stop (-0.67 to +0.33EV) to retain some detail in the birds plumage. The Nikon Nikkor Z 600 f/6.3, even in combination with the Z TC-1.4x teleconverter, is so much easier to handle while following birds in flight. I know for sure now why this lens made it in my gear locker.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x.  @840 mm, image slightly cropped

WHERE THE RIVER MEETS THE SEA

It was low tide and these Double-crested Cormorants used this small island to socialize and took care of their plumage.

At the southern end of the Puget Sound is the Nisqually River Delta, a biological diverse and rich area with a variety of habitats. The freshwater of the Nisqually River combines with the saltwater of Puget Sound and forms an estuary, which was restored in 2009 and was set aside for wildlife. The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1974 to protect the delta and its diversity of wildlife habitats. (source: Brochure Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge)

Last Saturday I joined a guided tour in the refuge. Rob, a volunteer and our guide took us more than four hours on all the trails and the boardwalk through the estuary, despite the rain most of the time. It was time well spent, we saw lots of wildlife, and learned much about the delta and its biological diversity.

The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is a great place for watching and photographing critters and birds. It is now on my list of places I like to revisit, with hopefully more time on hand when I travel again to the Pacific Northwest. Here are a few documentary shots I was able to make during the hike.

We saw several flocks of Least Sandpipers. It is the smallest shorebird in the world. The photo was made from above on the boardwalk trail that goes across the estuary.

Our guide knew where to find them. These tiny little chorus frogs blend very well into their environment. This is most likely the Pacific tree frog.

A bird I have seen here in eastern Iowa during migration very often before, the Greater Yellowleg. At low tide there is plenty of food they can find in the mud or in the remaining puddles.

Talking about wildlife diversity, a Great Blue Heron hunts for fish near a group of Harbor Seals in the background, while a cormorant just flies through my picture at the same time.

 

ROOM FOR INTERPRETATION

No opportunity for new pictures this week because of business commitments in Omaha, Nebraska. Instead I like to show you another photo from the shooting at dam #11 in the Mississippi last Sunday. The two birds look intimate with each other although there is a sense of competition about the best fish in the air. The eye of the pelican is taxing and carefully watching while the cormorant seems to ignore the bigger bird. I like when a photo tells a story sometimes that leaves room for interpretation. It is one thing what we may see and another one what the birds really have in mind.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2016 #10 - FOOD ENVY

Two American White Pelicans and about a dozen Double-crested Cormorants seemed to go along with each other very well below dam #11 in the Mississippi River. Both species fished peacefully side by side, the pelicans using their big bill and the cormorants diving for the fish. There wasn’t any problem until one of the cormorants got a pretty good size fish out of the water.

One of the pelicans was obviously struck by food envy and suddenly attacked the cormorant pretty aggressive. Looking at the image a little closer on my screen at home I realized that the pelican had the poor cormorant in its bill and obviously tried to bite him. I’m very happy to catch this moment. As you can see the cormorant got away with its prey…

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Better Beamer flash extender

The photos were made on the Wisconsin side of the river, right below the dam between Dubuque, Iowa and the state of Wisconsin. Usually it is not a good place to shoot in this direction during the afternoon hours because the sun is just across the river. We had some heavy overcast and that muted the sunlight quite a bit. To overcome the gray from above and reflected off the water fill flash was used to reveal the colors of the birds.