TAKING A BREAK

Barred Owl ------------   

Tonight the Barred Owl used our roof ridge as a perch for its hunting efforts. I could see the silhouette against the evening sky. It was quiet and peaceful and while I watched this magnificent bird, mother raccoon ransacked the suet feeder on the balcony at the other side of the house… Did I say it was peaceful…? 😏

The photo of the Barred Owl is from last week. This is how I found the bird Friday morning in a tree at the edge of our woods. I took the time to get the tripod out. With good support I had no problem to shoot at ISO200 and 1/80s.

I’m taking a break from posting here in the blog for a little while. I’ll be back soon. Enjoy the warm and sunny weather, always take the camera with you, and don’t miss the opportunity to make the best photo of your life!

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #9 - DUCKLINGS

Mallards can be found everywhere along the Mississippi and usually I point my lens at them only if there is an extraordinary light situation. While working with the pelicans a few days ago I couldn’t resist to make some clicks when this female duck with her offspring swam by in the choppy water just in front of me. Young birds are always fun to watch.

I had the camera up on the tripod. This was ok for the pelicans, who were a little further away than the ducklings, but for this shot I should have lowered the camera closer to the water surface.

1/800 s, f/6.3, ISO 100, @600 mm, image slightly cropped, Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

READY FOR THE ORIOLES

Male and female Baltimore Orioles --------

They came a couple days later this year than other years before but we have the pleasure to watch at least five Baltimore Orioles in our yard again. Yesterday morning we had a thin overcast, giving the light a certain quality that I liked and making exposure very easy. Having the Nikon D750 and Sigma 150-600 on the tripod allowed me to shoot all the way down to 1/60s without cranking up the ISO higher than 400 (the image above was shot at 1/160s, f/6.3, ISO400, @450 mm). I always wanted to make a photo like the one above, with both, male and female oriole in the same frame. They sat there for only a brief moment and I do have just this one image with both birds. The important thing was that I had this kind of picture already in my mind and when the opportunity came I was ready for it.

Later in the evening the light didn’t have the same quality as it was during the early morning and I added a hint of fill flash to most pictures. The photo of the male Baltimore Oriole was made with 1/60s, f/6.3, ISO 320, @600 mm. Exposure compensation for the background was set to -0.7EV and flash settings were at -4EV.