LESSON LEARNED

The load of snow we got over the weekend was topped today again with another inch and the temperature dropped quite a bit below freezing. It is the time of the season when life gets really hard for the critters out there. The White-tailed Deer overcome their fear and come out of the woods, very close to the house, and try to find leftovers at the bird feeders or just eat dried up flowers in the garden.

I learned my lesson yesterday when I missed to open the window before a group of deer arrived. I made a few clicks through the glass but the results were not flattering. Remember, this happens usually between 4.00 and 5.00 PM when the light is already fading away and it is hard to make a photo of a moving critter. The little noise from sliding the window down while the deer are present usually scares them away. 

All images:  Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, Nikon SB800 speed light

Today I saw a doe with its fawn approaching and opened the window quickly before they came close to the house. I used a fill flash for some color boost but that did not bother them much. The doe was eating out of the bird feeder while the fawn munched on some dry flowers. 

What do I like about these images? I made of course a few more clicks, some pictures with even better sharpness, but it is again the story telling gesture in both photos that made me choose these two for the blog post. The fawn looks back for its mother, knowing that she still means protection. The knee-deep snow and the snow crystals in the fur tell the story about survival in very harsh winter conditions. Last, but more and more important for my wildlife photography, the composition was made 100% in the viewfinder and no crop in post process was required… I hope you enjoy!

WORK FOR A NEW GALLERY

I’m working on a total overhaul of my galleries about the wildlife in Iowa at the moment and I hope I can integrate it soon into this new website here. While reviewing older photos I realized that some of the birds and critters deserve some new and better representation in the gallery, especially those that live here in our woods all year long. One that is present during all seasons is the Black-capped Chickadee.

It helps to know the habits and biology of a critter to make the shot. In this case I used the fact that the chickadees quite often fly first to the bushes in the yard before they enter the bird feeders. It is a repeating pattern of behavior that helped me to focus on one particular area without moving around with the long lens too much. The light was sufficient this morning but I still used a fill flash for boosting the colors a little bit.

 

DOWN TO EYE LEVEL

Despite the mild winter so far the squirrels must have used up all their food reserves. At least they started feeding sunflower seeds from our bird feeders with much higher intensity than in December or early January. Who knows? There isn’t much exciting about a photo of an Eastern Gray Squirrel feeding but the snow crystals in its fur triggered my interest. I don’t want my photos look like they were shot with a phone camera, from above and as boring as possible… ;-) The option was to lay down and bring the lens to the eye level of the critter. And that’s what I did to get this shot.

 

NATURE CLICKS #253 - DOWNY WOODPECKER

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, Nikon SB800 speed ligh

Every bird goes on high alert here in our woods if a bird of prey shows up. They either fly away panicky or they just freeze absolutely motionless, like this Downy Woodpecker just outside our window. A Sharp Shinned Hawk hunts here quite often, and even if we can’t see the predator always, we know it is around by just watching the other birds behavior.

 

A FINE LINE

I stopped briefly at lock & dam #14 today on my way back home from a business trip. Unfortunately it was just about the same time when a big field of clouds moved in from the west that covered the sun. You could tell that the quality of light dropped from one minute to the next or from gorgeous light to stupid gray. I counted six Bald Eagles sitting in the trees and about three times more photographers who waited more or less patiently for the birds to come down and start some fishing action. The eagles didn’t leave the trees at all while I was there and shooting against a gray sky wasn’t really what I had in mind.

Sometimes we have to accept that we come home with nothing on the memory card, but if we don’t try we will miss the opportunities that come at another time. Today’s photo was made almost exactly one year ago and the metadata of the image reveal that it was even almost the same time, between 3 and 4 o’clock. It can be a fine line between success and coming back with nothing in your hands…

 

PRACTICE WITH THE GULLS

Every winter when I go out shooting Bald Eagles for the first time in the season I get reminded how important it is to practice proper shooting techniques. There is no lack of Ring-billed Gulls along the Mississippi and when the eagles decide to sit just quiet in the trees I just aim for the gulls in order to use my time the best. If you have a high keeper rate while shooting gulls, getting a sharp image of a Bald Eagle in flight seems to be a piece of cake in comparison. The flight pattern of the eagles is a lot more predictable.

After arrival at lock & dam #14 in LeClaire, Iowa last Sunday I went straight for the place where the gulls were fishing. My keeper rate was very low in the beginning but improved over time and finally there were a few pictures that I even liked…