I have another image from last weekend for you. The light was just too lovely to let it go without making a few clicks here in the woods. The big dead branch the Northern Cardinal had chosen as a perch doesn’t look very elegant but its diagonal position makes it acceptable for me.
NATURE CLICKS #257 - BLUE JAY
I still like taking advantage of this great reflector on the ground, called snow (my friends over in Germany didn’t even know how to spell it this winter… ;-) ). While working on other projects this weekend, it was easy to get back to the tripod ones in a while and work with the birds that enjoyed the sun as much as we did. I never got such great light on a Blue Jay outside of winter yet. It didn’t need any color boosting help by a flash light to make this photo. The Blue Jay is probably one of the most difficult to shoot birds that we have here. Any little bit of noise or sudden movement makes them fly away. I haven’t been as close as I would like, hence the image is slightly cropped. Room for improvement, as I call it…
PHOTO FUN WITH SNOW
It isn’t difficult to guess what kind of weather we have right now by looking at this photo of a Dark-eyed Junco. It snowed heavily since late morning today. The snow draws a lot of birds to the feeders in the yard and daylight lasts already a lot longer. Good time for a photo session in the “backyard studio” this evening!
I played with longer exposure times to get some trails of the snow flakes and to catch as much daylight as possible for the background. Even if we are a little tired of winter already, but I still enjoy a moment like this and the opportunities it brings for some great photography fun.
NATURE CLICKS #256 - HAIRY WOODPECKER
Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, speed light Nikon SB800, at 500mm, 1/250 s, f/6.3, ISO200
About three weeks ago I wrote that some of the critters we have here in our woods need a better representation in my galleries, means I like to make better images. The Hairy Woodpecker is one of the species that is here all year long but they are a lot more skittish than their smaller cousins, the Downy Woodpecker. Last weekend I was able to make a couple clicks of the Hairy and the photo I show you today will replace the previous one in the woodpecker section of the Bird Gallery - North America. Click HERE for a shortcut.
It’s hard to believe that my new website and blog are online since already a month now. I have not regretted the switch from GoDaddy and Wordpress to a Squarespace platform for the website. It has bought me a lot of time, time that I like to use for the creative process of my photography and for writing the content of this blog. I spare you with the “tech talk”, but if you like to know what else triggered the switch, send me a message and I can fill you in with the details (just in case you consider a change for your own website ;-) )
THIRD YEAR IN A ROW
Today I don’t have an eye pleasing photo but it is, at least for me, an important documentary shot. The image is already a week old and shows that a Great Horned Owl is sitting on the abandoned eagle’s nest again, now for the third year in a row. In 2013 and 2014 the owls raised one juvenile each year and I was lucky enough to be there with my camera several times. If you like to see some of the pictures from the past, type “Great Horned Owl” into the search field at the sidebar on the left, and all links to my older blog posts that talk about the owls will pop up immediately.
For now we can just wait and see how things turn out. The eggs are incubated for 28 to 35 days, mostly by the female. The Great Horned Owl lays between one and five eggs.
My records show that last year we saw the owlet not before March 23 for the first time peeking out of the nest. I will check out the nest down at the Mississippi River again tomorrow and keep you posted as soon I have news.
DRAMA FOR STRUPPI
We continue watching a small group of White-tailed Deer coming to our house every day. During the last couple days it became more and more clear to us that our favorite little fawn “Struppi” (read my post from February, 18) is facing probably the tragic loss of its mother. She comes always alone and we had two dead deer laying beside the highway down in the valley earlier this week. The other members of the group do everything to scare her away whenever “Struppi" tries to join them near our bird feeders.
Struppi
Last Wednesday I enjoyed a backlight situation, created by the very low sun, when I caught two shots of a doe hitting “Struppi” with its front leg and bringing the little guy down to its knees. When animals move I shoot mostly short bursts in ‘Continues shooting mode’ with 6 frames per second to maximize my chances for a sharp image. This time I got the two images that tell the story.
Yes, some of you may say this is sad, or the other deer are mean, but this is just natural behavior for those animals. They all try to protect their food sources and want the best for their own offspring. “Struppi” seems to do fine, she is always the first one here in the morning and just because of that she eats probably more corn than any other deer… By the way, she took a little nap again today. This time right beside our old oak tree trunk in the front yard… :-)
WORKING WITH FLASH FILL
Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB800, at 420 mm, 1/250s, f/8, ISO200,
It was another day with plenty of sunshine but very low temperatures. We go through a lot of bird food at the moment but who want’s to blame the birds or the squirrels, who eat probably as much as the birds do.
It doesn’t happen very often that a woodpecker poses like this and this Downy did it for only a few seconds. Most of the time we see their side profile or the backside. I wanted to make this kind of a shot since a long time and today I had my chance. I was glad that the flash light was on camera already. A right dosed flash fill throws in a little bit of extra light, just enough to give the feathers some structure and to reveal the subtle colors on the front side of this Downy Woodpecker.
STRUPPI
This is “Struppi”, which translates into English probably as “Scrubby”. I named this little fawn because of its fur, which looks thicker and fuzzier than at any other White-tailed Deer that visit us now every day. A group of 7 - 9 does and fawns made it a habit to show up in our yard since we have the snow on the ground and it became so bitterly cold. “Struppi" has a mind of its own. Sometimes it visits alone, away from the group, but I’m sure the mother is never far away. While most of the deer come around 4 in the afternoon, “Struppi" wants its lunch and checks out the area around the bird feeders already at noon. It isn't as skittish as some of the other deer and as you can see it even sticks out the tongue while I make the picture. Yesterday it took a nap for about an hour, leaning against a fence post and with its back towards the sun. Life is good here, even with temperatures way below freezing… ;-)
NATURE CLICKS #255 - COMMON REDPOLL
The photo of this Common Redpoll was already taken January 25, 2015. It is the 73rd bird species we encountered here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley over the last ten years. Well, why did I show this picture, taken on our balcony, so late? At the time of shooting I realized that this finch-like bird looks a little different and so I marked it “under investigation” in my photo library. It wasn’t until last night, when I saw the same bird in an Iowa birder’s photo gallery, that I realized that I had my first “1st encounter” in 2015. The Common Redpoll breeds way up north in Canada and most bird guides show the southern line for its winter range just below central Minnesota. But the same field guides also tell that the redpoll has been seen as far south as Oklahoma during the winter. So it is not really a surprise. However, the Common Redpoll is usually seen in larger flocks but this one was here just on its own. As I have written before here in the blog (or in my old one at exnerimages.com), I use the iBirdPRO app as one of the sources for reference and learning about birds. For the redpoll it says: During the long Arctic night, redpolls sleep in snow tunnels to preserve body heat. If this isn’t a cool fact about survival in the great outdoors, I don’t know what is… ;-)
Of course, this photo made it into my new BIRD GALLERY - NORTH AMERICA. You can find it at the top of the page. by clicking on the COLLECTIONS tab. Thank you for visiting!
NEW BIRD COLLECTION IS NOW ONLINE!!!
I’m very happy and excited to announce that my new collection BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA is finally up and online. You can explore it by clicking on the COLLECTIONS tab above. I have expanded and totally renewed the former “Iowa Bird Gallery” from my old website. The majority of photos is still from the Upper Mississippi River here in Iowa, but from now on you can find all the birds we had the pleasure to watch and photograph during our trips in the US and Canada. Each picture shows now the location where the photo was made. This collection may hopefully help you to identify your own bird encounters or maybe give you some ideas where to find a particular species. But even if this doesn’t play a role in your life, I hope you can find a photo that makes you smile and brings you some joy.
Of course, not every photo in this collection would make it into my WILDLIFE PORTFOLIO and in some cases I have put documentary value over quality. My website and blog have always been a split between the desire to create art and to share the values of nature. Sometimes it all comes together in one photo and sometimes it doesn’t. This collection will be under constant renewal and will change accordingly if new or better photos are available.
Hey all my friends out there, please check it out, write me a comment, and let me know if you find any glitches in this collection!! :-)
NATURE CLICKS #254 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
We still have quite a bit of snow here in our woods and I try to take advantage of this “big reflector” for my bird photography. This beautiful female Red-bellied Woodpecker is a frequent visitor here and a few days ago I had a chance to make this photo with just natural light. Don’t take me wrong, I don’t mind using a fill flash for boosting the colors if the natural light is not sufficient, but this time the soft light that bounced just off the snow did the job just fine.
PANNING WITH THE MERGANSERS
Just a short post today. Here is another photo from my tour along the Mississippi. These Common Mergansers were in food competition with the pelicans at lock & dam #14 (see my last post). They were on a constant move about the best positions and fishing grounds. I prefer to handhold my camera and long lens while watching out for Bald Eagles and it works for the mergansers as well. It allows me to pan with the lens even at a short distance and panning is the only way to get the head of the bird sharp. The image was made at 500 mm, 1/350s, f/8, ISO 200.
LIGHT, GESTURE, AND COLOR
Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM
I went on a wildlife scouting trip today. The temperatures went up above freezing but there is plenty of snow still on the ground. The Green Island Wetlands were snowed in and it was very very quiet. I saw a couple Horned Larks and some Song Sparrows but that was all.
The last stop of my little trip along the Mississippi River was the well known lock & dam #14, just south of the bridge where Interstate 80 crosses the big river. I was late but still early enough for the best light. Seven Bald Eagles were sitting in the trees and at least new visitors had a chance to see them relatively close, maybe for the first time in their life. This is good and this is why this location is great for everybody, not just photographers.
Some photographers, that came long ways to #14 for shooting pictures of the eagles may have been not so happy because the lack of action. Means the eagles didn’t hunt for fish in the river. However, more than 25 American White Pelicans and numerous Common Mergansers made up for the inactivity of the eagles.
When I arrived at 3:45PM many photographers carried their gear already to the parking lot. At 4:30PM most of the people were gone. Big mistake IMHO! It was the time when the magic unfolded.
Although the gates of the lock are closed during the winter, there is still plenty of water flowing through the lock chamber. This is where the pelicans go for the fish. The light of the low sun got reflected from the doors of the lower gate onto the water in front of it. This made for a spectacular golden color. These two pelicans face the warm sun light directly and from all the reflections around. In addition they lifted their wings simultaneously, which gives them the little gesture that makes it interesting. It doesn’t always happen but today it all came together, light, gesture, and color…
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.