HAVE TO LIKE IT

Pronghorn, Custer State Park, South Dakota

We are in northwest Iowa again and spend time with our family. The winter becomes “serious” and temperatures getting really low here right now. Today we had about -15˚C and tomorrow we expect -25˚C / -13˚F with a windchill down to -40˚C / -40˚F. Minus 40 is the magic number where the temperature on the Celsius scale meets the one on the Fahrenheit scale…

Joan, Cooper, and I went out this afternoon for a little hike and I tried to make some pictures that tell the story about winter. After all, looking at them later on the computer screen, I didn’t like the results. This happens and I don’t blame the weather for it. I rather show nothing than a picture I don’t like. So, this is why a photo from the archive is used for today’s blog post. Not even partially related to today’s article, but at least it is a photo that I like… 😉

FEEDER LOCATIONS

Black-capped Chickadee

I can’t mention enough how important our “front and backyard studio” is for my almost daily practice of wildlife photography. Sure, I have met other photographers that would never aim their glass on a bird that flies in for a feeder, with other words, one that has been “baited”. I highly respect their ethic standpoint as long as they stick with it, but I think they may miss a great chance to study the wildlife and to practice their skills, especially if time is limited because of work or other commitments.

Many birds fly first to a bush or nearby tree before they enter the actual bird feeder. It also serves them as a first refuge if some danger comes up or if they are just scared by a noise or sudden movement. Placing your bird feeders next to a brush or shrub can make a big difference how often your feeders are visited by our feathered friends. If you plan to set up a feeder sometime, give it a thought, plant a bush or tree nearby or use the proximity of an already existing one. The birds will make their visits more frequently and the fun you have will at least double…😉

TEST SHOT (IN A SHAFT OF LIGHT)

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

It is very cold here right now in Iowa (-16˚ C / 3˚ F) and because of the wind it feels even a lot colder. I don’t have always time to dress for these temperatures when I see something in the front or backyard, so I shoot quite often through the glass of the balcony door or just open a window briefly, while using every spare minute to learn and practice with the new glass, the Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports lens. Most of these “test shots” will never be seen by the public eye. This is the big advantage of digital, it allows us to shoot and practice without breaking the bank.

So, what pictures of backyard wildlife photography are really worth to be published? I can’t answer that for everybody, but when light, gesture, color, or either combination of them let a photo stand out or help the story telling, I would consider it.

The cold temperatures drive lots of Dark-eyed Juncos down south and many of them love our feeders, or better, what can they find below them. Juncos usually feed more on the ground. The trees we have around here make it somehow unpredictable how the low sun at this time of the season will impact the light. However, when a shaft of light hit the snow just where the juncos roamed today, I had to make the click...

LIBRARY CLEAN UP

Mule Deer, Theodore Roosevelt NP

The year comes slowly but surely to an end and I use the evenings to tidy my 2015 photo archive. I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to organize my photo library since many years. It still feels good to find photos that have potential to be published, at least here in the blog. Beside that I always have some future projects in my head that need some time to grow and using “collections” in Lightroom helps me to shape them without changing the structure of the photo library. Everybody has probably a different way to organize their files. I prefer time folders (one for each month) and use keywords in order to find any photo later by its content. This sounds like a lot of work (it really isn't) but I believe for a wildlife photographer it is important to display all photos of a particular species with just one easy click. It allows to re-evaluate previous work and compare it to the results of the latest shooting session. For me this is essential to see if improvements were made, or to draw conclusions and prepare for the next time a critter or light situation present in front of the lens.

NATURE CLICKS #314 - ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN SHEEP

Theodore Roosevelt NP, North Dakota

We hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend. I won’t bother you today with a long story about the making of the photo or any other nature observations. This is just another image from our visit in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. The picture is the result of a very slow and careful approach to a herd of Bighorn Sheep. It was a lot harder to get the glass on them than it was in Badlands NP. I hope you enjoy!

NATURE CLICKS #313 - AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head

This picture of an American Goldfinch looks almost like it was made with a flash light. I use flash quite often for color enhancement in my bird photography, especially in the winter, but this little guy was just hit by a shaft of light from yesterday’s late afternoon sun. Couldn’t resist to make the click...

FIRST PRIORITY

American Bison, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

No, we were not stupid enough to lie down in the prairie grass and in front of a full grown American Bison male just for making a photo from an interesting perspective. We rather used a drop in the terrain and repositioned our car several times for good perspective and background. Staying safe while shooting has to be first priority at all times!

THE PERCH MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Male American Kestrel

Just outside of the North unit at Theodore Roosevelt National Park we came across this beautiful male American Kestrel. What really made me happy about this shot was the fact that for the first time I was able to make a photo of this little falcon without a power line in the picture. Most of the time we see them perched on a power line, looking out for prey. There is nothing wrong with that, it serves the bird well, but having the kestrel perched on a branch makes for the better image...

SERIOUS TALK OR JUST CHITCHAT?

Hands down, this is my favorite shot of a Black-tailed Prairie Dog. The little guy moved around with its mouth full of grass, obviously ready to add it to its winter hoard. I was thinking the whole time while following the critter with my lens, come on, stand up, and the prairie dog finally did me the favor. Even with the food in its mouth, it still participated in the Prairie Dog’s communication system. Who knows what they are talking about, but Prairie dogs have a big arsenal of calls and gestures to warn each other or maybe just to chitchat. We love watching these critters…!

NATURE CLICKS #312 - SOUTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, SB 800 speed light

It took me 8 1/2 years to make this photo but tonight I had my chance. We didn’t have to go very far, just step outside the house and look at the big Maple tree right in front of it. The last time I had a Flying Squirrel in front of my lens was in June of 2007. It was a picture of the squirrel feeding at one of our bird feeders. Little did I know at this time about wildlife photography…

We knew that they have been around all these years. We still have big oaks, hickory trees, and maples here that provide food for them. Some of our neighbors have seen them more often but Joan and I just didn’t have another encounter since 2007. Flying squirrels are nocturnal, hence the flash light used for this image. I really like the picture because it shows the fold of skin between its forelegs and hind-legs that allow the squirrel to glide through the air up to 80 meters or more, from the top of one tree down to the trunk of another. It flies with its legs outstretched and the skin between its legs is used like a sail or parachute. In comparison to our numerous Eastern Gray Squirrels, the Southern Flying Squirrel is very small (200-255 mm / 7 3/4”-10 1/8”). Look into its big black eyes and you have to admit that its “cuteness factor” deserves 5 stars… 😊

NATURE CLICKS #311 - RED CROSSBILL

Juvenile Red Crossbill

There are little chances that we would see a Red Crossbill in our woods here, simply for the fact that their preferred habitats is coniferous forests. With other words, it was a first sighting for us and we found the birds in the Slim Butte area, located in the grasslands between the Black Hills, South Dakota and Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. There were plenty of pine trees and we saw a female and a juvenile crossbill feeding on them. Their unique bill shape is perfect for getting the seeds out of the pine cones and make it easy to identify the bird. Red Crossbills show a great deal of variation in bill shape and voice and there is a debate over that this member of the finch family is composed of several different species.

The birds were on a feeding frenzy and in constant movement and the only way to keep up with them was to handhold the camera. Fill flash was used to overcome the harsh contrast and to show the colors.

Female feeding a juvenile

PREPARED FOR THE MOMENT

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

The digital age of photography allows us to shoot endless numbers of pictures without making a dent in our wallets. All what it takes is to hit the delete button if something doesn’t work out. Sometimes, and hopefully more often than not, it only takes a few clicks to make the image you have in mind or envisioned, even in wildlife photography. Knowing the biology of a critter, its habits, and natural time schedule will help you to make the click. Being for a few days in the same area, studying the light, and watching every movement in the woods and in the grassland, can lead to the desired shot. 

The photo of this deer was made between two locations where we wanted to shoot landscapes. Attaching the long lens to the camera ahead of time was essential to make the shot just beside the road.

NATURE CLICKS #310 - SHARP-TAILED GROUSE

I always call it a great day if we have a first sighting of a bird or critter. This may not always be the best photographical moment but at least I try to make a documentary shot and hope to work my way up to a better image sometime later. We were told that getting close to some Sharp-tailed Grouse would be not an easy task and we would be very lucky to see them at all. I think it payed back to get up really early in Custer State Park and during this early trip along Wildlife Loop Road, we saw close to a dozen already the first morning. It was good that I fired away immediately, handhold and just supported by leaning myself against the car, because we did not see them at any other time again. Having part of the road in the frame is not very flattering but making “a” shot is always the priority if I see a new species. The Sharp-tailed Grouse gave us about 40 seconds until they took off. This is the best I could get, but hey, it made it already a great day early in the morning… 😊.

TURKEY DAY

Happy Thanksgiving to all friends and readers of my blog here in the United States! I’m sure I didn’t think about this holiday when I made this photo in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota last month. It may not be Wild Turkey, but a farm raised one, that will be served traditionally for dinner in many families on Thanksgiving. However, I thought the picture is appropriate for todays holiday blog post. 😊

We have turkeys in the woods around our house. In spring, during their mating season, we can hear them calling every morning but I still have not managed to make a decent photo yet. Up in South and North Dakota we had several opportunities to see Wild Turkeys and even to get close to these shy birds. Most of the time you see them down in the grass with a close and very busy looking background. More than a dozen turkeys had just crossed the road and continued foraging on a small ridge before they finally disappeared in the valley behind. It is the far away and out of focus background that makes the big difference between many previous shots and this one, which became my new favorite instantly…

THE BURROS OF CUSTER STATE PARK

One animal in Custer State Park in the Black Hills is hard to miss. Known as the “begging burros”, the herds can be encountered along the Wildlife Loop Road. The burros in the park are feral. They have been introduced by humans to the area and have reverted to a semi-wild state. The donkeys descend from pack animals that were once used for treks to a summit. They often block the road and pander for food from tourists. Because you have to stop anyway, you can’t help but take some pictures of these charismatic relatives of the horse...