2012 – Looking back, part 8

 

I can't move on with my 2012 photography review without talking about the main reason I came back to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. I really wanted to work on the birds, especially shore birds. American Avocets were there in big numbers, which doesn't mean it was easy to get the photo. I set my tripod to its lowest possible height, just a few inch above ground and put my belly in the sand. That sounds easy as long you don't know that the beach (or better salty mud strip along the shore) was black and covered with probably billions of little brine flies. It might be disgusting for some folks but the flies are your ticket for making the click because many birds feed on them. The good thing is, they don't bite.

I have never done this before but it was a great lesson about the birds and their behavior, and I wanted to learn what is possible and what doesn't work with the camera really low to the water level. You may ask, why can't you do that at the Green Island Wetlands here in Iowa? The difference is the elevation of the surrounding land. At Green Island you have to work almost everywhere from the top of the road or trail, which is usually quite a bit above water level. There is no flat beach.

Another bird that we have here in Iowa during the summer  too is the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Their habitat is the reed belts along the shore of the Great Salt Lake. You can't miss these wonderful looking birds, they make a lot of noise, but it is not easy to get close to them. I still haven't been able to make a frame filling picture of a male like this but at least I got some "environmental portraits" with a little more environment than I desire. Yes, I could make a crop, but I'm at a point with my wildlife photography where I don't want to make this compromise anymore.

2012 - Looking back, part 7

 

Back in June I was able to visit one of my favorite locations again, Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake, Utah. I have published the first image in B&W before but sometimes, after some time has passed, I see things differently and like to rework an image. I now feel that the mood of this first evening on the island is better reflected with the original colors. It's more dense, more atmospheric.

In the late afternoon I had a chance to see some Black-tailed Jackrabbits. It was not easy to get the picture of this long eared rabbit since they try to stay out of sight all the time. I decided to crop the image on the right hand side in order to compensate for the lack of composition. The almost spot light  and having the tall grass in different planes of the image makes it a nevertheless a good environmental portrait of the Jackrabbit.

The evenings bare always a good chance to get some good light on one of the bisons that roam on the island. Getting too close to a bison bull is never a good idea and having the SIGMA 50-500 at maximum focal length is a must.

Avocets again (because I love them)

Just a quick post today. I'm on the road again with no time to focus on photography so far. Instead I like to show you another photo of the American Avocets. Can you tell that I really like these birds? I think they are really pretty. This image is from the morning shooting on Antelope Island ten days ago. I wished light would always be like this... ;-)

Nature clicks #113 - Western Kingbird

I still like to write a little about my recent visit to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. The sun was only three hours away from its highest point that day when I discovered a Western Kingbird (another first sighting for me). It was sitting on a traffic sign and used it as a perch for hunting insects. As you can see very succesfully.

Any time if I'm in doubt about a species or want to confirm the encounters I make in Utah I go to Ron Dudley's blog "Feathered Photography". Ron is a retired teacher and has excellent knowledge about birds and critters and their behaviors. His photography is outstanding and the observations he has documented in his blog are very interesting. And of course, I found the Western Kingbird in his blog. The same was true for the Lark Sparrow in my last post. Ron spends a lot of time on this island and I hope one of these days, when business brings me back to Utah, I'll have a chance to meet him.

Nature clicks #112 - Lark Sparrow

 

If there is an abundance of wildlife in a particular location it is sometimes easy to forget the smaller birds and critters. It was very windy every day during my recent trip to Antelope Island and I didn't see many small birds anyway. This Lark Sparrow was a first sighting for me and so I made a few clicks, even if the bird was actually too far away for a good detail shot. This photo was sharp enough to consider a crop, and yes, I cropped it quite a bit. The result is an environmental portrait, good enough to show here and report about it, but too small for a large size print. Well, next time... ;-)

Nature clicks #111 - Black-necked Stilt

I only had one minute to work with a second bird of the Avocet and Stilt family before it flew away. My location was everything but good when I discovered two wonderful Black-necked Stilts right in front of me. I was slightly above the water level and tried actually to approach some gulls on a bank in the Great Salt Lake. The higher elevation allowed only to shoot from above and this is not an interesting shooting position for most animals. Ok, it was my first sighting of the stilt and at least I have now a few images in the "books". It is a beautiful bird and the next time I go to the Great Salt Lake I'll try to find them again and make the photo I have in mind.

I use the software iBird PRO on my iphone for identification and comparison of birds while I'm in the field. This eliminates the need to carry any books with me while traveling. There are always some interesting facts to learn and for the Black-necked Stilt it says that they have the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos.

Nature clicks #109 - American Bison

The biggest mammal on Antelope Island is the American Bison. There is a herd of about 500 bisons free roaming on the island according to the Utah State Park website. They seem to stay away from the part of the island that is easily accessible by car. I have never seen more than ten at a time. That's alright with me, bisons are such beautiful animals that I get excited even if I come close to just one of them. This bison bull was relatively close to the road so that I was able to shoot out of the safety of my rental car. The bull was feeding the whole time I watched him and it took forever to get a clear view of its face. Light was great, it was wildlife photography fun at its best....