Nature clicks #4

What a surprise and joy! I went back again to see how the Trumpeter Swan is doing, which I was writing about in my previous posts. I found a new situation. There were three swans on the lake today. Two were obviously in love with each other and didn't separate the whole afternoon. From time to time their resonated honking notes sounded very loud across the water. Suddenly they were flying to a remote part of the lake and started chasing another swan back into a bay. Afterwards they came back where I had my camera in position, and they continued feeding.

I hiked to the other side of the lake, where the light was anyway better for photography. The single swan was swimming in a bay, out of sight from the couple. He didn't feed during the whole time, but to my delight did spread his wings. More to come!

Nature clicks #3

I went back to the place where I saw a Trumpeter Swan a couple weeks ago (see my earlier post Nature clicks #2). The beautiful swan was still there, sitting on a nesting site, and had buried the head under its wing. Not the best pose for a nice shot. I was watching it for some time. It is tempting to get closer but the priority is not to disturb the animal at all. The light was much better than the first time and I was afraid the sun would set before I could take a picture, other than that of a sleeping swan. But I was lucky. While I had briefly put my attention to some red-winged blackbirds, the Trumpeter Swan suddenly lifted its head. There was my chance, click, click, click, click… Minutes later the sun disappeared behind a ridge and the shadows were creeping into the valley.

The story of restoration of the Trumpeter Swan in Iowa seems to be a successful one. The link to the Iowa DNR Wildlife site about this restoration project is obviously a little outdated, but it bears some interesting information. It is so nice to see these big birds returning to Iowa's wetlands.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

Another source of light

What do you do when the day goes by, you have been very busy, and there was not really a chance to take the camera and make at least one single click? You may look for another source of light, inside or outside, and try something. Last night I didn't have to look very far. The light source itself, the full moon, was at its best and the warm spring weather made it easy to stay outside for some time. I have tried different settings and liked this one the best. 1/60s, f6.3, ISO 100, 500 mm (750 mm FF), cropped in post process.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

Nature Clicks #2

I was driving on a gravel road through a small side valley of the Mississippi river near Bellevue, Iowa, when I saw this Trumpeter swan in a pond beside the road. The bird plunged its head and neck under the water most of the time in search for food. There was only a brief moment in between each time when I had a chance to make the click. The light was a little harsh. Well, I clicked anyway. Don't regret it...

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

Nature clicks #1 - Crocuses in snow

The snow stayed  only a few hours on the ground after a cold front briefly interrupted the warm spring weather here in Iowa. I tried different settings with short and long depth of field for this shot. Finally I came up with the following: ISO 100, 1/20s, f16, +1.5 EV. What do you think?

Nikon D200, Sigma 150/ f2.8