Nature clicks #68 - American Goldfinch

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

One bird we enjoy having here all year long is the Eastern Goldfinch, also called American Goldfinch. It is the state bird of Iowa since 1933. They are now in their winter plumage, which makes it sometimes a little harder to distinguish the males from the females. Today was the first day this week with some sunlight coming through the clouds. In addition we had a hint of snow on the ground from last night and that improved the light even a little more. I thought I can try it without the help of a speed light. At ISO 200 exposure was between 1/60 s and 1/90 s and that was not easy to handle with the lens zoomed to 500 mm. The birds jumped around very fast and I really missed getting a tack sharp shot today. Why do I show this photo anyway? Because I like the pose of the goldfinch and the overall light on it. It bothers me that the image is not sharp but tomorrow is another day and I may try it again… Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tool for file organization, maintenance, and analysis

It doesn't happen very often that I don't find the time for making any click during a whole week. Too many other things had to be taken care of during the last few days. I have to admit that I wasn't really sad about this because I found the time at night to do some maintenance in my picture data base. I'm a strong believer in a good file organization and I assign keywords to all of my images. Not only that finding a particular photo is so much easier, I believe it also helps me to analyze my work by comparing older shots with my actual creations. For instance, before I went in November for the third time to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Southern California I viewed my photos from the previous visits carefully. With a simple click in the keyword data base I can pull up every photo from a particular bird species. It helped me to see where I have room for improvement and to set new goals for the next shooting event in the same area.

During my nightly sessions this week I realized that I had neglected nature close up shots during our time in the Smokies this fall. A single click on the keyword "Fine Art" made me aware of this fact. This photo with the leaves in the crystal clear stream and the sun reflected from the minerals at the bottom of the creek was one of the few.

I use Adobe Lightroom for organizing my photos since four years now (version 3.6 was just released a few days ago). It's library module with all the features for searching, selecting, and file handling is awesome. Lightroom has many strongholds that I like but the library module is one of the best tools in my digital darkroom. If you have someone who is still asking for your Christmas wish, hey, here is a gift idea… ;-)

Nature clicks #67 - Surprised to see a loon

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500 / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

It hit me by surprise during my recent visit in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve in Southern California when I saw a loon among the pelicans, cormorants, and grebes. Their breeding grounds are far north in Canada and in some of the northern states in the US. I have seen them in Minnesota and Wisconsin before but never in their winter plumage.

This Common Loon was in fierce competition with some of the other birds about the fishing rights in the laguna. Making a click wasn't as easy as it looks. The loon was under water for most of the time and it was hard to predict where it would show up again. It also preferred the southeast side of the bridge we were standing on, and that means I had to shoot against the low sun in this early morning hour.

None of the fights about the best hunting spots lasted very long. The laguna has an abundance of food and that's why so many birds migrate there for the winter. This Western Grebe had just swallowed a fish and it didn't take long before it went for the next one.

More important than any picture

Long-billed Curlew

You may wonder why non of my shots from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands is made on eye level with the birds. It would quite often make for a better, less distracting  background and sometimes for a more interesting image. Like almost all ecological preserves or areas that have a protected status Bolsa Chica has rules to protect the sensitive vegetation and the habitat of the critters. One of them is to stay on the trail and to respect closed areas. No problem, the trails are real wide enough to leave enough room for everybody, walkers, runners, bird watchers, and of course photographers with their tripods. The reason you can't go down to water level with your camera is that all trails around the laguna are a few feet elevated above the water and nobody is supposed to go down to the water. Signs are everywhere. The laguna has plenty of photo opportunities and I can't see any reason why not to obey the rules and risk the well being of the animals and vegetation. The protection of our nature is more important than any shutter click that someone could have made. I know, there is always a small percentage of people that say, one time doesn't hurt anything, or those who don't give a damn at all. I will not keep my mouth shut if I see people being ignorant towards the nature or just don't know any better. I may not always make friends this way but I have earned a few thank you's in the past for making them aware of existing restrictions. And this is why my pictures from Bolsa Chica, including this one of a Long-billed Curlew, are all made from slightly above. By the way, if you just stay in the parking lot along the Pacific Coast Highway, you may get some good low level shots, especially in the evening. The parking lot is only slightly above the water level. Unfortunately this time, as already reported, the rain stopped all shooting at 10AM.

Nature clicks #66 - Snowy Egret, the last click

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

I like to come back to my shooting in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, California about a week ago. I shot more than 50 images in less than four minutes of this Snowy Egret. It was right before the rain started and the light wasn't as good anymore as earlier in the morning. See my earlier posts if you want to know what I mean. However, the white egret against the not much reflecting water seemed to bear still the chance for a good shot. The wind was blowing quite strong already and gave the feathers a different look in every image. Most of the pictures were sharp. So which one should I choose?  It was the last one in the whole session that made the difference for me. In all other images the egret's yellow feet were hidden behind the rocks or only partly visible. Beside that the bird showed me its side profile and didn't move much. Not really bad but I was hoping for more. It is again the gesture of the bird that made my choice finally easy. You can tell this Snowy Egret was now on the hunt for foot. My presence slightly above didn't bother it anymore and the egret started even walking towards me. The click was made when the Snowy Egret came across the gap in the row of stones along the shore and its contrastive feet became visible.

Nature clicks #65 - A Reddish Egret (I'm thrilled!)

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

As I mentioned before I was not the only one up early in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve last Sunday. It is always nice to shoot wildlife together with local photographers that are on their home turf. I learned allot about the species that were present and what and where to look for in the wetlands in general.

I was busy working the pelicans when I heard something croaking behind me on the other side of the bridge that crosses the laguna. I pointed at the egret standing in the water and everybody got excited. It was a Reddish Egret, a bird that is relatively rare to find. My books say that there are only about 2,000 pairs left in the US. I was told by another photographer that he had seen up to four in the laguna. However, it was a thrill for me to get my glass on a Reddish Egret, the first one I have ever seen.

Nature clicks # 64 - Brown Pelican performance

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Here are a couple more pictures that show how great the light was for short periods of time last Sunday at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. The Brown Pelicans are one of the many reasons why I like to go to this place.

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

These majestic birds are fun to watch. One minute they just swim slowly in the laguna and a moment later they go up in the air and dive furiously head first into the water. It is a breath taking spectacle when they perform their hunt for fish. I had the camera with the Sigma 50-500 on the gimbal head mounted to the tripod but that was not the best way to shoot them in flight. Handholding would have served me probably better.

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Nature clicks # 63 - Red-breasted Nuthatch, a rare occasion

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, Nikon SB600

I  try to develop my style of wildlife photography into a direction where "feeder pictures" don't play a role anymore. But ones in a while comes the opportunity to make an image of a bird that we see very rarely around our house. Can you really blame me for breaking my rules in a matter like this? We live in Eastern Iowa since almost exactly seven years now and have seen the Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) only occasionally during migration times. The only picture I was able to make several years ago was from far away, and of course at one of our bird feeders. Its white-breasted cousin is here all year long and so we are always thrilled if the Red-breasted Nuthatch shows up.

Being home only briefly between two business trips I did not have the time to try more and get a picture away from the feeder on the balcony. I'm glad I took the shots of this wonderful bird. Soon the nuthatch will migrate further south and I don't even know if I may get a second chance after my return from Southern California (thats where I write this post) in  about a week.

By the way, in my home country Germany I have seen its relative, Sitta eurpaea, quite often and they both look very similar. However, the stripe pattern around the head is different.

The picture above was made against the sun and the bird was actually in the shade of the feeder. A little bit fill flash helped here to deal with the circumstances.

I hope you like it, even if it is just a "feeder image"…;-)

Nature clicks #62 - Downy Woodpecker, another trial

A few days ago I published a picture of a Downy Woodpecker here in my blog. As longer I look at this image as less I like it. Why is that? The light was sufficient, the bird is well placed in the frame, and the image has a decent sharpness. It is the gesture of the bird, the fact that the Downy looks straight at me and you can't really see the shape of its bill.

 To make things worse there is some suet of a nearby bird feeder around its bill. Maybe you think there is nothing wrong with that, but I finally do not like it. The good news is we have so many Downy Woodpeckers in the woods here that the chances are good to make another image more satisfying. A few days after the first shot I tried it again and this time I like the outcome much better. The position in the frame is similar, exposure and sharpness are good, and the bird has a nice catch light in its eye. And yes, its bill stands out and there is no suet around it…

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Nature clicks #61 - Focus tests with elk

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Another place in the Great Smoky Mountains where elks are often present is the vicinity of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the south side of the mountains. It is a wide open space in the valley and a herd of elks can be seen there quite often. Despite a dark overcast and the low light in the late afternoon most pictures of this grazing elk turned out with a decent sharpness. One of the best experiences with the new Nikon D300s is the way its focus works. It is much better than it was with my beloved D200.  This elk bull was really close and I didn't have to use the full 500mm focus length of the SIGMA 50-500. The elk didn't move too fast and this gave me a great opportunity to play and check out the focus system.

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Another reason that sharpness turned out better than in similar situations before might be the fact that I'm using a taller tripod now. The Calumet 8156, a 4-section carbon fiber tripod, allows me to stand upright between its legs while shooting. I feel much more relaxed and the upright position while shooting makes it easier to apply correct long lens shooting technique.

Beside enjoying the close presence of this majestic elk I also got a kick out of the excitement from other visitors that had their first elk encounter in life. I believe it is important that many people, especially young folks, experience wildlife encounters. This will ensure that more people become aware what we loose if we don't protect the habitat of these animals and also understand that economical things cannot play the only role in our lives.