Nature clicks #84 - White-breasted Nuthatch

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

Today just a shot from my "backyard series". The White-breasted Nuthatch is here all year long. Their yank-yank-yank calls seem to be heard more frequently now. Spring can't be that far anymore… They are usually in company with the Black-capped Chickadees. The nuthatch moves down pretty fast on tree trunks, head first, and they are always a good subject to practice focussing with the long lens. Their relative, the Red-breasted Nuthatch, is here in our area usually only during migration. I snapped a picture of it last November and wrote a post about it (Click HERE if you like to compare both of them).

Nature clicks #83 - Red-tailed Hawk

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

On my way back from a customer of mine I stopped at several places along the Mississippi and looked for photo opportunities. I found Bald Eagles and Tundra Swans again but because of a strong gray overcast in the afternoon I wasn't so happy with the image quality. The light sucked and so did the colors.

There is only one exception today and this is because it is a "first one" for me. I never had a chance before to capture a picture of a Red-tailed Hawk, despite the fact it is the most common buteo in North America. I saw the bird while driving down a gravel road towards the Green Island Wetlands. It took me four stops before I succeded. The background isn't ideal but I was happy that the hawk was at least not obstructed by a branch and I like the pose of the bird. I know there is room for improvement, but hey, it is my first Red-tailed Hawk… :-)

Got the fish...

Just another image from last weekend. The eagle seems to say, I got my fish, no matter if you guys have me in focus or not…

Nature clicks #82 - Another good day for Bald Eagles

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

It was another wonderful day at the Mississippi River today. The temperatures were not nearly as low as yesterday and that made the shooting even more fun. The Bald Eagles hunted for the fish again and we had many opportunities to fill our memory cards. I focused today on handholding the camera with the long lens. Of course not the whole time, there is a reason that the Sigma 50-500 is called the "BIGMA"… ;-) I had more keepers than yesterday but have still too many pics out of focus. I really like to know how the other guys with their faster f/2.8 or f/4 lenses perform. I will probably post a few more pictures in the next days, so please stay tuned and have a great week!

Nature clicks #81 - Great day for Bald Eagle photography

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

Let me say that first. It was a great day at lock & dam #14 down in Le Claire, Iowa today. The light doesn't get much better for eagle photography. It was cold, but still manageable. Burt and his friends  had plenty of fish to throw in the river (thank you guys!), and the eagles followed their invitation. Many other photographers had lined up to use this opportunity for eagle photography in good light. I always enjoy meeting other photographers that love nature like I do. There is always interesting conversation and the best part that I recognized is that the experienced photographers are really helpful to anybody who is new to wildlife photography.

I have been an active runner and bicycle rider for most of my life. I have always trained hard  and know exactly the feeling after a break in the process of training. Everything seemed to be harder and more difficult after not running for two weeks for whatever reason. This is how I felt today. I haven't done any wildlife photography since two weeks and during the first 500 shots today I felt very clumsy. I had a hard time to obtain focus. I could blame the cold temperatures or low battery level that seemed to slow down focus speed, but I know this is just in my mind. It is the lack of exercising every day that makes the difference. Many shots ended up in the trash can today but I'm always happy if I come back with one photo that is different or slightly better than anything before.

I like this photo because of the gorgeous light on the feathers against a flawless blue sky. As much as I hate blue sky without clouds for my landscape photography, I don't think it's a bad background for an eagle in flight.

Nature clicks #80 - Great light, easy click

I did an inspection of our timber behind the house today in the afternoon. The snow is rapidly melting, the Black-capped Chickadees started their mating calls, and it felt a little like spring. If you are a frequent reader of my blog you know that I always look out for special light situations. The sun got diffused by a few clouds and the trees around but suddenly I saw a spot at one of our Red Cedars that got hit by a sun beam. It boosted the colors of the wood and revealed the texture of this wounded tree trunk. I was glad to have the camera with me, the clicks had to be made fast. Finishing was done in NIK Color Efex Pro 4. I love what this software does for my photography.

Nothing spectacular today, just made me feel good… :-) Have a nice Sunday!

Nature clicks #79 - In flight, with texture

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

On my way back home from Illinois today I stopped again at Mississippi dam #14 and joined the group of photographers there for an hour. Everybody was eagerly awaiting some Bald Eagles to show up. Burt and his friends had thrown some fish into the water in order to attract the eagles. I made quiet a few clicks but didn't really like my results today. Instead I show you another image from last Sunday. The Ring-billed Gulls were competing with the eagles about the fish and gulls are a great subject to practice long lens shooting technique. I like this photo for several reasons. First, I do not have too many pictures of a gull in full flight. This one will be a good addition to my Iowa-Wildlife-Gallery. I also like the background of this shot. Usually I prefer a subtle background that lets the animal stand out, but here I really like the texture of the bold reflections on the water. I believe it adds dynamic to the image without totally distracting from the bird.

Nature clicks #78 - Bald Eagle, a wing beat later

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

If you follow my blog regularly, you may have asked, did the eagle Andreas showed here a couple days ago really catch the fish? A friend of mine sent me this question. Yes it did! I processed another photo today, just taken one wing beat after the first one. For my taste there was still a little too much water in the frame and that's why I cropped the second one slightly more. You can't do that if the eyes of the bird are blurred, it will amplify the message that the image is not sharp. I did not have to worry about this here, the sharpness sits on the eyes and the bill. The rest of the bird reflects the dynamic of the scene. Depth of field was less than eight inches with the settings I had in camera, and of course, there is some motion blur.

More to come from last Sunday's trip to Le Claire…

Nature clicks #77 - Tundra Swans

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

As hinted yesterday already there was more excitement than just the Bald Eagles at the Mississippi River. I finally met Burt Gearhart, a photographer from Le Claire I have been in contact with by email since a while. Burt kept me posted about the eagle activities at lock & dam #14. Yesterday he gave me a tip where to find Tundra Swans along the river. About 3PM the eagles refused to catch more fish and were just sitting in the trees. I decided to scout the location Burt told me about and left the dam. I found the place at the river immediately, and yes, there was a whole school of Tundra Swans near the shore. Adults and juvenile swans were present, but also Canada Geese and some ducks. If you want to see me excited, this was the moment to meet me. ;-) In addition it was probably the best time of the day to go there because the whole scene was covered in warm afternoon light. I followed Burt's advice and stayed in the car while taking shots. Despite the fact that the Tundra Swan is the most common swan in North America, I have not seen them before here in Eastern Iowa. They are easy to identify because of the yellow spot most of them have on the base of their black bills. They are smaller than the Trumpeter Swans  I have watched many times before. There may have been some Trumpeter Swans among them but I wasn't sure about it. Not all Tundra Swans have the yellow spot. Thank you Burt for giving me this tip, it made my day!

I will show some more images tomorrow. A major update on my Macbook keeps my resources busy at the moment.

Nature clicks #76 - Bald Eagles at Mississippi dam #14

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

I finally made it to Mississippi lock and dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa today. Light and weather conditions were as good as yesterday. There were not as many birds as at dam #12 on Saturday but the location is so much better because of the unobstructed view and the eagles are usually much closer.

This is my favorite photo from today. You can't see the fish the Bald Eagle just caught but I like the dynamic of this hunting scene and the spray of the water behind the eagle. There was more than just the Bald Eagles today but this will be another post hopefully tomorrow.