Nature clicks #37 - Snake in the bush

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 370 mm (555 mm FX), 1/200s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

After a rainy morning the weather became nicer and nicer with every hour today. At noon I had enough from sitting in my office and processing images from the last few weeks. I went to the Green Island Wetlands again. The water was very high, the highest I have ever seen it so far. There wasn't much waterfowl. It seems that many nesting places are flooded and except for two couples of Wood Ducks, a few Canada Geese, and some Pied-billed Grebes I haven't seen much else.

I discovered a big snake hanging in a bush that was standing in the water near the shore line. I believe it is a Black Rat Snake but still need to make more research to confirm it. A few weeks ago a very friendly DNR warden gave me a brochure "The Snakes of Iowa". It says Rat Snakes are rare in Iowa, except for a few locations. However, we had one around the house a few years ago until some dude killed it by driving over it…

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/640s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

Despite the snake was moving very slowly or just resting, it wasn't very easy to get a clean shot. Too many little branches blocked the view to the head and eyes quite often. There was only one direction to shoot from because the bush was in the water. It just took patience to wait until the snake moved to a different position.

I had another encounter of a new bird species, but this is for another "Nature Clicks" post. So please stay tuned and have a great Sunday.

Nature clicks #35 - Rain and magic light

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/125s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

A lot of work limits my radius of action at the moment and thats why I take advantage of the wide variety of wildlife in and around our yard. This shot was taken just from the front porch of our house. The light had unfold its magic when the rain came down and this American Goldfinch was backlit by the low sun.

Nature clicks #34 - Scarlet Tanager

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/125s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

Joan and I keep track about the wildlife, especially the birds, that we see in our yard or in the woods surrounding it. She saw it already last spring. I discovered the Scarlet Tanager a few days ago for the first time. Yes, it became only a "feeder image", and the photo is not really tack sharp, and his bill is covered with suet from the feeder, and, and, and…. But I'm OK with that for now. I'm glad I was able to document its appearance here in our neck of the woods.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/160s, f/6.3, -½ EV, ISO 200

I started the same way with the Baltimore Oriole. First I had only pictures that showed the Orioles at our hummingbird feeders. Now, six years later, I try to get shots that show the Oriole at different locations, with no feeder in sight. It may become a little more difficult with the Scarlet Tanager. But I'm hoping for more since we saw him again today  high up in the trees. It just doesn't hurt to set new goals for our photography…

Nature clicks #33 - Eastern Black Swallowtail

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, 1/320s, f/4, -1 EV, ISO 200

Today we got the rain that nature needs so much here at the moment. As a result and also because of a busy working schedule I have not made a single click today. A big advantage of working from a home office in the middle of the woods is the fact that I can have my camera always nearby and ready for shooting. Usually it is mounted on a tripod near the door. Quite often I just run outside if anything interesting shows up in the yard or the surrounding woods. Yesterday morning, while filling the hummingbird feeders, I saw the first swallowtail butterfly of this season. It was a male Eastern Black Swallowtail, just sitting near the ground and still very sluggish. This gave me all time in the world to go down on my knees and make two dozen clicks.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, 1/125s, f/5.6, -0.5 EV, ISO 200

Today, when I looked in my image catalog, I found out that I haven't made a good picture of a Black Swallowtail since 2007. I manage my photos with Adobe Lightroom and I apply keywords to each single image. It is sometimes time consuming, but this is when it pays back to use keywords. It is so much easier to find photos about a particular subject and allows a review and learning from older images. Yesterday's photos of the Black Swallowtail will replace the old picture in my IOWA WILDLIFE GALLERY (which needs an update anyway ;-)  ).

Nature clicks #32- Red Fox visit

Baltimore Oriole

Before I continue to write about my recent trip to Utah and California I like to give you an update about what happens her in Eastern Iowa right now. It is the best time of the year for bird photography. All the birds that migrate south for the winter are back. Despite I still have to go through lots of images from my trip, I follow the good advice of the masters of wildlife photography, like Moose Peterson, and shoot every day in my own yard. Last Sunday I had my lens pointed to the numerous birds in the front yard. Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Hummingbirds, Goldfinches, and many others make it easy to find a target.

The light was great in the morning. While I focused on a Grosbeak, suddenly a Red Fox came down our drive way and run directly towards the birds in front of me. I quickly changed my focus and started firing. This image shows the moment when the canine discovered me. It is the only picture that is tack sharp on its eyes. The other ones were ok, but the sharpness is not as good as on this one. It took the fox only a second to figure out that he or she will have no hunting luck and it went sideways into the forest. The birds were already gone in panic.

I have seen this fox a couple times during the winter crossing our backyard and I was wondering if I ever would have a chance to make a click. I guess this was my chance, and I tried to make the best out of it…

All images Nikon D200, SIGMA 50-500 @ 500 mm (750 mm FX)

Antelope Island - part three

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/320s, f/6.3, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake is home for a herd of Bisons. They were too far away for a picture on both days. I normally don't hesitate to make a long hike if I have a chance to see a particular landscape or animal. But I only had about three hours in the evening each day and wanted to make the best out of it.

Another beautiful animal are the Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) on the island, and so I concentrated on a little herd. Although it is often called "Pronghorn Antelope", the Pronghorn is not an antelope. They are endemic to North America, and are the only living members of the family Antilocapridae.

The little herd was slowly moving and my memory card filled quickly. I chose the image of the buck, walking up the mountain slope in best evening light, for this post.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/500s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

The maximum aperture of the Sigma 50-500 is f/6.3 at 500 mm focal length. Shooting wildlife in the last rays of sun is quite challenging with this lens. Pumping up the ISO much higher than 280 is not really an option for the Nikon D200. Despite mine is "only" four years old, it is considered already older generation and does not handle noise as good as today's latest models. Of course, I have software to reduce the noise, but this is still not the same because some sharpness is always lost in the process.

Nevertheless, I couldn't resist to snap some pictures of the Yellow-headed Blackbirds that were making a lot of "real" noise in the reeds along the lake shore. It was windy, the reed grass was swaying, and the birds were constantly moving around. But it was killer light, and so I tried, and tried, and tried….

Antelope Island - Following my goals

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20 mm f/4.0-5.6, 18 mm (27 mm FX), 1/250s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

Yesterday I talked about some goals I set for myself for the next visit to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The storm moving through the area was definitely helpful to get better landscape images. But how about  wildlife photography? Antelope Island State Park bears great opportunities to shoot birds, bisons, or pronghorns. Not all my dreams came true. I was hoping to put my glass on some Chukars. I saw this colorful bird last year for the first time and felt in love with it immediately. Please have a look in my post from last year HERE if you want. I saw two of them but direction of light and circumstances were not in my favor.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/1000s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 100

Another goal I had was to get a better image of the Western Meadowlark. They are not difficult to find on the island at this time of the year because of their distinctive song performance. I used my little rental car as a blind for this image.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/1500s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

A day later the weather was not quite as interesting as the evening before. While looking out for some Chukars I discovered this Horned Lark, sitting on a rock, instead. Direction of light wasn't as good as for the Meadowlark, but nevertheless, I got some images of this wonderful bird.

Thank you for stopping by! Please stay tuned for more…

Nature clicks #31 - More from the wetlands

 

I really had a good time again last Saturday in the Green Island Wetlands. The location became familiar during the last couple months and I believe this is key to better images. Not that I think that my photography is top level, it just isn't, but I know that I made some progress.

I found two pairs of Wood Ducks again. I know where to find them now, but they are extremely cautious and fly away as soon I stop my very slow moving car. Someone may wonder why I use the car. The area is wide open and the birds can see you long before you may see them. The car works as a blind and many birds seem to tolerate it. Not so the Wood Ducks! They were hiding in a corn field across the wide water filled trench beside the gravel road. I have a picture of the female duck too but didn't like the quality. Well, another reason to go back and try it again.

I wrote a few days ago how difficult it was to approach Painted Turtles that were basking in the sun on a log in the water. It is a piece of cake when you meet them on land. I just laid down in the dirt and was even able to use the 150/f2.8  ;-)

There is another animal I have tried to put my glass on for a long time and at different locations. I never liked the results, until last Saturday. This Muskrat didn't seem to mind my presence. It was chewing on fresh sprouts of (probably) reed. Later I saw it with a whole bunch in its mouth swimming towards its lodge. Unfortunately my position was a little higher than the water level and there was old grass between the muskrat and me. But I'm still glad I got a set of usable images.

Nature clicks #30 - Green Island Wetlands again

 

Today I actually planned to drive down south to LeClaire, Iowa and try to find White Pelicans at the Mississippi. Well, I never made it. On my way down I stopped in the Green Island Wetlands. Oh boy, there was so much going on that I discarded my original plan and spent all day long in this area again. The Mississippi had its flood peak today and in the wetlands the water was also quite a bit higher than during my earlier visits this year. Many of the surrounding fields were flooded and I was wondering how that would effect the wildlife and the chances to make some good images. Soon after turning of the main road I ran into a couple egrets, a Blue Heron, and two Sandhill Cranes, all in the same spot. It was the closest distance I have been to any of the cranes so far…  more to come!

Nature clicks #28 - Painted turtles

Nikon D200, SIGMA 50-500 @ 370mm, 1/350s, f/9.5, -1 EV, ISO 280

Birds have dominated my interest in the wetlands last Saturday. But there is more to find. I have made pictures of Painted Turtles before, but have never been satisfied with the outcome. They are hard to approach. The slightest movement concerns them and they will slide or just drop into the water as soon someone comes close. As much I would like to use my tack sharp SIGMA 150, f/2.8 lens to capture their image, it just seems not to be possible and I have to rely on the 50-500 with it's longer range. Other things have to fall in place too. I don't like too much sky reflection on their shell or on the water surface. It always makes the picture looking dull. The low sun in the late afternoon opened this opportunity for me to get a decent image of some sunbathing Painted Turtles on a log.