Nature clicks #136 - Ring billed Gull

 

I went "on patrol" today to many of my favorite shooting spots along the Mississippi River. Green Island IA, Sabula IA, Savannah IL, and finally to lock and dam #14 near LeClaire, Iowa. It was way to warm for this time of the year (11ºC = 52ºF) and my suspicion got completely confirmed. There were very few Bald Eagles present at the places that are usually a 100% bet. Two dozen photographers were lined up at lock #14 with their million dollar gear but not a single eagle was sitting in the trees. It was after 3PM when I arrived at the scene and the low sun delivered "killer light" (I borrow this term by famous photographer Moose Peterson. I have not found a better English word that describes a warm and crispy light, that gives photographs almost a 3rd dimension, better than this ;-)  ). I talked briefly to another photographer from Ohio and I bet it was disappointing for him and his friends to make an eight hour drive to Iowa and not getting the shots they were hoping for.

I didn't want to stand around with the camera and do nothing and part of today's goals was to test my Sigma 50-500 a little more after it came back from repair. I saw only one eagle within shooting range today at lock #14 but there were plenty of Ring-billed Gulls flying around. All pictures were made handhold. I had many keepers and was very pleased how the lens delivered today. It is supposed to get very, very cold here in the next few days. The Mississippi will freeze over again and hopefully the Bald Eagles will be back again.

Tail up!

 

Butt shots are rude, this is a general rule that applies in wildlife photography too. But as always in life there are exceptions from the rule. I have quite a few pictures of White-tailed Deer on my hard drive but what I didn't have until now is the shot of a White-tailed Deer with its signature element, its white tail, up in the air.

Last weekend, deep in the woods of Northern Wisconsin, a group of deer came very close to the cabin of my buddy Bryan. I stayed close to a corner of the building in order to blend in and the deer, only a few yards away, didn't seem to mind my presence for some time. Finally something spooked them and they ran away. Usually that would have bothered me but this time I just pressed the shutter and let the camera rattle with six frames per second. It was already after 4PM, the light was worse than just mediocre, and the autofocus was at its limits. I know there is room for improvement but the motion blur tells the story about a deer on the run. To be honest, I like the second image the best despite its flaws because of its story telling. Got back into the warmth of the cabin with a big smile on my face...

Nature clicks #135 - Pine Siskin

 

Let me talk about some housekeeping things first. As you maybe have recognized I created a new header for the blog. I hope it carries the message again about what you will find here, like little stories about wildlife observations, landscape impressions, nature conservancy, and of course, the photography that hopefully tells more than any words will do. I also updated the portfolio for my landscape photography. Feel free to click the portfolio tab on the left and browse through these galleries. An update of the wildlife part will follow soon.

I made this photo last week already but didn't realize what I really have here until I tried to tag it today with the name of the bird. I knew the Pine Siskin has been in our neck of the woods before during the winter time but I have never been able to make a picture of it. It is not an uncommon bird but we just don't see it here all the time. The yellow patches on the wing led me to the right identification.

The photo is actually sharp but leaves still the impression of some softness. This is the result of shooting through the glass of our balcony door. I mounted the branch of a Red Cedar just beside our heated bird bath, which is a real attraction for most of the birds we have here during the winter. This is one of the tricks I learned from famous wildlife photographer Moose Peterson. I have said it before here in the blog, his websites, books, and publications bare a ton of information for anyone who wants to learn about wildlife, landscape, and aviation photography. Click his link on the left and you will enter a world of great photography and education. But hey, don't forget to come back here sometime... :-)

Warning: test shots only ;-)

 

The avid reader of my blog may ask why I post a picture today that is way below my usual quality standards, except for the light, which I think is good. As you can see the photo has an awful distracting background, branches hanging all over the place, and the bird is placed almost dead center. Well, there wasn't actually a plan to post an image today but here is why you have to put up with this.

My Sigma 50-500 / 4.5-6.3 APO EX DG HSM lens came back from a necessary repair job today and I wanted to test it while there was still a little bit light outside. In order to test the focus accuracy of the lens I shot about 200 pictures, mostly static stuff (our satellite dish in the yard is a perfect subject for test shots ;-)  ).

Back in the house I suddenly saw a flock of American Robins foraging in our woods. They literally turned every leaf on the ground upside down. This confirms an observation we made several times already during the last few years, the robins don't migrate very far south in the winter. It is cold here but most of the snow has melted over the weekend. Obviously this is enough for the American Robin to move back into the area here. However, it felt a little like spring already and I enjoyed watching them.

As I mentioned the light quality wasn't bad and I set up the tripod in my "bedroom blind" and made some more test shots with the birds as the subject. For the sake of comparison I used the center AF sensor of the D300s only. And this is why the bird sits almost dead center in the frame. I cropped the image slightly on the left and bottom side to make it a little more pleasing. The photo was made at 500 mm, 1/125 sec, f8, -0.5EV, and ISO 800. I usually don't use such a high ISO setting for my wildlife photography but pushing the limits, while making test shots, is a good way to find out where the limits really are in order to be prepared for a future "ones in a lifetime" click. Stay tuned for better stuff to come ;-)...

2012 – Looking back, part 10

 

I have posted several times this fall about our visit in the Rocky Mountains. I still have images that haven't been shown in either of my galleries. Can't resist to show you the American Pika again today because I just watched a documentary about the effects the warming of the earth has on this little critter. It is not easy to get really close to the pika but this photo shows their natural habitat, the boulder-covered hillsides above 8,000 feet altitude.

The other animal is a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel. It was on the watch, not far from the trail on a grassy hillside. It almost seemed to pose for us... ;-)

The background in the pika picture has natural lens blur that separates the animal from the background nicely. Not as good as with a fast and much more expensive f/2.8 or f/4 lens, but the Sigma 50-500 f/4-6.3 still delivers a decent result here. The grassy background in the squirrel picture was much more distracting and so I used a blur filter in Photoshop to improve the result in the upper part of the photo. Still not perfect but I believe it is a feasible solution to work around the limitations of this lens.

Successful catch

 

Here is another picture of New Year's Day's visit at lock and dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa. There were times when nothing happened. The Bald Eagles were just sitting in the trees and the photographers tried to stay warm. But as soon one eagle takes off for catching fish, the action starts and you have to make decisions what bird you like to follow with the camera. The light was great and I put my attention to a small spot below the trees where the eagles usually rest, and where the warm light of the low sun is reflected. The area has a lot of distracting background to offer. From a steel tower of a phone company to ugly branches and buildings, you name it. I try to make photos of the Bald Eagles since three years now and I'm not interested anymore in pictures where an antenna or branch cuts the neck of the bird or a shiny metal roof is part of the image. The fish the eagle holds in its talons is small, you hardly can see it, but the picture tells the story of a successful catch in wonderful late afternoon light. It was a great way to begin another year... :-)

Bald Eagle season started today (at least for me)

 

First day of the year and, at least for me, also the first day of the season shooting Bald Eagles at the Mississippi River. Unfortunately Joani had to work today  and couldn't join me (I will never understand why some corporates do not respect holidays for the sake of their employees...greedy sons of a bitch!!!) She would have loved to see the eagles catching fish in the river. I went down to dam #14 at LeClaire, Iowa, the famous spot for Bald Eagle presence during the winter. To my surprise the river wasn't frozen over, not even above the dam, despite the fact we had temperatures way below freezing during the last few days. Here in Dubuque ice covered the Mississippi, already two days ago.

It was nice to see some photography friends again I stayed in touch with during the last year, like Burt and Dawei. Other faces I saw today at lock and dam #14 look familiar and I know they have been there last winter too. I enjoy the company of other photographers that share their knowledge about our favorite photography subjects and about locations where to shoot. There is quite often a nice conversation going on between the guys while waiting for the eagles to perform.

Today the light was really good in the afternoon . It seems it is still not cold enough because the eagles didn't seem really hungry and didn't hunt for fish all the time (for my German friends: it was only -12ºC... ;-)  ) . Just sittin' in the trees... . If it gets colder (and it can be much colder here in Eastern Iowa) their metabolism enforces them to eat more, which is good for the waiting photographers. Since there was no floating bait fish in the water I made every picture handhold. I could tell, I'm a little rusty. Panning with the lens needs a lot of practice and I didn't have much recently. Well, how did I open my post? First day of the season... I hope there is plenty of time to adjust!

Let's talk about the image. My best action shot today. Eagle 1, lets call him Harry, has the the fish in it's talons while eagle 2, let's call him Mitch, tries to take it away... (or maybe vice versa... :-) ) Sounds like real life? You bet!

Nature clicks #134 - American Tree Sparrow

 

Last post for this year. I took a few snap shots around the bird feeders today. The American Tree Sparrow is a winter guest but I have not seen it very often at our feeders yet. Well, a great way to end the year...! Happy shooting and have a nice year 2013!

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.