Nature clicks #41 - Yellow-Headed Blackbird (finally!)

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

I mentioned a little while ago that I found another bird species in the Green Island Wetlands that I hadn't seen before. The first time I saw one was actually on Antelope Island in Utah (see my older post HERE). I was very happy to discover it here in Eastern Iowa as well. It is not easy to get close enough. They search for food in the reeds or sit high up in a dead tree in the middle of a pond. I heard their very loud and distinctive call all the time but all what I got so far was a yellow-black dot ,that with some phantasy someone could identify as a bird… ;-)

I tried very hard last Saturday without any luck. I came again on Sunday and after hiding for a couple hours in my "mobile blind" (my car of course) I got rewarded. One of the beautiful looking Yellow-Headed Blackbirds landed right in front of me beside the gravel road. That made my day!

Nature clicks #40 - Return to the Trumpeter Swans

 

I felt bad for Dave after our shoot together last Wednesday because light wasn't in our favor and we didn't get any decent pictures of the Trumpeter Swans. I went back twice on Saturday to the pond at Mill Creek. Late morning both swans were searching for food together and were cruising across the pond. There are many Red-Winged Blackbirds around and I saw how one of the swans got attacked by one of them. It was obviously too close to the blackbird nest. You can tell by the colors that we had an overcast but I like the graphic appearance in this image.

I took a few shots and moved on to the Green Island Wetlands, where I spent all afternoon. On my way back home in the evening the sun came finally out and so I returned to the pond again and gave it another trial. One swan was sitting on the nest site while the other was at rest on a little island in the second pond. The light was really good. What a difference to Wednesday and also Saturday morning. I spent the whole evening watching the Trumpeter Swan on its island. Other birds, like a Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher, Yellow Warbler, two Pileated Woodpeckers, and a Gray Catbird came by and time was just flying… More to come…

Hot and humid wildlife shoot

Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-70 mm, f/2.8G AF-S ED

Yesterday evening I met with my friend Dave Updegraff for a wildlife shoot. I know Dave since last year's Worldwide Photowalk. He organized and led the walk in Dubuque, Iowa. We have been in contact since and I'm a loyal reader of his photography blog. We met at a pond near La Motte, Iowa and some followers of my blog may remember, this is the location where I shot pictures of Trumpeter Swans many times before.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

I was there a little earlier and scouted the area for wildlife. The swans were unfortunately not really close and I had to shoot completely against the sun to make the click above.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

Sometimes it just helps to turn around and look for other things. While I was still waiting for Dave, this male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was foraging on the clover along the gravel road. I did something I had never done before. I used my Sigma 50-500 for working a butterfly. The picture will not win the price for best sharpness (the 50-500 just can't keep up with the Sigma 150mm, f/2.8 that I use normally for macro shots) but I did not want to miss this opportunity because of a lens change. The hazy light of this hot and humid summer day was perfect for the shot and even if this lens is not known for a good bokeh, I liked how it turned out in this image.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

Dave and I decided to walk to the other side of the pond and try to get the glass on a pair of ducks. I have never seen this kind of a ducks before and none of my books gave the answer. I believe they are hybrids and hope to find out by doing more research. A dark weather front moved in quickly and pretty soon Dave and I were running out of options for a fast shutter speed. Dave shoots with the Tamron 200-500, and like my Sigma 50-500 the maximum aperture is 6.3. As written in other posts before, I don't like to pump up the ISO above 280, because of the limited noise handling capabilities of my Nikon D200. The picture above was made at 1/25s and I'm surprised I had at least one shot I'm able to show here.

Dave let me try out his Nikon 24-70, f/2.8 for some test shots. I can't rave enough about this lens and the picture of him behind his D700 was made with it.  I had a great time shooting and having conversation with Dave and I hope we can do it again soon.

Did I mention how hot and humid it was yesterday during our wildlife shoot? Read Dave's post and you will know… ;-)

Maintenance and education Sunday

I spent most of my time today for maintenance and education. I watched a webinar on NIK-software and how to use it highly efficient in the workflow of post process. It was created by famous wildlife, landscape, and aviation photographer Moose Peterson. He is an excellent teacher and this lesson gave me many new ideas for my own workflow in post. You can find his video on the NIK website.

Cleaning the gear after every field trip is mandatory, even if I just shoot in the woods behind the house. I'm a strong believer that my photography gear hasn't let me down once yet is partly due to regular cleaning and maintenance. This afternoon I went a little further and did some maintenance on the tripod, cleaned all my lenses extensively, and re-organized the photo backpack. Little things, but they give me the feeling of being well prepared for the next shooting adventure.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, SB600, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/250s, f/6.3, ISO 100

Did I make any clicks today at all? You bet! I just didn't go very far and waited for the hummingbirds this evening right here on the balcony. I never used the Sigma 50-500 before for these tiny little birds that are so damn fast. In the past I worked with the Sigma 150/f2.8 for this kind of shooting. The longer lens allows for more distance to the birds, which just means they show up more often. I used manual mode (M) and the amount of light output was set  directly at the flash unit.

You can find a larger version of the Ruby Throated Hummingbird by clicking HERE.

Nature clicks #39 - Common Gray Treefrog

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, 1/60s, f/5.6, ISO 100

I knew they are here, even if I never saw one during the six and a half years we live in Eastern Iowa. We could hear their resonating trill, especially after a rain. But despite I peered in every tree and bush around many times, I never saw one of these little guys until a couple days ago. The Common Gray Treefrog seems to be a master of hiding itself (I hate to blame it only on my eyes ;-)  ) but finally I found one at night right on the front porch of the house. This treefrog was less than 40 mm (~1 ½") long, just to give you an idea about its real size.

There was no time for preparation. The  little guy was moving around fast and I was afraid to lose it. While Joan had an eye on it, I ran in the house, grabbed the 150/f2.8, the D200, and the SB600 flash light with a dome diffuser. The 150/f2.8 gave me enough distance to just mount the SB600 to the hot shoe of the camera. I know this sucks, but at the other hand the Common Gray Treefrog is mostly nocturnal and I believe even a direct flash tells this story. Yes, making a picture of this guy sitting between the leaves of a tree or bush would be great but I'm happy to have my first shot. This image will of course make it into my "Iowa Wildlife Gallery", which I invite you to visit by clicking right HERE. Have a wonderful Sunday!

No nature clicks today

 

Hi folks, It has been a little while since my last post. We have a good friend from Germany visiting us at the moment and that shifts of course my priorities. We were traveling to Milwaukee over the weekend and as usual I made lots of pictures. However, there is not enough time to process all of the images and write about our little adventures. Well, here is one that I took in the Calatrava pavilion of the Milwaukee Art Museum. As you maybe already know, beside nature photography I like art and architecture and whenever I have a chance I can't resist to make a click. That's it for today. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Iowa's Green Island Wetlands

 

A friend of mine from Germany asked me recently "How do the Green Island Wetlands look like?". I didn't realize until then that I never posted any landscape image from the wetlands. So, finally here are a couple that were made last Saturday. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the water is currently very high and even some of the surrounding fields are flooded. The different parts of the landscape allow many animals to find food and a place to raise their young ones. I hope you enjoy!

Nature clicks #38 - Both sides of the road

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/320s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

Yesterday I closed my post by mentioning another new bird I saw for the first time. While I worked with these Canada Geese and their young ones at one side of the road I had a look over my shoulder and saw a little heron on a tree above the water on the other side of the gravel road. I knew the geese wouldn't run away, turned the camera immediately, focused, and fired a burst. It was a Green Heron in a nice pose and it gave me only a few seconds before flying away. I have never been disappointed yet by visiting the Green Island Wetlands along the Mississippi…

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/125s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

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 #36 - Wildflowers with speedlight and softbox

I like to continue my little series about the wildflowers the we can find in the timber behind our house here in Eastern Iowa.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, Softbox, 1/60s, f/8, +0.5 EV, ISO 100

The most remarkable we found today belongs to the orchid family. A nice Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) was hidden under a fallen tree trunk on the slope the goes down to the Little Maquoketa River. I used my Nikon SB600 speedlight with the softbox that I built last winter. I wrote about this DIY project in January. Click HERE for the link to this post. I just laid the softbox on the ground below the trunk, so that the light filled the dark spot.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, Softbox, 1/60s, f/5.6, ISO 100

Another, much more common flower we find here everywhere is the Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum). The camera was on the tripod for all pictures. Here I focussed manually because it was a little windy in the woods. The camera was in commander mode and I used the flash of the D200 as a master flash in order to trigger the external flash with the attached softbox. I just stand beside the flowers and directed the flash unit.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, Softbox, 1/160s, f/4.8, ISO 100

Jack-In-The-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) can be found here at several locations on the rocky slope. They are in full bloom at the moment and easy to identify.

If you like to read the older entries, just click on the "Wildflowers" tag at the bottom of this post.