Another weekend and another search for subjects. As Spring begins to grow I get more and more antsy with finding some exciting subjects. Migration is in full swing and you would think it would be easy to find an animal to pose in front of your lens.
The morning started out with an early sunrise at 6am awakening the dew on the freshly sprouting grass. The temperature was a cool sixty degrees. You just knew it was going to be a beautiful day. Walking across the fields is still a viable option as they are still low growing and damage is kept at a minimum. This photo came about camping out for some glossy ibis hanging out by the pools of water left by the recent rain. Boredom sparks creativity they say.
This photo was put through a tonal contrast filter using Nik’s Color efex pro.
Talk about touchy! These glossy Ibis take the cake when it comes to being sensitive. You could not approach these glossy ibis even if you were at 100ft. They flew if you blinked wrong. After tracking them between several pools I moved on to see what else I could find.
Although common I really loved the light coming in at dawn and wanted to make the best of it. All too often the common and ordinary gets over looked. This Canada goose was very patient with me and allowed me to work any angle I wanted. Truly a perfect model and gracious host.
As I mentioned before, the sun was rising and I was on a quest to put as many subject in the light as possible. I have grown fond of the egrets found here. I have found a great location to blend in and with hours of patients some really great shots develop. To me something I am working on is control with spontaneous action. I feel the key is to stay calm, cool and collected. When a bird is about to take flight you need to keep your cool and be observant. Keep your eye on the subject and try not to spotlight your subject. By that I mean don’t keep your eye in one place on their body. Try and use a type of ‘scatter vision’ to get a sense of motion of your subject and not just one key area. One great indicator is to watch out for any bowel releases. It might not be the most pretty of subject, but it sure is easier flying with a light load… could that have been said better? :-p
After the egret took flight and was out of sight I headed out for a new location. Scouring the shore line I came upon a great abundance of common and boat-tailed grackles. There were a few perched grackles that kept approaching a great sunlit perch. The key here for me was to keep an eye out for repeated movement of behavior. You can use this to your advantage. After slowly and carefully making my way into a close proximity with the perch I just waited until they came back. And what a treat it was. Not just a male, but a female as well! It was great to have them side by side to see the direct comparison. You can see the males iridescence and how the male is ‘prettier’ then the female is. A key component in attracting a female. It is especially important too as the female builds the nest in 4-5 days so you can bet she won’t let her work go to waste. The male almost does nothing with the brood and nest except remain around for defense.
The female and others would take advantage of this fresh water deposit. Getting close while having brightly colored trash attached to your tripod (I clean the shore as I do my photography; usually prefer to do it heading back and make mental notes of certain items) is no easy task. Staying perfectly still and crouched for about 30min did the trick. A female trusted me just enough to wander the waters wedge. Boy am I glad too as it took me about 30 seconds to get full feeling back in my legs.
Males would occasionally fly in and in the presence of the female would do a matting dance. The males would hike up their wings, cock their head forward and call out a loud bellowing call while parading around her. I got him here just after passing the female and before he was about to take a drink.
Right before he decided to fly the coop (bad pun) he hopped closer and pulled his head up for his portrait.
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Sunday was a short, but a well spent part of the day. My friend Seth text me and asked me to come down to clove lakes to see what we could find. I threw put my camera in the trunk and headed on down to see what we could find.
This might not seem all too much like a great shot, but it’s the content that was truly exciting. This is a black crowned night heron who has just caught a nice sized catfish. The moral of this story? ALWAYS BRING YOUR CAMERA WHEREVER YOU GO! Did you catch that? Like the primate I truly am; I decided it was gonna be a regular birding visit and not grab my camera. Heart pounding, dehydrated and a shaky handed shot from my blood pumping so fast later; I got this shot. I had to run back to the car for the camera and thankfully he was still hanging around. Not in as good a location as possible, but we make due with what we have. Feel free to click on the image to get a “Zoomify” view and see the expression on that fishes face. Poor little guy. All natural however.
On the way back I still had my camera in hand after he flew and found him perched close to where I found him. I tried to approach the best I could across snapping twigs (cringe) and thick muck. Sneakers are not ideal if you want to go wandering in this. I however don’t pay attention to what may or may not work and went on in with them. Wet, mud soaked shoes and a bunch of snapped twigs later I came up with this. Something I am really happy with. The lighting was difficult, but it’s very dramatic. And he gave me just enough of a head turn to light up his beautiful eye.
The black crowned night heron was a perfect way to close out the weekend. I actually thought at the time this shot wasn’t up to the caliber I see now. All I did was set a black point and left it alone (I don’t like editing wildlife in Photoshop/Capture NX.) When getting back to the car I went flipping through some of the images and was a bit disappointed. I mean what photographer can’t hold back from taking advantage of today’s modern technology and checking your images out instantaniously. I however avoid the urge when I am at work as it provides a great distraction and can make you miss a moment. One of the many things I picked up from Moose. If it is one thing I would share with you today is to not hit that delete button while in the field. Storage is cheap. Have enough storage going out and take them home to scan through. Learn from your mistakes and get back out there capturing Natures finest moments!
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I am working on a fun piece about motion with a some carnival rides I photographed at night. Stay tuned for more!
Also I updated my About Me section with an aknowledgment to just say thanks to those who have gotten me through and keep me moving along (here.)
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