This is my first Pheasant capture! A couple of friends and I were shooting with a Meet-up group in Solano County and were on the way back from lunch when one of my companions noticed him. I was shooting from a car window, and didn’t think anything would be very good, but was thrilled to see this shot would be a keeper. I love his coloring, wing patterns, and long tail. Even though he’s sort of camouflaged in the grass I’m thrilled that I was able to capture a photo of him in his natural habitat. He darted behind a knoll just after this shot. I didn’t see him again.
Sunday afternoon I spent with Rainey and Dali photographing birds and waterfowl. Late in the day we saw a Bittern and an Eurasian Wigeon. The lighting and weather weren’t ideal; the sky was getting darker both due to time, and it had been stormy the night before so the sky was still overcast and flat. Monday the sky was blue, and the sun was shining so we decided to go back in the afternoon to take advantage of the better light. The Bittern was there in the same place we’d seen it before tucked in the reeds under an overpass with the late afternoon sun warming his back. This shot was taken from the overpass looking down on him/her.
I uploaded Lightroom Beta 4 to try it out. I’m a bit lost since this is the first time I’ve ever tried LR, but I have to say the highlights and shadow recovery sliders are pretty good. The white feathers around his neck were pretty blown out due to the late afternoon sun beating right down on him. LR did a great job of bringing back the detail in his feathers on his shoulder, and neck. I’m going to be using LR4 for the next several weeks. I’ll be sharing my thoughts and feelings about it as I learn it.
This morning as I was pulling up to my house I noticed in the tree across the street a Merlin Hawk perched on a branch. I was so excited I couldn’t get in the driveway, parked ,and out of the car fast enough. I raced into the house, grabbed my long lens then raced back outside all the while hoping he was still there.
He was! I think it’s a juvenile. Well, it looks young to me.
I got several shots of him perched then quick as a wink he took flight. He was so fast I could barely keep up with him panning. There is more motion blur than I would have liked, but his eye is pretty sharp. I definitely need more practice panning. Shooting in Continuous High I only got 4 frames of him in flight before he was gone; this one, and one other have motion blur the other two I only caught his tail in the frames.
It’s the first time in the 25 years I’ve lived here I’ve ever seen a falcon. Several weeks ago I saw a hawk for the first time on my street. This winter food must be in short supply in the country. I can’t imagine anything else bringing them into the suburbs. I hope he comes back and I am around to photograph him.
Update: A reader Tj of TjFivephotography emails, ” It looks more like a Sharp-shinned Hawk or a Cooper’s Hawk b/c this one doesn’t have the markings under the eyes like falcons do.”
He sent a cool link showing photos of both birds. I’m leaning toward this one being a Coopers Hawk. What do you all think?
Golden hour on this section of the Marsh was absolutely gorgeous the Sat. I spent here photographing birds. There were some low clouds, and a fine mist of fog was moving in just as the sky was getting a hint of pink. It acted as a diffuser making the golds and yellows POP! I moved to a couple of locations around this area looking for a composition I liked so when I finally saw this one I was in such a rush to compose it before missing this light I made the decision to shoot it with my telephoto lens on. I remember thinking as I looked through the viewfinder to compose it, “Oh! this is nice I can zero in on this part of the marsh rather than getting all in.” By doing so the ducks have a little more body, and the reeds and willows are nearer, so we can see more texture and detail. The whole scene is compressed so we feel a closer connection to the pond.
I haven’t used my telephoto to shoot a landscape in many months, and if the light wasn’t changing fast I probably would have switched to my favorite 17-35mm wide angle lens. In retrospect I’m happy that I didn’t take the few seconds to change lenses as it was a good reminder for me that not all landscapes need to be a sweeping vista, or shot with a wide-angle lens.
On the way home from Monday’s birding and photography day this Red-tail landed in a small field by the highway to catch a ground rat or something. Theresa quickly pulled over, but before the car had stopped I started shooting, and the hawk hearing the car and tires crunching the gravel took flight!
In play back I thought the motion blur made a cool impressionist piece.
On Monday a holiday in the States myself and two girlfriends set out for the country to do some bird photography. This young Long-eared Owl was high in a conifer tree along with many other owls. My friend Theresa said she stopped counting after 18!
There looked like there might be another breed of owls in there too, but I couldn’t get a good look at any of them.
Exposing for this guy was a bit tricky. He was tucked into the tree behind these pine needles with occasional sun filtering through to highlight him. I took a lot of photographs of him hoping I hit the light just right. After 30 minutes I decided to move on. The best light was going to be in early afternoon. If I was still there I’d try it then. I wasn’t.
My book of North American Birds by National Geographic says this is an Uncommonly seen breed. Making this another fantastic find for me and my girlfriends!
I think Theresa, Rainey and I are probably Uncommon girlfriends too. How many do you know that get together for a day of birding rather than shopping? “)
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