An american white pelican stands on one foot on the shore of a lake

There is a large pond near my house that attracts American White Pelicans at various times of year, sometimes in large numbers. I’ve seen as many as 30 pelicans congregated along the shore, preening and snoozing. I came across this solitary pelican late last year. As it was getting close to winter, this pelican didn’t have the typical “horn” that grows from the top of the bill during breeding season.

An american white pelican spreads its wings and shuffles along an island in the middle of a lake

These photos were shot from the shore, with the setting sun behind me. The pelican had set up shop on a small island in the middle of the pond. One of the difficulties I encountered was separating the pelican from all the activity around it. Also on this island were many gulls (one can be seen in each photo), double-crested cormorants, black-necked stilts, and several sandpiper species. Needless to say, it was a pretty crowded place. I managed to get a few portraits that I liked, but frustratingly, some of the pelican’s best poses occurred while an ignorant interloper plodded by in the foreground. Such is nature photography. If I wanted complete control, I’d take up studio portrait photography!

A tree swallow perches on a narrow branch in the sun

When I first got into photographing birds, I would often walk along the bay trails and wonder what these incredibly fast birds zooming around at full speed close to the ground were. They never seemed to slow down, and never seemed to perch. They always had somewhere important to be.

A violet-green swallow perches on barbed wire

I soon learned that these were swallows, and eventually got better views (and photographs) when I did find the odd one perched for a brief few moments. I also learned that there are six swallow species that can be seen through the Bay Area: barn, cliff, tree, violet-green, northern rough-winged, and purple martins. So far I have satisfactory photos of all but the last two.

A cliff swallow hangs from a nest and feeds a hungry chick

The problem with photographing swallows is that they never seem to slow down. They fly far to quickly to photograph in flight (at least it is beyond my skill level) and they even feed in flight. I rarely saw them perch, and when they did so, it was for very short periods of time.

A barn swallow perches on barbed wire

Over time, I was able to find most of my target species while they were resting. Finding an active colony of cliff swallows helped because the parents returned on a regular basis to feed their babies. I’m sure I’ll get opportunities with my last two local swallow species soon, and may even catch sight of a bank swallow migrating through the area.

Please enjoy the gallery below. To view larger photos, be sure to click the icon in the lower right corner to enter full screen mode. If you are using a device that doesn’t support Flash (iPod, iPad, etc), you can view the photos here.

As always, I appreciate you checking out the blog, and love hearing your like/dislikes, or just random thoughts. This coming year, I’ll continue to explore the ever-amazing natural world in which we live. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Berry Creek Falls can be seen through the lush redwood forest, Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Check out next month’s newsstands for the latest issue of Backpacker Magazine. They are running one of my photos as part of an article about the Skyline To The Sea trail, which runs from the crest of the Santa Cruz mountains to the ocean.

I took this photo while out shooting on spec for a different article a few years ago. That one never made it to publication, but with photography, you never know when you’ll get a second (or third or fourth, etc) chance!

A yellow garden spider waits patiently on its web for prey to get caught

Throughout the year, we see these yellow garden spiders spinning their webs around our front garden. I came across this nice specimen and wanted to capture him on my camera. However, lacking any real macro gear, I had to figure out how to make do with what I did have on hand. If I had my choice of any equipment I wanted for this shot, I would have used:

1. A small tripod with a swing arm (to get close to the web which was inconveniently placed between some hard-to-reach plants)
2. A Canon 180mm macro lens (so I could keep my distance from the creepy spider)
3. A focusing rail (to achieve that manual pin point focus on the beast)

However, I had none of that. What I did have was a 100-400mm zoom lens (non-macro). None of my tripods work work well in this area because of the spacing of the plants, so I was stuck hand-holding. In order to increase the magnification, I was able to reduce the lens’ minimum focusing distance using 3 stacked extension tubes. This allowed me to move the lens closer to the subject, filling the frame with only the spider.

Because I was not using a tripod, I had to keep the shutter speed relatively fast. That meant a larger aperture, and a smaller depth of field than I would have otherwise used (f/8 in this case). In order to compensate, I decided to try the digital technique of focus stacking to achieve the look of a larger depth of field. This image is actually a composite of two shots – one focusing on the spider’s abdomen, and the other focusing on the legs. The sharpest part of each image was blended together.

So, after all applying all these work-arounds, what is the moral of the story? Get some decent macro equipment!

The sun sets over the Columbia River, just east of Portland, OR

This photo was taken in Corbett, Oregon, from the backyard of some good friends. They live high on a cliff overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge. This panorama was taken at sunset looking west toward Portland.

I grew up in Corbett, and I always enjoy going back to visit. The town is a kind of jewel, sitting close to Portland, close to Mt. Hood, and surrounded by forest and farmland.

Every time I visit, I try to take some time to explore the area with my camera. I don’t have to wander too far to see first hand why Oregon is hailed for its natural beauty.

Please be sure to click on the image above to see a larger version.

An american avocet spreads its wings to come in for a landing

Most of the bird images I take tend to be portrait-type images. The reason for this is situational – like it or not, birds do a lot of standing around. While these static shots are great for exploring the finer details of a bird’s plumage, they show little of a bird’s behavior. That’s why whenever possible, I try to capture birds in action. Whether it be flying, foraging or fishing, photographs of birds in action can tell a more complete story about that species, as well as show off details that may otherwise be hidden.

Feet extended, a brown pelican skies across the surface of the water as it lands

One of my favorite action shots is the landing. When a bird comes in for a landing, the body tends to be more upright, which allows the underside of the wings to be angled toward the lens. The bird needs to stop both its downward and forward momentum, causing the wings to fan out at their maximum surface area, as shown in the first photo above.

Because the bird’s body is more upright, the landing is almost an action version of a portrait shot. Anthropomorphizing the body position, the bird is almost saying, “Okay, I’m here and ready for my photo op.”

A brown pelican flaps its wings as it lifts off the surface of the water

Conversely, the take-off shot is not usually as photogenic. The body is more parallel to the ground, and on the downstroke, the wings tend to flatten out and their detail is hidden from the camera. Also, the bird is definitely headed somewhere else, which lacks the same connection a viewer might feel with a bird portrait.

A white pelican spreads its wings as it takes off from the water

Sometimes, however, I get lucky with a take-off photo and capture the wings in the full upstroke position, showing wing detail and freezing a pose that happens very quickly. Although I am happy with outcomes like this, I still prefer the landing poses in photographs.

At the end of the day, there are so many bird behaviors to capture, finding those perfect moments is an endless quest. Multiply that by almost 9,700 bird species, and rest assured that the life of a bird photographer never gets dull.

A California black oak stands in a field of wild flowers. In the background an immense granite wall rises from Yosemite Valley.

This summer I spent some time with some old friends backpacking in the Yosemite high country. I love the high country any time of year, but especially in the summer, it offers a cooler respite to the throngs of visitors choking the roads of Yosemite Valley. However, one of my friends had not been to the park since he was a young child, and since we had a little time on our first day, we wanted to drive down in to the valley. I was game, but photographically, I was not expecting much. The valley was hot, had bad lighting midday, and several controlled burns were blowing smoke up the Merced, coating everything in a brown haze.

As we drove down into the valley, seeing all the tourists got me to thinking about originality and photographic vision. Here were millions of people getting out of their cars and taking essentially the same photo as the person they were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with. I started to formulate a challenge in my mind – search for a photograph that captures some of the essence of Yosemite Valley, but keep it fresh and unexpected. I didn’t know if I could come away with something I was proud of, having been through the same area with my camera so many times before.

Luckily the natural world is ever changing and constantly brings new surprises at every bend. The first thing I noticed were all of the wildflowers blooming in the fields on the valley floor. The yellowing grass of late summer was punctuated by brighter yellow blooms, spattered throughout the fields with chaotic perfection. Suddenly three elements came together, and I knew I had the shot I was looking for. A California black oak stood apart from its neighbors, surrounded by intense wild flowers. Behind the tree rose an immense sheer wall of granite, juxtaposing the flowers with cool blues and grays. Here was the essential Yosemite Valley, captured in a way I had never done before.

I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face as I strolled back to the car – a great start to a great trip.

A snowy egret grows long bushy feathers and has a bright red skin around the base of the beak in breeding season

Looking back through my archives, I came across these photos of a snowy egret in full breeding plumage. Because there are so many of these birds around my home, I often overlook them (everything ends up looking like a crow after awhile). But these photos stood out as they were taken at the height of breeding season, and this bird in particular had magnificent breeding colors.

A snowy egret grows long bushy feathers and has a bright red skin around the base of the beak in breeding season

As snowy egrets enter breeding season, their feathers become long and shaggy. When the they display, they can create a great fan of feathers with which to show off. In addition, a hormone in the body changes the pigment of their skin around the eye to a bright red.

Seeing these photos reminded me that birds are a living and breathing part of the natural world around us. Like much of nature, they change colors and shapes as the seasons change, and are constantly adapting to their environment.

A canada goose delivers a lesson to its young chicks

One of my favorite wildlife subjects to photograph is a parent with their new young. Watching how different species teach their children about the dangerous world in which they live is a joy.

Two canada goose chicks forage at the edge of a small pond

Seeing siblings interact is also a lot of fun. They play together, squabble, and compete for food. All of these help activities teach them important survival skills.

Two canada goose siblings swim together in a pond

Photographing these family interactions is challenging. You have to be close enough to catch the action, while still maintaining enough distance to let their natural behavior unfold. If you get too close to a family group, the parents will corral their chicks as if from a dangerous predator.

A gosling stands in shallow water eating

Canada geese is one of the easiest species to see these types of family behaviors in local wildlife. In the bay area they are a year-round species so there are lots of chicks running around in the spring.

A canada goose escorts its chicks to a small pond for a swimming lesson

They are much larger than ducks, which allows the parents to teach their young in open areas, rather than keep them hidden in the pickle weed like ducks.

A canada goose keeps a careful eye on its young

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in watching these chicks that I forget to take photos, and end up using my lens as a scope. They always bring a smile to my face.