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July 11, 2010January 14, 2013

American White Pelican Takeoff (Photo of the week)

A couple of weeks ago I visited Byxbee Park in Palo Alto, just before sunset. I wanted to explore a slough I had never been down before, and was lucky to see eight American White Pelicans, all swimming together and fishing. The first photo and the next were shot as part of the same sequence of one of them taking off from the water.

You can clearly see a flat horn protruding from the top of the bill. This indicates that this pelican is breeding. After breeding season, the horn will shed off, leaving the bill as it was before.

Usually I try to frame birds with most of the photo empty in front of the bird. This creates a more pleasing composition as it seems to add more room to the photograph. It allows the viewer to visualize the bird moving through the photo. With the above photo however, I knew at takeoff, the pelican would leave behind splashes as it took off into the air. I wanted to capture these in the photo, so I panned slightly slower than the bird was moving so that in this case, most of the empty space was behind the bird.

Below are several other pelicans from the same group. As I was watching one fish, he lifted his bill into a magnificent head throw.

Pelican Head Throw — Perched on an underwater stump, an american white pelican throws its head into the air, twisting it back and forth

American White Pelican Preening — Swimming through a slough, a white pelican preens its back feathers by rubbing its bill against them

American White Pelican — A white pelican perches on an underwater stump in the midle of a slough, Byxbee Park, Palo Alto, CA

July 4, 2010January 14, 2013

Catch Of The Day (Photo of the week)

Watching birds in action can be much more interesting than just watching them look back at you. Mornings and evenings are the best times to catch birds moving about, most often looking for food.

This great egret had found a spot along the edge of a slough with plenty of fish. He seemed to be preoccupied with eating, allowing me to slowly sneak closer. I was surprised with the frequency at which he plucked fish out of the water – about one every 20 to 30 seconds.

He would stare at the surface of the water, his body leaning forward, and his neck coiled back ready to strike. At the opportune moment, his head would dunk into the water, almost every time coming up with a fish. Throwing his head up and back, he could fling the fish back into his throat, swallowing the fish whole. As he was swallowing, his neck and head feathers bristled, making his head appear almost twice its normal size.

Great egrets are one of my favorite species to watch eating because they tend to fish from the same spot, instead of moving around to look for food.

June 23, 2010January 14, 2013

They grow up so fast

Canada Goose Adolescent — An adolescent canada goose takes a break from eating grass

This adolescent canada goose was photographed a few weeks after a similar gosling in my spring babies post. While I obviously can’t guarantee it was the same chick, it was in the same location, and all of the juveniles were about the same age.

This picture shows the juvenile feather development, the development of wings, and a longer body than the chick. Each time I see canada geese in the spring and summer, I am amazed at how fast they grow. Then I see all the grass they are scarfing down, and it makes a little more sense!

June 20, 2010March 29, 2017

A change of scenery

In a post a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned making corrections to your background while still in the field. Another trick you can sometimes employ is to get a different look by changing the background completely. This works best when using long telephoto lenses (400 mm and up).

A great egret poses in soft evening light, preparing to fish for dinner

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The great egret in the photo above was perched on a short fence, and eying the water below. He seemed to be looking for the best place to fish for dinner. I was directly in line with the angle of the sun, so as to reduce any side lighting on the egret. The foliage of a berm far behind him created a solid, even color.

I got several head poses that I liked, but since my subject was being so patient, I wanted to see if I could get a completely different background. The berm was not very high, and the evening sky above it was a nice light blue. I moved to the right and lowered my camera until I was close to the ground. This removed the berm from my background completely, and gave me the photo below with a background of sky.

A great egret poses in soft evening light, preparing to fish for dinner

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Because my lens was a long telephoto, I didn’t have to move far to change my background. This is great when my subject is wildlife, and they can decide to end the photo session at any moment. However, I use the same idea even when photographing friends with shorter lenses. Taking the time to look around for different background options can give you different variations on the same subject and can lead to new, interesting photos.