portrait – Page 7

February 7, 2016February 15, 2017

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

I’ve posted previously about some of the birds I had a chance to photograph on a trip to India last year. No spot was more prolific than the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary just outside Mysore. Although I was there off-season for migratory birds, I was able to get up close to a variety of the resident species, through the cunning use of a wooden rowboat.

A little egret stands alone on a rock, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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Some of the birds were close cousins of common birds that I regularly photograph. This little egret very closely resembles the snowy egret that is common in wetlands near my home in California.

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On the other hand, most of the sightings were brand new for me, and very different from home. We were able to get quite close to this mugger crocodile in the boat. Luckily, he seemed busy sunning himself and didn’t pay us much attention!

A male river tern sits on a rock, ready to go find food to feed his mate as part of a courtship ceremony, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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One of the less common birds for that area was the river tern. We lucked upon a pair engaged in courtship ritual. A male and female were sitting on separate rocks when the male flew off to find food to give to the female. Although we didn’t get a chance to witness it before we floated on, the pair engages in a food exchange as part of their courtship.

A juvenile black-crowned night heron stands on a large rock in a shallow lake, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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There were an abundance of black-crowned night herons, which I see often at home. Here a juvenile was stalking about on a large flat rock.

An eastern great egret stands tall on a rock, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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The eastern great egret is closely related to the great egret seen throughout North America. To my eyes, it was identical in appearance.

A black kite perches high in a tree over the water, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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Even from low in the water, we got some decent views of black kites circling high overhead. One landed in a tree growing out of the top of a nearby cliff. My 800mm lens came through and allowed me to get reasonable shots even from far away.

Several flying fox fruit bats hang upside down from a tree, resting through the hot day, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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And yes, it was much more than just birds. In addition to the crocodile, I was able to see a cluster of fruit bats trying to sleep away the morning. I found and photographed a couple that weren’t completely sealed up in their wings.

A white-spotted fantail spreads its tail feathers and dances around on the open ground in the shadow of a tree, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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Finally, after departing the boat, we lucked upon a white-spotted fantail. He was quick and difficult to photograph, staying under bushes most of the time and rarely coming out into the open. But when he finally did, I was low to the ground and ready for him.

In all, I loved the variety and experience of shooting in a different part of the world.

January 18, 2016February 15, 2017

2015 Round-up – Top 40 Photos Of The Year

I recently finished compiling my top 40 picks from the last 12 months. The gallery is an assortment of my various trips and outings, including trips to India, Mexico and Canada. As always, there is a mixture of bird, wildlife and landscape, including some previously unpublished.

Please enjoy the gallery below. For best viewing (especially if viewing on a mobile device), please click on the following photo:

The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon

To view the gallery, click here to see individual photos.

If you are interested in compilations from previous years, please see the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 lists.

January 15, 2016February 15, 2017

Brown Pelican, Mexico

A brown pelican stands in shallow water along the beach, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Finding the right place from which to photograph wildlife takes experience and patience. When arriving at a new location with the intention of photographing wildlife, I first scout the area very similar to how I’d scout for a landscape shot. In this case I’m looking for one place to hunker down that is likely to yeild a good variety of animals with great light.

In this instance, I found a low area of sand jutting out into the water, just inches above the high tide. As it was morning, the sun was at my back, and I could shoot birds wading in the water in three directions, all without moving. I kept still and tried to make very slow movements so as not to spook any subjects.

As I was shooting some smaller birds now coming quite close to me, a large brown pelican arrived on the scene, very close to me. I took the opportunity to get some portrait shots of this beautiful specimen while it was preening, and generally not paying me any attention. I don’t believe I would have been able to approach this bird this closely if I had been stalking it. But by remaining in one spot and being still, I created a space that seemed safe for a variety of birds to approach me.

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Unfortunately, this was not an isolated location, and soon other beach goers wandered by without any thought to disturbing wildlife. My only reaction was to prepare for the pelican’s inevitable takeoff, and make sure I captured it in camera.

October 26, 2015February 15, 2017

Canon 5DSR For Bird Photography?

After fussing between either upgrading my next landscape camera to either a Sony A7RII or a Canon 5DSR (I’ll cover that saga in a future post), I finally pulled the trigger and received my new Canon this weekend. While I’ll primary use this 50 mega pixel monster for large resolution landscape images (wall sized prints, anyone?), I wanted to see if/how it would handle (albeit simple) bird photography. After spending a half hour with it in my front yard, chimping on the rear LCD, I was blown away.

An anna’s hummingbird perches on a thin branch, Belmont, CA

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First of all, the auto-focus is fast and accurate – exactly what you’d expect from such an expensive camera. Maximum frame rate is low due to the huge image size, but that is not a concern with its intended use (my typical landscape frame rate is about 1 shot per minute!) The noise level looks better than my 7D Mk II, which is great given the pixel density of the sensor. All images in this post were shot at ISO 500 with no noise reduction – buttery smooth backgrounds.

But where this camera really shines is its gigantic 50 MP sensor – this largest ever released for a 35mm DSLR. Even better than just packing in so many pixels however, is the fact that at 1:1 zoom, the details are tack sharp. Below is a 1:1 crop of the above image.

Headshot portrait of an anna’s hummingbird, Belmont, CA

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As you can see, the details are extremely sharp. I’ve seen other sensors that look sharp right out of the camera, but once you zoom in to 1:1, the details are a bit mushy.

Head and shoulders portrait of a house finch, Belmont, CA

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If I’m not concerned about printing wall size, the vast amount of resolution I have at my disposal opens up new cropping opportunities. Here I’ve included a few more yard birds I shot during my morning test. I’ve given each a massive crop to see what kinds of portraits I could create with these tiny birds, without having to shoot them with a macro lens (which would be nearly impossible with these fast movers).

A chestnut-backed chickadee finishes eating seed, Belmont, CA

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The main areas that will limit this camera as a great bird photography setup is a low frame rate and full frame sensor. But with patience and careful technique, it could produce some amazing results. I’ll see what it can pull off for birds in flight in the future.

A lesser goldfinch perches on a narrow branch, Belmont, CA

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Previously I’ve only been able to get head-and-shoulder portraits with much larger birds. But these tests tell me that I’ll likely be bringing this camera along on my next bird shoot. It won’t replace my primary body for now, but if I come across a docile bird that lets me get relatively close, I’m definitely going to pull out my 5DSR and capture some of those insane details this camera is able to resolve.