I recently processed these photos that I took last fall near my home. I happened upon some trees in full fall color that were being reflected in beautiful light off the surface of a wetland slough. I spent some time just watching different parts of the water, and then isolating the varied reflections with a long lens.
Fall colors are reflected in the surface of moving water ripples. The ripples turn simple reflections into endless patterns.
The patterns and colors in the water were changing so quickly, that I didn’t have time to see what I liked, compose a shot, and then capture it. I mainly looked for larger areas of interesting color (which changed moment to moment) and then took a bunch of exposures within that area.
Fall colors are reflected in the surface of moving water ripples. The ripples turn simple reflections into endless patterns.
I also played with varying shutter speeds to see the effect on the pattern separation and motion blur. I took several hundred shots (one of the many benefits of digital), and then selected these shots as my favorites.
Fall colors are reflected in the surface of moving water ripples. The ripples turn simple reflections into endless patterns.
I always try to keep my eye out for patterns in nature. Sometimes a photograph is so abstract, the viewer cannot immediately identify the subject. This can be a lot of fun, and a real departure from the realism with which natural history photography is often associated.
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 male Barrow's goldeneye swims through golden water. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1
This week’s photo features a Barrow’s goldeneye. The Barrow’s is similar to the common goldeneye, but, as its counterpart’s name suggests, is less “common”. In fact, only a few are seen in the San Francisco Bay Area each winter, whereas the common goldeneye can number in the thousands (with dozens visible at one time).
While both male species look similar, the Barrow’s goldeneye has several distinguishing features. The two most prominent are an elongated teardrop shaped white area in front of the eye (the common has a smaller circular white patch) and a row of white squares across the base of the wings (which can be seen across the top of the back in the photo above).
When I found this male, I was lucky enough to find a female with him (which I assume made up a breeding pair).
A female Barrow's Goldeneye swims through a narrow water channel in the low light of a late winter afternoon. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/800 sec. at f/7.1
Female Barrow’s goldeneye look more similar to the female common goldeneye. The biggest difference is a completely yellow bill (as above), compared with a yellow-tipped black bill on the common. Other than that, they look identical (to my eye).
I saw this pair on several occasions, as they frequented the same spot for a couple of weeks at least. On one occasion, I began to worry for the female, because I saw the male swimming with a would-be harem of twelve female common goldeneyes. There were no male commons in sight. These two species have been known to crossbreed, but I’m not sure exactly what was going on in this situation. Perhaps it was because he was the only male of either species around, or perhaps it was just because he is much cooler looking with his bold white square pattern. The next time I saw them however, his lady was back at her top spot, and the other females has moved on to more common mates.
Flapping its wings repeatedly, a california gull dries its feathers after submerging its body in water.
This shot was taking a couple of weeks ago while shooting some of the bay area’s more common inhabitants. I was watching various gulls and mallards, mostly acting boring and just standing around. But this California Gull decided to jump into the water and put on a show. He would submerge his entire body under water, then pop up and flap his wings back and forth to dry his feathers and prepare for preening. After preening for about 30 seconds, he’d dive back in and start all over again. This repeated for about ten minutes. The photo below is another shot of this lively bird.
Not until the wings are fully extended can one appreciate the surface area required to keep these birds aloft.
