Hank – Page 56

May 2, 2011January 14, 2013

Burrowing Owl

I took this photo last week of a local burrowing owl, whose burrow I had discovered the week before when out scouting with a couple of local birders. Since the light was poor that day, I returned later to get the bird in the nice warm light of sunrise.

I found the owl sitting upright in the burrow, not crouched low as I’ve seen other owls. He seemed quite comfortable with my presence. He was situated on the edge of a golf course, and I was able to photograph him while standing on a paved road, so I’m guessing that he is quite used to people being in the vicinity. I was careful not to approach too closely however, as the too much human contact with a burrow has been known to displace owls permanently. As much as I liked the lighting and the photos, he never did pop out of his hole, and I wanted to try to get photos of him up out of the ground.

A burrowing owl perches on a tree branch above its burrow at sunrise. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 500. Evaluative metering -2/3: 1/250 sec. at f/5.6

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I returned two mornings later, this time a half hour earlier, so I could be there for day break. As I approached, I was excited to see the owl perched on a low branch of a nearby tree. I photographed the owl as the sun rose behind me, lighting the bird like a spotlight, while leaving the background dark. In order to compensate for a much brighter bird than the background, I had to dial down my exposure compensation to -2/3 of a stop, so as not to blow out the highlights of the owl.

In order to keep the ISO as low as possible, I opened up to the lens’ maximum aperture (5.6), knowing that with the owl’s fairly flat features, I could still get its entire face sharp at that depth of field. The shutter speed was just fast enough to photograph without needing to lock down the gimbal head of my tripod. However, because my subject wasn’t moving, I didn’t have to pan the lens with the bird, so I locked it down anyway, eliminating any chance of lens shake.

Soon after the photo above was taken, the sun rose higher in the sky and was casting small shadows into the owl’s large eyes. Sometimes the lighting is perfect for a given situation only for a few moments. While the owl was still in the tree at the time I left that morning, I knew it would only be a matter of time before it returned to its burrow for the day.

May 1, 2011December 1, 2022

Distorting Reality

When I first started studying photography, I learned about the effects that various focal lengths had on a scene. Wide angle lenses give prominence to closer subjects while shrinking distant features into tiny objects. On the other hand, telephoto lenses compress a scene, making subjects that are far apart appear next to each other, and fooling the eye with scale. It wasn’t until I started experimenting with many different focal lengths that I really understood what this meant. Here are two examples from opposite ends of the focal length spectrum.

Mt. St. Helens from the lahar or ash flow that destroyed the Toutle River Valley in the eruption of 1980, Mt. St. Helens National Monument

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The image above was captured at the 35mm film equivalent of a 16mm focal length. Here, the foreground rocks and flowers are rendered quite large, while the massive volcano of Mt. St. Helen’s is shrunken into the background. The wide angle emphasizes the distance between the foreground and the horizon, seeming to stretch them apart.

A view of a Palo Alto home includes the city of San Mateo in the midground and San Francisco in the background. The view is compressed using a long telephoto lens. — A view of a Palo Alto home includes the city of Redwood Shores in the midground and San Francisco in the background. The view is compressed using a long telephoto lens.

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The photo above shows the opposite effect. It was captured at the 35mm film equivalent of a whopping 1280mm. I took the photo in Palo Alto, CA, about a quarter of a mile from the house in the foreground. The buildings of Redwood Shores (Oracle headquarters) appear as if they are directly behind the house, when in fact they are 15 miles away. At the top of the photo can be seen the buildings of downtown San Francisco, which is 40 miles from the house. The extreme telephoto squashes this distance between subjects so that they appear stacked on top of each other. This same effect has been seen in countless photos of the moon rising from behind buildings or a giant sun rising over an African landscape.

April 29, 2011January 14, 2013

Shell Beach, Foster City

A marbled godwit walks along a muddy shore, looking for food. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/200 sec. at f/5.6

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Shell Beach is a small strip of broken shells at the eastern end of Foster City, California. It is a popular spot for shorebirds year round, and a nice stop over for migrants. I went there at dawn recently to check it out, and see who was around. The tide was out, so there was plenty of freshly exposed mud for the birds to poke around in looking for food. Several marbled godwits controlled the scene, keeping some of the smaller birds away from the prime real estate.

A black-bellied plover in winter plumage stands along the shore in shallow waves. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1

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Quite a few black-bellied plover were present, still in their winter plumage. They stood at the very edge of the bay, soaking in the warming rays of the rising sun.

A willet stands on broken shells, posing for a portrait. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1

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A willet roamed further from the water, preferring the broken shells that give the beach its name. It obliged me with a brief look back over its shoulder, giving me a quick opportunity for a portrait. Then it disappeared into some tall grass and out of sight for the morning.

A ruddy turnstone pokes through a muddy beach in search of food. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1

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Turning back to the beach, I saw a distant speck making its way toward me. I couldn’t distinguish what it was from that distance, but I knew it was different from any other bird currently around me. Since it was headed my direction, I hunkered down and waited, knowing that it is always better to let birds approach you, rather than risk spooking them. Eventually the speck materialized into a ruddy turnstone, pecking at the mud. It was soon joined by several others, who all continued past me and off into the rising sun.

Overall it was a pretty quiet morning at the edge of the bay. But an excellent way to welcome the morning.

April 27, 2011January 14, 2013

Greater White-fronted Goose

A greter white-fronted goose walks through a field of grass and white flowers. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/1600 sec. at f/8

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Canada Geese are everywhere around the San Francisco Bay. And I mean everywhere. This year-round resident breeds throughout the bay area and infests parks, lakes, sidewalks, and streets. The geese are so ubiquitous, that most people just block them out and ignore them. But every once in a while it pays to scan flock of Canada Geese – you might just find one that sticks out.

Such is the case with the Greater White-fronted Goose, which (at least in my area) tends to hang out with larger groups of Canada Geese. They are slightly uncommon for the area, but in the winter you might find one or two with their Canada brethren. A singular Ross’s or Snow Goose can also be found mixing it up with Canada Geese, as can the Cackling Goose, which looks almost identical to a Canada Goose, except that it is the size of a mallard.

A greater white-fronted goose stands for a head and shoulder portrait. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/1600 sec. at f/8

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I found this goose in a local park along the bay. I set up a little ways away and waited for him to separate from all the Canada Geese so that I could get some solo shots. He was quite cooperative, posing occasionally for some portraits like the photo above. I used an aperture of f/8 in order to have enough depth of field to cover his entire body. If I kept the aperture large and focused on his eye, the close edge of his round body would likely have been out of focus.