Photo of the Week

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.

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.

April 18, 2011January 14, 2013

Blue-winged Teal

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Things have been pretty busy for me lately, with a quick vacation out of the country and running here and there to capture migrant birds as they pass through the area. I did manage to get some photos processed of a late departure – the blue-winged teal. There is a small pond near my house (local birders know it as “Radio Road”) that is one the best places in the Bay Area to view blue-winged teals in the winter. Several pairs are usually present and can often be viewed quite closely.

I saw this male in prime photographing position when I was out running. I find that running is a great way to scout out the miles of shoreline near my house to see where specific birds might be found later in the day. If he would just remain in the same general area for a while longer, I could finish my run and grab my camera.

A male blue-winged teal perches on an underwater rock. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/1600 sec. at f/8

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When I returned later in the day, he was still sitting in the same spot sleeping. Several other photographers had recognized this great opportunity as well and had set up shop nearby. Now the waiting game began. I needed him to wake up! I got in a comfortable position, sitting on the ground behind the tripod with its legs splayed out so as to get as low as possible. After about 15 minutes, one of the other photographers gave up and left. You can only take so many photos of a sleeping bird!

Finally the teal woke up, preened for a while, and swam around close to shore, feeding on submerged vegetation. The lighting was perfect, with the sun just starting to set behind me. I felt slightly bad for the absent photographer because I know I’ve been that guy before. The more experienced I become, the more I realize that patience is one of the most important virtues of wildlife photography.

April 10, 2011January 14, 2013

White-brested Nuthatch

A white-breasted nuthatch clings upside down to the trunk of a tree as it hunts for insects. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/1000 sec. at f/8

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Usually if I’m out photographing birds and I know I’ll be hiking several miles, I take along my smaller 100-400mm zoom lens instead of the gigantic 800mm. The 800 alone weighs 9 pounds, which feels like 50 after a couple of miles. I broke my rule on the day I captured this nuthatch, because I didn’t want to compromise on this day – I was hiking through Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto, which is a great place to see a wide variety of birds. I’d been there before with my “hiking” lens, but the whole time I kept thinking in my head, “If only I had my big lens!” This time I was giving myself no excuses.

As I set off into the hills, the weight of the lens, camera, and gimbal head weighed heavily on my shoulders. “It will be worth it,” I kept telling myself. I was hoping to see a coyote, as I had on other occasions. Armed with my big lens, I was excited to see what I could capture. No coyotes that day – in fact, even the bird activity seemed rather low. I stopped for a few shots of acorn woodpeckers, flying from tree to tree and squawking at each other.

As I was watching the woodpeckers, a couple of white-breasted nuthatches landed on the tree closest to me and started foraging up and down the tree trunk looking for insects. Unfortunately, they were very fast, practically running up and down the trunk, and disappearing around the back side just as I’d get one in focus. Were they playing games with me? I watched one snatch a spider from within the tree bark, but he was too high in the branches to make a good photo. Finally, my patience paid off. One the nuthatches came around to my side of the tree, perched upside down, and proceeded to call out. A few clicks later and I knew I had it.

So were the tired legs, sweat, and shoulder pain worth the photos that day? I would say yes, even though I got very few keepers from the day. The legs recovered, the sweat dried, and the shoulder pain faded, but my photos will be there forever.