Photo of the Week

April 25, 2016September 4, 2017

African Paradise Flycatcher

I just returned from an 11 day trip through Namibia. It was a wonderful trip full of new sights and sounds, many new species for me, and a lot of fascinating locations. Overall, I traveled nearly 2500 miles, mostly on dirt and gravel roads.

While there is much to come on this blog, I thought I’d start by posting one of the birds I saw during my first morning in country. After 36 hours of travel, I finally made it to Namibia. I woke early the next morning to see which new bird species I could photograph. It wasn’t long before this beautiful paradise flycatcher landed on a nearby branch and gave me magnificent views in warm morning light.

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The African Paradise Flycatcher is the most comment flycatcher in the continent, as well as the largest. Usually found in ones or twos, this bird lives up to its name by eating passing insects, or flitting about in the branches looking for flies. For one of first new species sightings, I new I was off to a good start of my trip. Stay tuned for lots more, including tons of wildlife (of course!), as well as some dramatic landscape spots.

Gear I used to create the photos in this post:
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February 29, 2016February 5, 2017

Burney Falls

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Burney Falls is located in Northern California in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park. It is a beautifully wide waterfall, dropping 129 feet into a tree-lined grotto below. Even in the summer months, when most other creeks in the area have withered or dried up to nothing, this falls keeps up its steady flow rate. This is because the water originates from an underground spring not far upstream from the falls itself.

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There are many ways to photograph the falls, from the grand view taken above the falls, to more intimate closeups of rivulets running over bright green moss. It is important to shoot waterfalls with a tripod – that way you can use longer exposures and blur the water into a glossy silk texture. Down in the grotto, it was dark enough to let the exposure run over a second, giving me the desired look.

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One challenge was to balance bright hot spots of light reflecting off the water with the dark shadows within the rocks. Luckily a quick check of the histogram on the back of my camera told me that I was able to capture the entire dynamic range of the scene in a single shot, and so I exposed to the right, getting as bright an exposure as possible without blowing out the highlights. This was corrected in post processing, giving me an amazing amount of detail in the shadows.

I’d love to go back and shoot this scene in early, pre-dawn light, which would give me soft even lighting across the entire scene. The quick visit left me thinking of many other compositions I could use to better cover the variety seen in this beautiful falls.

February 19, 2016February 6, 2017

Puerto Vallarta Wading Birds

A wllet wades through shallow water, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Every time I go to a new place, I try to have at least basic photography gear with me in order to explore the area photographically. For a location as beautiful as a Mexican beach, there are opportunities for both landscape and wildlife (in this case, birds). Due to the necessity to travel light, I left my 800mm behemoth at home and opted instead for the (comparatively) compact 100-400mm zoom lens.

A whimbrel struts across a sandy beach, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Given that I was still in North America, most of the shorebirds along the beach were the usual suspects. The ever-present whimbrel was strutting around through the breaking waves, poking at exposed treats in the sand.

A black skimmer stands in shallow water along the shore, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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One of the stranger looking birds in my usual list is the black skimmer. When seen on land, they look slightly off balance, with a long protruding lower beak. It is not until they take flight until you realize the grace of their build. Skimming low across the surface of the ocean, they dip their lower beak into the water, scooping up food while in flight. Seeing a group of ten or more doing this is a remarkable sight.

A willet wades through shallow water, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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The willet is one of the blander looking birds of the bunch, and is similar is size to the whimbrel. Here I caught a slight reflection in the shallow water, which were few and far between on this blustery morning.

A laughing gull stands just off shore in the shallow water, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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I was happy to see this laughing gull, as I don’t see those very often close to home. The black eye ring is a give away here for identification. I typically find gull species hard to differentiate from one another, given the species similarity, and the great plumage variance depending on the bird’s age.

A semipalmated plover stands on small bits of exposed sand, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Finally, I snagged some photos of a semipalmated plover among the lesser sandpipers. I am a big fan of plovers, and am always excited to find them hiding among the masses.

If you are interested in casual bird photography while traveling, I highly recommend a lens like the 100-400mm zoom. With some careful stalking, you can usually get close enough for some good photos, and it is very easy to travel with. Also, you can leave the tripod at home, as it is easily handheld.

February 11, 2016February 9, 2017

Great-tailed Grackle

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The great-tailed grackle is an interesting blackbird. Look to quickly and you might mistake it for a common crow. However, once you glimpse that long tail, you’ll know this is an entirely different beast. Even better, if you see it in this strange strutting behavior with its neck thrust up into the air, you’ll really wonder what’s going on. This is usually an indication of the male breeding display, and can be quite entertaining to watch.

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I found a colony of grackles along a beach in western Mexico. Originally from Central and South America, the great-tailed grackle has expanded its range into North America as far north as Oregon. They can often be seen in agricultural areas, where food can be more plentiful.