Pickerington Ponds MP

I've really enjoyed shooting the last couple weeks, but have not had much birding opportunity.  A friend, suffering from an injury, wanted to go to the park.  So, off we we went.  It got hot early!  It's late June in Ohio so the best birding is grassland birds, or in our case, Great Blue Herons.   We went to Pickerington Ponds Metro Parks in Columbus.

Started off seeing Mockingbird fledglings.  We could also hear a Common Yellowthroat, but as usual for these guys, he was hiding deep in the brush.

On to another area where there was a very active Great Blue Heron Rookery.

We took a walk around to the back side of the rookery and in the field we saw lots of Red-wing Blackbird.

We also could hear a Chat out in the field, but he never showed himself.  What else is new!  While watching for a glimpse of the chat we had a lovely Field Sparrow and Song Sparrow singing for our attention.

After the ranger stopped by and told us where he had seen a Baltimore oriole nest, we decided to head to a different tail.  As we walk back we had several GBH flybys!

I was so excited to see a few of them come out!

We did not find the Baltimore Oriole, but enjoyed the trail none-the-less!  We did flush a family of Pheasants.

It's not Florida...But

When you live in Ohio you get used to the idea that the birds are very skittish.  Herons and Egrets are no exception.  However, when you get up to Lake Erie, things can get a little more relaxed.  I keep thinking that someday I will go up there just to shoot (take pictures of) these beautiful birds.  I went to Magee for Spring migration and mostly wanted to see and shoot warblers. 

Driving back to the board walk, you will see lots of Great Blue's and Great Egrets!  As I was driving along at the speed of a turtle, I spotted this guy fishing the canal.

The Catch:

Canals run along the back side of the boardwalk.  Most times I get some close encounters with Great Blues.  This year was a very memorial one.

A zoom is very helpful when these guys are so close.  Here is what they look like at 400mm.

Fishing, he caught a unsuspecting Frog.

Cuyahoga Valley and Brandywine Falls

My wife and I were in Akron visiting with friends over the weekend. On Sunday we had a chance to go to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We have never been there. A national park only a couple hours drive and we had never been there? Yes, it was time to go - even if it was only for a few hours.

Falls are a favorite theme of ours when picking where to go on visits to a new area. So we stopped at the Hunt Farm Visitor Information Center and asked "where are the cool falls?" They directed us to Brandywine Falls. It is spectacular!!! 

As you can tell, waterfalls are not our forte when it comes to photographing. The only camera we had was a very old 3.2 megapixel point and shoot, so we did the best we could.

This truely was an easy falls to get to.  A board walk and a couple flights of stairs to the bottom.  After enjoying the view, we headed to the top.  We had to stop and take a picture of the warning sign. 

Not always birds...

Well, there are those who think I only shoot birds. This is not true at all.   I actually only shoot birds 95% of the time. I love all wildlife. So just to show that it’s not all about the birds here are a few shots.

I really like flowers, they don't move all over the place like those pesky little birds.  This one is particularly pretty!

Are squirrels not the best friend a person with a new camera.  They are everywhere and I have lots and lots of pictures of them.  Never have I taken one that I really like until this one.

Turtles are so cool.  Imagine our surprise when we see this huge snapper crossing the parking lot.  We didn't have any problem catching up to him.

I had such high hopes for this picture of a Painted Turtle when I took it.

An added bonus of Magee Wildlife Area is the oportunity to see snakes. I saw at least 3 different snakes, Water snakes, Black rat or racer (is there a different??) and this awesome Fox Snake!

High ISO

While discussing photographic situations and problems with my friend Greg, we discussed the need for speed. Shutter speed that is. In photography it is truely a give and take world. A properly exposed picture is the right combination of shutter speed and aperture based on the sensitivity of the sensor. These three things play together. In perfect lighting situations, an ISO (the sensitivity) of 200, aperture of f7.1 and shutter speed of 1/1000 second would produce a nice image. As the light fades, we need to change these settings. When we increase the ISO, we introduce noise to the photo. F7.1 is the sweet spot for my lens, when I open the aperture up, the pictures loose clarity and with slower shutter speeds I run into camera shake and motion blur.

So what are the compromises. This year, I’ve been making an attempt to shoot off a Tripod as much as possible. That helps with camera shake. In this discussion with Greg, he suggested that shutter speed was more important than ISO sensitivity. So, I’ve been cranking up the ISO to see what happens. With the Canon 40D, I’ve been getting good results with very high ISO’s. Some photos have simply amazed me.

The leaves came out really early this year and the forests became very dark under a heavy canopy. As I went out searching for birds to shoot, I also looked for breaks in the canopy that might allow for better lighting. Traveling though Scioto Trail State Forest, I came across this stunning Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The lighting was just terrible. I turned up the ISO and held my ground with f7.1. Shooting on a tripod I got these 2 shoots. I am just simply amazed. . Camera: Canon EOS 40D; Exposure Time: 0.01s (1/100); Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 1000; Focal Length: 400mm (640mm in 35mm)

Camera: Canon EOS 40D; Exposure Time: 0.01s (1/100); Aperture: f/7.1; ISO: 800
Focal Length: 400mm (640mm in 35mm)