Pretty Lady – Yellow Warbler.

So often we consider the male to be the prettier bird, but this young lady holds her own when it comes to good looks. She has a soft delicateness to her. Normally Yellow warblers like to feed around 15-20 feet up in the trees and that makes them very difficult to get good photos of. They seem to hang out there just out of reach. Not this beauty. She was working the low lying shrubbery. In typical Warbler style, she paid no attention to me or the sound of the shutter going off. This outing was a unique encounter with which I will remember for quite some time, and I have pictures to help relive the moments!


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GB,

Bruce



Turkeys

I got a new lens and wanted to try it out, so the first stop was to Blendon Woods MP.  Here I found  a very cooperative pair of Turkeys!  I have wanted to get a photo of a Turkey displaying for several years and here was my chance! 

Nice Beard too!

I'm seeing Gold

All winter I watch and wait.  While I think their winter plumage is pretty, the summer coat is specatcular.  I'm talking about Goldfinches.  To watch them change over the last month has been exciting.  Each day I look out in wonder, are they there yet.  I must admit, I have jumped the gun just a little as they are not quite 100% yet, but they are so close I could not wait any more.  These will have to do for today! 

And not to be left out is this beautiful female.

Thanks for looking!

Bruce



The American Robin!

The American Robin! What a pretty bird. The American Robin is probably Ohio’s most well know bird. They are big and are highly visible as they search our lawns for worms. I got to believe that the one who coined the saying “the early bird gets the worm” was talking about a Robin. Despite their abundance, I don’t have many quality photos of these guys.


I was sitting over my feeders practicing for spring migration, when this guy made a brief appearance on the perch. Somewhat of a rare pose for a Robin, I am excited about this picture despite it not quite measuring up technically.

Another weekend in the backyard

If you read my last post, you will know how excited I am about the direction my photos are going. Equipment and technique are coming together. I have been slowing down the shutter and letting the flash keep up. I think this is also helping. My keeper rate has seen a big jump! Big jump. I went out for very short sessions over the weekend. Here are some of the shots I got. I’m still looking for that special Chickadee shot. I was also hoping for a great Junco photo before they leave town. Well I didn’t get it yet, but I did get more House Finches, Goldfinches, a Downy and a Squirrel!


As before, these were all shot with a canon 40D, 100-400LIS, 580 flash on a Gitzo series 2 tripod, Jobu Design Gimbal head.

As always, Thanks for looking!
GB,
Bruce

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Downy

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House Finch

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House Finch (such a poser)

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Squirrel (Does this photo work? Is it too soft?)

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Gold Finch

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Carolina Chickadee (not so great shot, but these guys are so small and fast.)

What a difference an Arm makes

What a difference an Arm makes. I have been greatly desiring more feather detail in my bird photos. I have/had mixed emotions about the sharpness of the photos I’ve gotten from the setup. So, last year I bought a Gitzo tripod and a Jobu Design Gimbal head. I saw huge improvements over shooting handheld or even shooting off a bogan 2031+ ballhead. However, a few weeks ago I ordered the “upgrade” arm for the Gimbal Head. This moved the mount from the side to underneath. It also allowed me to place the support on the right side of the camera instead of the left. This allowed me to place my left hand on top the lens instead of under.


I am amazed (so far) at how much better things look. Maybe I don’t need a new Camera or lens!? Nothing super spectacular except that! These are very common feeder birds, but the warblers are coming, and I’m getting ready. Of course, any suggestions to improve are not only welcomed, but encouraged!

These were all shot with a Canon 40D+100-400LIS on Gitzo tripod, Jobu Design black widow2 head using flash and sitting in a blind with a feeder setup. Post processed in PS Element.

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Northern Cardinal

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American Robin

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Carolina Chickadee

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Dark-eyed Junco

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American Goldfinch

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Seed Pod

2010: A great finish to the year of photography

I have had an exciting end to 2010. I belong to a local photography club. The club is filled with incredible photographers which is what drew me to the club in the first place. We meet each month and there is a photo contest each month. Most of the time the topic is “open nature” with a scavenger hunt judged in November. The December contest is always for the best leaf.

Each month we can submit 4 photos in the contest. The guest speaker for the evening is the judge. Although the prior years have given me some wins, I finally got a first place in May of 2010 with a photo of a Yellow-throated Warbler. This started a series of 3 first places in a row (May, June, and July). I was just amazed. The level of photographers is very high, so I am grateful I was able to see some success.

Here is my Yellow-throated Warbler shot that won in May:



Also won Photo of the Year!





In June, this photo of an Eastern Bluebird took first place.





In July I submitted 2 Gull Photos: This one here of the gull on the lakeshore, won 1st place.

Best Leaf!

I admit, leaves were not my forte.  So I set out to learn.  Fortunately for me, I am married to an awesome leaf photographer!  Kelly taught me what to look for and gave me some tips on composition.  We waited for a nice frost and went out to shoot leaves.  I got four that I really liked and entered this one into the contest.  It won! 

Photo of the Year

This was the first year that the club decided to add a “Photo of the Year”. All first place wins were brought back to be entered in the contest. There were 18 1st place photos. My Yellow-throated Warbler (photo above) won Photo of the Year!

I finished the year with 4 first place wins, and ten additional wins (2nd-HM).  I can't believe it.  In 2009 I did not get any first place wins. 

Photographer of the Year!

The club also decided to have a photographer of the year award. Each month the contest winners earn points based on how the photo finished. I had a total of 60 points from the monthly photo contest. This was enough for me to win “Photographer of the year”!