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

1
Downy

2

House Finch

3
House Finch (such a poser)

4
Squirrel (Does this photo work? Is it too soft?)

5
Gold Finch

6
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.

1

Northern Cardinal

2

American Robin

3

Carolina Chickadee

4

Dark-eyed Junco

5

American Goldfinch

6

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”!

Swamp Sparrows

I had hoped to get out in early June to shoot some Sparrows.  Well, that simply didn't happen.  So here it is October and I finally getting out looking for sparrows.  Of course at this time of year, the big ticket is Nelson and Le Conte's Sparrow, but so far those have eluded me.  This morning ( a beautiful 85 degree day in October) I went to a new little swampy area coined Snipe Marsh.  There were sparrows there, however most of them stayed in the heavy cover.  I did have a few Swamp Sparrows come out for a nice view.  I love the pose and will be trying to get a few more like this!

A few summer time birds

I didn't get many bird shots this summer, but here are a few.  This first one is more of a documentry shot than a good bird photo.  As much as I hate to admit it, this guy had me stumped.  Here is an immature Orchard Oriole!  I never saw the parents as that would have clued me in pretty fast.  I saw these guys every week when I went out the wetland area at Highbanks to check bluebird boxes.

While photographing the Oriole, I found this Willow Flycatcher hanging out in the same thicket.

The wetland pond at Highbanks always has families of Wood Ducks on it.  They are pretty skitish, but I snuck up on this guy.

Heading out to Glacier Ridge Metro Park a few day later, I was hoping for some grassland birds.  It was not to be that day.  A little late in the year, but I did manage this photo of a Killdeer!

Dragonflies and Butterflies!

Wow, looking back at my blog, I see I have not updated it since the end of June.  Probably because I just haven’t done much birding or bird photography this summer.  It has however been a wonderful summer with a completely new avenue of photography.  One of my summer hobbies is to be a Bluebird box monitor at Highbanks Metro Parks in Columbus, Ohio.  Usually once June hits the photography subsides, but this year I discovered dragonflies and butterflies.  What a treat.  I took many pictures.  I tried this before, but one thing that really made a difference was adding a 20mm extension tube to the setup.  This allowed me to get much close and really had some success.  I may need to change my blog title one more time! 

This is the photo that really started me off this year.  I got this shot at Highbanks Metro Park and was amazed at how sharp it came out.  The extension tube was a key factor in it. 

For butterflies, this was one of my first.  I saw this Little Wood Satyr Butterfly when I approached box 12 at Highbanks.  I love the heart shaped leaf that it is sitting on.  I was not super close so I was happy to see it come out with nice detail.



For the next few weeks I even tried my hand at getting these little tiny guys in focus.  This was not easy!  They are so small.  Half the time I’d walk right past them without even noticing they are there.  When the focus locks, I’m a happy camper, or should I say a happy photographer!