Yellow-rumped Warblers – What A Difference The Setting Can Make!
I think I was becoming lulled into accepting and even presuming the same old boring settings for Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Tag: background
Swainson’s Hawk – Just Because I Like It
For better or worse the background of an image can have a significant impact on an image. This is one that works well for me.
Wispy Willet (and the effects of bokeh on an image)
The background bokeh of an image can have a huge impact on the overall aesthetic quality of an image.
Sharp-shinned Hawk In Flight On Antelope Island
Red-tailed Hawk In Full Flight
I like the backgrounds provided by western mountains for birds in flight but as I’ve said previously backdrops with texture make it more difficult to get sharp focus lock on the bird.
Male Harrier In Flight On A Four Layered Background
For me the background can sometimes be almost as important as the bird. In this case it’s probably because I identify so personally with what’s back there, even though it’s all out of focus. This place is where I cut my photographic teeth years ago.
Male Northern Harrier In Flight – A Lucky Shot
Burrowing Owl – Same Bird, Same Perch, Different Angle
I’d like to make a point with this post. It’s one that every experienced bird photographer knows on some level but in the heat of the moment (it can be very exciting getting close to a “good” bird in nice light) it’s one that is easily forgotten. I’m getting much better at remembering but I still slip up occasionally. The point? Very minor changes in your shooting position can make huge differences (positive, negative or indifferent) in your photo. I’ll illustrate that point with a couple of shots that I took this morning. They’re not my best Burrowing Owl images but they’ll serve their purpose here. 1/160, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This morning we think we found a new (to us) Burrowing Owl burrow right next to the road on Antelope Island that we’ve probably driven by several hundred times and never noticed. We don’t know for sure that it’s an owl burrow because we didn’t get out of the pickup and go tromping all over the area to inspect it. And right next to it was this juvenile owl, perched on a sagebrush, where we’d never seen an owl before. It had been cloudy but some light had begun peeking through a “crack” in the clouds when this shot was taken. It’s a “busy” perch and when the sun began to come out the bird was sidelit so I decided to change my position slightly… 1/320, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or…
Northern Harrier In Flight
Usually winter has been the best time for me to photograph Northern Harriers but my opportunities with them have been relatively sparse this year. So with the season rapidly coming to an end I was delighted to find this cooperative bird yesterday morning near the Great Salt Lake. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 The harrier allowed a close approach while hunting and this time the light was favorable too. Occasionally the bird would look up and provide good eye contact. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I found it difficult to get anything but sky in the background but for this image it dipped down low enough for me to get the lake as a backdrop. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 The sun was high enough that the far wing was usually shaded while in the down position but I think there’s still enough light and detail there to make this work. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Here the bird was a little past me but the slight look back I got helped to compensate for that. It’s very possible that this was my last good harrier opportunity until next winter so I’m appreciative of yesterday’s serendipitous encounter. Ron
Farmington Bay Bald Eagles 2012 – A Bust!
Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area is typically a mecca for birders and bird photographers during January and February. When it gets very cold many of Utah’s wintering Bald Eagles congregate there and create quite the spectacle for avian enthusiasts. Though I’m not particularly fond of photographing birds among throngs of people I usually can’t resist the unusual opportunity with these magnificent birds and join in the fray multiple times during the “season”. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc One thing that especially appeals to me about Farmington Bay is the opportunity to photograph these eagles in flight with the Wasatch Mountains as a background. Even though such a background makes it much more difficult for focus to “lock on” the bird I really like the dramatic backdrop the dark, often shaded mountains provide when there’s light on the eagle – much more appealing for me than the typical blue sky background. Typically there are hundreds of eagles at the refuge during “prime time”. I once counted 225 birds and that’s just the ones I could see. Others have reported from 300-400 birds. This photo should give you some idea, though it shows just one small portion of Unit One. The concentration of birds was about the same that day everywhere you looked over the ice. This is the famous “eagle tree”. I’ve seen as many as 20 birds on this one perch alone. Of course the eagles prefer to look south over the ice and water so it’s difficult…
Just A Shot That I Like… #19 – Burrowing Owl Catching Its Balance
Burrowing Owls on Antelope Island are often a hit or miss proposition. Occasionally one can find an accessible burrow occupied by multiple birds and get just close enough for quality images without disturbing the owls. But more often than not they’re difficult to find – especially in a location where the angle of light is good in the morning when I prefer to shoot. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This bird was one of a family of owls on the north end of the island that would occasionally sun themselves in the early morning at the top of a sagebrush perch. Here the owl had momentarily lost its balance while changing position on the branch and I was able to catch a pose I liked as it recovered. I love backgrounds like this that the island and the bokeh of my lens often provide. Ron
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Swainson’s Hawk – Just Because I Like It
For better or worse the background of an image can have a significant impact on an image. This is one that works well for me.
Wispy Willet (and the effects of bokeh on an image)
The background bokeh of an image can have a huge impact on the overall aesthetic quality of an image.
Sharp-shinned Hawk In Flight On Antelope Island
Red-tailed Hawk In Full Flight
I like the backgrounds provided by western mountains for birds in flight but as I’ve said previously backdrops with texture make it more difficult to get sharp focus lock on the bird.
Male Harrier In Flight On A Four Layered Background
For me the background can sometimes be almost as important as the bird. In this case it’s probably because I identify so personally with what’s back there, even though it’s all out of focus. This place is where I cut my photographic teeth years ago.
Male Northern Harrier In Flight – A Lucky Shot
Burrowing Owl – Same Bird, Same Perch, Different Angle
I’d like to make a point with this post. It’s one that every experienced bird photographer knows on some level but in the heat of the moment (it can be very exciting getting close to a “good” bird in nice light) it’s one that is easily forgotten. I’m getting much better at remembering but I still slip up occasionally. The point? Very minor changes in your shooting position can make huge differences (positive, negative or indifferent) in your photo. I’ll illustrate that point with a couple of shots that I took this morning. They’re not my best Burrowing Owl images but they’ll serve their purpose here. 1/160, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This morning we think we found a new (to us) Burrowing Owl burrow right next to the road on Antelope Island that we’ve probably driven by several hundred times and never noticed. We don’t know for sure that it’s an owl burrow because we didn’t get out of the pickup and go tromping all over the area to inspect it. And right next to it was this juvenile owl, perched on a sagebrush, where we’d never seen an owl before. It had been cloudy but some light had begun peeking through a “crack” in the clouds when this shot was taken. It’s a “busy” perch and when the sun began to come out the bird was sidelit so I decided to change my position slightly… 1/320, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or…
Northern Harrier In Flight
Usually winter has been the best time for me to photograph Northern Harriers but my opportunities with them have been relatively sparse this year. So with the season rapidly coming to an end I was delighted to find this cooperative bird yesterday morning near the Great Salt Lake. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 The harrier allowed a close approach while hunting and this time the light was favorable too. Occasionally the bird would look up and provide good eye contact. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I found it difficult to get anything but sky in the background but for this image it dipped down low enough for me to get the lake as a backdrop. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 The sun was high enough that the far wing was usually shaded while in the down position but I think there’s still enough light and detail there to make this work. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Here the bird was a little past me but the slight look back I got helped to compensate for that. It’s very possible that this was my last good harrier opportunity until next winter so I’m appreciative of yesterday’s serendipitous encounter. Ron
Farmington Bay Bald Eagles 2012 – A Bust!
Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area is typically a mecca for birders and bird photographers during January and February. When it gets very cold many of Utah’s wintering Bald Eagles congregate there and create quite the spectacle for avian enthusiasts. Though I’m not particularly fond of photographing birds among throngs of people I usually can’t resist the unusual opportunity with these magnificent birds and join in the fray multiple times during the “season”. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc One thing that especially appeals to me about Farmington Bay is the opportunity to photograph these eagles in flight with the Wasatch Mountains as a background. Even though such a background makes it much more difficult for focus to “lock on” the bird I really like the dramatic backdrop the dark, often shaded mountains provide when there’s light on the eagle – much more appealing for me than the typical blue sky background. Typically there are hundreds of eagles at the refuge during “prime time”. I once counted 225 birds and that’s just the ones I could see. Others have reported from 300-400 birds. This photo should give you some idea, though it shows just one small portion of Unit One. The concentration of birds was about the same that day everywhere you looked over the ice. This is the famous “eagle tree”. I’ve seen as many as 20 birds on this one perch alone. Of course the eagles prefer to look south over the ice and water so it’s difficult…
Just A Shot That I Like… #19 – Burrowing Owl Catching Its Balance
Burrowing Owls on Antelope Island are often a hit or miss proposition. Occasionally one can find an accessible burrow occupied by multiple birds and get just close enough for quality images without disturbing the owls. But more often than not they’re difficult to find – especially in a location where the angle of light is good in the morning when I prefer to shoot. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This bird was one of a family of owls on the north end of the island that would occasionally sun themselves in the early morning at the top of a sagebrush perch. Here the owl had momentarily lost its balance while changing position on the branch and I was able to catch a pose I liked as it recovered. I love backgrounds like this that the island and the bokeh of my lens often provide. Ron