Diving Kingfisher – A Work In Progress
Kingfishers diving from their fishing perches are among the most difficult photos I’ve attempted to get.
Tag: diving
A Lesser Scaup and More Coot Chases From Yesterday
Playing With Kingfishers
I have certain lofty goals with Belted Kingfisher photos and I’m finally making some progress.
Three Image Sequence Of A Forster’s Tern Just After Emerging With A Fish
Any photography skills I may have were definitely tested yesterday morning as I attempted to photograph terns coming out of the water with fish.
“Gradual Diving” Pied-billed Grebe
Greater Scaup – Using Knowledge Of Behaviors To Get The Shot You’re After
I’ve been yammering for years about the advantages to bird photographers of being familiar with the behaviors of our subjects. Here’s yet another example.
A Diving Redhead
Deep-diving Kingfisher Shaking Mud Off Her Bill
When kingfishers dive for fish in shallow ponds they run the risk of bottoming out.
Another Look At A “Gradual Sinking” Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe – An Entertaining Diving Technique
Pied-billed Grebes use several different diving techniques but the one called “gradual sinking” is certainly the most entertaining to watch.
Terns – After The Dive
Terns tend to be graceful and highly maneuverable flyers and those skills are very much on display when they’re fishing. 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I found this Forster’s Tern fishing at Bear River MBR last June and decided I’d attempt to photograph it coming out of the water after a dive – easier said than done. And to catch it with a fish would be a bonus. This species is known for feeding on “small” fish but this one is ridiculous – hardly worth the bother. If you look very carefully you can see the miniscule fish behind the upper part of the bill. I’ve cropped this shot unconventionally in order to include the “splash” behind the bird. These birds fish relentlessly. Their quarry is small, as is their success rate. In one Forster’s Tern study, 1538 dives produced 369 fish for a success rate of 24%. 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light The fish is more easily seen in this next shot. When they come off the surface they usually shake excess water out of their feathers in mid-air. I caught this tern just before the shake, where it has twisted its wings in order to get good action for the upcoming shake. I missed the shake with this bird but… 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I did manage to capture it on another day with this Caspian Tern. I didn’t have enough shutter speed to get the quick movements particularly sharp but…
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A Lesser Scaup and More Coot Chases From Yesterday
Playing With Kingfishers
I have certain lofty goals with Belted Kingfisher photos and I’m finally making some progress.
Three Image Sequence Of A Forster’s Tern Just After Emerging With A Fish
Any photography skills I may have were definitely tested yesterday morning as I attempted to photograph terns coming out of the water with fish.
“Gradual Diving” Pied-billed Grebe
Greater Scaup – Using Knowledge Of Behaviors To Get The Shot You’re After
I’ve been yammering for years about the advantages to bird photographers of being familiar with the behaviors of our subjects. Here’s yet another example.
A Diving Redhead
Deep-diving Kingfisher Shaking Mud Off Her Bill
When kingfishers dive for fish in shallow ponds they run the risk of bottoming out.
Another Look At A “Gradual Sinking” Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe – An Entertaining Diving Technique
Pied-billed Grebes use several different diving techniques but the one called “gradual sinking” is certainly the most entertaining to watch.
Terns – After The Dive
Terns tend to be graceful and highly maneuverable flyers and those skills are very much on display when they’re fishing. 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I found this Forster’s Tern fishing at Bear River MBR last June and decided I’d attempt to photograph it coming out of the water after a dive – easier said than done. And to catch it with a fish would be a bonus. This species is known for feeding on “small” fish but this one is ridiculous – hardly worth the bother. If you look very carefully you can see the miniscule fish behind the upper part of the bill. I’ve cropped this shot unconventionally in order to include the “splash” behind the bird. These birds fish relentlessly. Their quarry is small, as is their success rate. In one Forster’s Tern study, 1538 dives produced 369 fish for a success rate of 24%. 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light The fish is more easily seen in this next shot. When they come off the surface they usually shake excess water out of their feathers in mid-air. I caught this tern just before the shake, where it has twisted its wings in order to get good action for the upcoming shake. I missed the shake with this bird but… 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I did manage to capture it on another day with this Caspian Tern. I didn’t have enough shutter speed to get the quick movements particularly sharp but…