Tag: take off

Lark Sparrow

I’ve never had much luck with Lark Sparrows but this spring my fortunes with them have improved.  It seems to be a banner year for them on Antelope Island and some of them even cooperate occasionally.  In fact, most of the images in this post are of the same bird.  It was so intent on its singing and territory declaration that it flew from perch to perch for quite a while and gave us some close looks.    1/1600, f/10, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These are large, long-tailed sparrows with a distinctive chestnut, black and white facial pattern that gives them a harlequin look.  The sparrow is perched on a dried sunflower with significant depth so I went to f/10 for this shot to try to get as many of the seed heads as sharp as possible.      1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  In this shot the same sparrow is changing its position on a sagebrush perch and I was able to catch it with a wing and tail position that I like.  I do wish there were no sage leaves behind the head though.       1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  After it settled its position on the sage it gave me some nice eye contact.       1/3200, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’ve said before on this blog how much I enjoy sage perches but they’re not without their problems for the photographer.  Dead twigs from last years growth often stick up above the…

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Curlew Peekaboo Take-off

When Long-billed Curlews take off they have a little trick they use to get airborne quickly.  This is our largest North American shorebird and in addition to their extremely long bill they have very long legs.  Since this is a grassland species it would often be very difficult to get a  running start at take-off through the tall vegetation so they use their long legs to full advantage by crouching so low that their belly often touches the ground and then they spring into the air by quickly straightening those very long legs (jumping). This can be problematic for the photographer wishing to get take-off shots because this is a large bird and they explode into the air so quickly that you tend to either cut off part of the bird or lose focus on the subject at the most critical point of the take-off.  But knowing and anticipating their behavior can give you a better chance at a quality shot or two. These three images from yesterday on Antelope Island are sequential in a quick burst at take-off.  The first two are of crappy quality but I include them to illustrate my point.   Here the curlew has crouched as low as it can get prior to take-off.  I temporarily lost sharp focus on the head because of the foreground vegetation and because of camera movement as I moved my aim upwards in an attempt to get the entire bird in the frame as it lifted off.     In the second shot of the burst, focus has locked onto the bird again as…

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A Recent Potpourri Of Birds From Antelope Island

Antelope Island always has an interesting mix of birds for the photographer and birder.  During the winter months raptors are one of the primary attractions for me but soon after the cold months are over they begin to thin out and the migrating spring birds begin to appear.  The last several weeks have been in transition with fewer raptors but many migrating species are beginning to show up – in addition to the many year-round residents on the island. With this post I thought I’d present a few shots from the past week or so as a small representation of some of the common birds right now.    1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Black-billed Magpies are year-round residents of the island and they’re in a nesting frenzy right now which allows for some interesting opportunities for the photographer.  This bird is landing on a bush very near its nest.    1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Springtime is my favorite season to photograph Chukars because they’re all dolled out in fresh plumage and they’re very approachable when they’re calling from rocks.  For much of the rest of the year they spend their time scurrying around in the vegetation and it’s quite difficult to get a clean shot.  This one was calling with a lot of enthusiasm!      1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Some of the Loggerhead Shrikes also remain on the island year-round but their numbers increase noticeably in spring.   1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It’s always a treat when the Long-billed Curlews return to…

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Shutter Speed and Take-off Shots

Just a single image today, to illustrate a lesson I’ve learned before but “relearned” yesterday. I shoot lots of birds at take-off, particularly raptors.  For those larger subjects relatively slow shutter speeds will usually freeze the motion, even in the wings.  Typically, 1/1200 or 1/1600 will do just that.   1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, cloned out an OOF sunflower stalk to the right of the bird  So yesterday after I’d taken a few perched shots of this shrike I set up for a take-off since it was facing to my right and I figured it would take off in that direction, giving me both good light and a take-off posture that would require relatively little depth of field so f/5.6 would suffice.  Then I noticed that I had a shutter speed of 1/3200 and I remember thinking that might be a little excessive and I should dial back to f/ 6.1 for slightly more DOF and less shutter speed.  But I knew that if I took a moment to change my settings the bird would choose that instant to launch and I’d miss the shot.  So I stuck with my settings. I’m glad I did.  Wing motion in these little birds is incredibly fast!  Here, even 1/3200 didn’t completely freeze the wings. Don’t get me wrong – a little motion blur in wings of birds in flight isn’t an issue with me and I’m perfectly happy with this image the way it is.  But for my tastes I’m glad there’s no more motion blur than there is. Ron

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Just A Shot That I Like…#24 – Western Bluebird Taking Off

I’ve always been a sucker for unusual poses and flight postures.   1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  This female Mountain Bluebird had been flitting around in the brush all morning while looking for cicadas to feed her brood.  I didn’t have much light for the shot (I was surprised to get a catch light) and there’s a lot going on in the background but for me  the wing and tail position and the somewhat unusual angle of take-off helped to make up for it. I’m sure looking forward to spending more time with these birds up north this summer. Ron

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Just A Shot That I LIke… #23 – Prairie Falcon Take-Off

This morning I found this Prairie Falcon on top of a huge boulder – big enough that I was looking up at the bird.  Its tail was hidden for the perched shots so my best hope was for take-off photos.   1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc When it did lift off it started out in my direction which didn’t give me the best light on the bird.  After the first wing beat it banked to the birds left which was ideal for good light.  Only problem – I clipped a wing on all those shots.  Maybe next time I’ll remember to take off the teleconverter! Ron

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Golden Eagle – Some Progress On A Nemesis

Anyone who follows this blog knows that I have a penchant for raptors and over the last 6 years of photographing them I can count on one hand the number of good opportunities I’ve had with Golden Eagles.  I had another chance at one yesterday on Antelope Island.  I almost didn’t spot this bird because it was hunkered down so far in the sagebrush (here it is standing more erect in anticipation of flight).     1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I knew that my only chance for a few decent images would be at take-off or just after but the angle of light was a problem – the bird was facing almost directly into the sun.  If it veered to its right I’d get butt shots and probably lose the head behind the wings.  If it turned to its left the face would be in shadow and I’d get no catch light.  What can you do but wait, be ready for lift-off and hope for the best from a less than ideal situation?        1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Thankfully the eagle launched straight ahead which gave me the best light I could hope for under the circumstances.       1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc   For the first wing-beat I got light on the head and a catch light in two images – then the bird turned slightly toward me and that light was lost.  I got several more sharp shots with dynamic flight poses but the face was completely shaded.  Curses !!! I…

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Just A Shot That I Like… #15 – Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off

Ugly perches have been the bain of my photographic existence lately.  When a bird lets me get unusually close it always seems to be on a metal post, sign, hunk of concrete , telephone pole or even a sailboat mast.  For that reason I’ve been attempting a lot of take-off shots recently.    1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Case in point: a few weeks ago this hawk let me get ridiculously close but it was perched on a particularly unattractive metal sign.  The light angle was good so I removed my teleconverter and waited to see if it would take-off, fully expecting it to launch away from me as they usually do.  What a pleasant surprise when it took off parallel to me and gave me good eye contact at the same time.  I particularly like the good detail, the blood on the feet from its last meal and the nice look at those namesake “rough legs”.  Ron

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