Kestrel in Flight

Happy New Year everyone! For my first post of 2011, here is a image taken last week at VCDB in Arlington. I have been trying to get some good flight shots of this kestrel lately, but have not been having much success, my flight photography skills are not good and that is a big reason for little images. It is something to work on in 2011 for sure. So here is the only half decent image I have taken so far, it is a pretty big crop so it lacks some detail.

Hope you like it.

Image Data:

1/4000s. | f/8 | ISO 800 | Fill Flash

click image to view larger size.

My Favorite Image of 2010

With the year coming to a close and a new one about to begin, I have gone back and looked at the images that I have taken through the year of 2010, which were not many I am afraid to say, and have decided to pick a favorite. The easy winner was this one of a Painted Bunting that I photographed at the nature center this summer. While not a winning shot by any means, this one is my favorite simply because it was my first good shot of this beautiful bird. I am in hopes that the new year will bring more days of being able to spend time photographing nature than I had in 2010.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Image Data:

1/100s. | f/5.6 | ISO 640 | Fill Flash

click image to view larger size.

Northern Pintail in Habitat

I got this image at the reservoir last week. Ducks are extremely hard to shoot here which is a shame because there are so many species. So when this pintail floated by a hundred yards or so away, I decided to make a environment sort of image by including the reeds in the background and making the duck small in the frame. Maybe not a great shot for some, but a decent shot of a pintail is better than no shot of a pintail I say! Anyway, the weather here continues to jump from warm to cool, as Christmas approaches this weekend we should get down to the 40's and 50's, not near the temps we were seeing a year ago when we had all of that snow.

I hope that you enjoy this shot.

Image Data:

1/320th. | f/8 | ISO 200

click image to view larger.

note: I think it needs a bit of rotation, I will fix that later.

Nutria on Island

Here is another image that I took at the Village Creek beds in Arlington last week. A family of Nutria live on this small island in the middle of one of the ponds. This is another image that I took and blurred the background a bit on in Photoshop. I think blurring the bg just a little helps make the subject pop more. It does not look perfect, but I was fairly happy with it. I wish that the small long was not in the image as it distracts some from the subject, but oh well. I hope you like it.

Image Data:

1/1000s. | f/8 | ISO 500

click image to view larger.

Great Blue Heron

Here is another shot taken at the Village Creek Beds last week. This one of a great blue heron on a dead tree stump in one of the ponds. I liked the shot except for the busy background which my 100-400mm does not do a good job of blurring out from this range especially at f/8, so I did some Photoshop work and blurred the background just a bit and I think I got a natural look. What do you think? Hope you like it.

Image Data:

1/1600s. | f/8 | ISO 500

click image to view larger.

American Kestrel

I made it out to the Village Creek Beds in Arlington yesterday with my mom. Activity there was very good, we saw hundreds of ducks, a lot of sparrows, and shorebirds. I spent a bit of time watching what I believe was a Marsh Wren and hoping to get a good shot of it, which I didn't. I was very happy to get pretty close to this Kestrel as he was perched next to the road. It is my first good shot of a kestrel, so I was pretty excited to get this one. I wanted to spend more time with him and see if I could get some flight shots, but the gates were about to be locked so we had to leave. We might go back tomorrow, and I hope to get some more shots of him.

Image Data:

1/1600s. | f/8 | ISO 500 | Fill Flash

click image to view larger

Happy December

Sorry for the recent lack of posts everyone. Truth is that I haven't been out shooting in a couple of weeks, or at least it seems that long. I have been pretty busy getting some of my photos ready for the FW Nature Center. They will be displaying them in their visitors center during the month of December, which is pretty neat. I do hope to get out this week as I have been very restless to go and shoot somewhere. For now, here is a photo that I took back in January, which I know that I posted then but have since re-processed it. This was taken during the second of the two snowstorms that we had last winter. Two snowfalls in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in winter is very rare, we are more familiar with sleet which is not as fun as the white stuff! Hard to imagine that it is already December, the year has certainly flown by. Anyway, Happy December to all and I hope to be posting a lot more this month than I have been recently.

White-Throated Sparrow

Here is a image from yesterday of a white-throated sparrow taken at the nature center. My mom and I were just about to leave after a slow photography day ( plenty of birds but none close enough ) when we came upon a flock of white-throats making a lot of noise as they foraged through the leaves on the ground. They were very easy to approach, but were hard to get a good clear view of in the growth that they were in. They finally all took to a tree and went up and down the trunk looking for food and I was able to get a few shots. While the perch is not ideal, I was just plain happy to get a decent shot of one. Now that I know where to find them, maybe next time I will be able to get a better image with one on a good perch. For now, I hope that you enjoy this image.

Image Data:

1/1250 | f/5.6 | ISO 1000 | Fill Flash + Better Beamer

click image to view larger.

Least Sandpiper

I got this image on Sunday at the reservoir. I was not having any luck with the sparrows, so I turned to the reliable least sandpipers! I love the water color and the pose on this one. Taken at last light. I had to shoot wide open and at 800 ISO which on the 40D does not look great, so I used Topaz DeNoise 5 to reduce the noise here, works wonders!

Hope you enjoy it.

Image Data:

1/250s. | f/5.6 | ISO 800

click image to view larger size.

Song Sparrow

Here is a image from last weekend of a song sparrow that I took at the reservoir. I know that it is a bit busy, but it is pretty hard to get these guys to come into the open on a clean perch in this specific location, so I was pretty happy to just get this shot! Hope you like it.

Image Data:

1/1600s. | f/8 | ISO 400

Thanks to Josh for correcting me on the ID, this is a song sparrow, not a savannah.

click image to view larger.

Great Egret in Tree

Here is a image I took a few weeks ago at the nature center. I saw the great egret perched in this tree which was probably about 100 yards away from where I was on the boardwalk. Since I could not get closer, I thought I would go for a wider shot showing the surroundings of the bird. How does it look?

On a side note, I went to the reservoir yesterday and was glad to see more winter residences had arrived. There were some pintails, shovelers and wigeon that have joined the coots in the lake. The numbers of sparrows have increased. The least sandpipers are still around. I spent a good part of my time stalking a wilson's snipe, it came very close at one point then I lost it in the grass and never saw it again, nuts! Anyway, I had a good time just observing the new arrivals even if I did not get any good images.

Image Data:

1/1600s. | f/8 | ISO 400

click image to view larger.

Least Sandpiper II

Here is another image of a least sandpiper that I took on the same day as my last post. I really like the colors in this one. I do not know if these guys are still hanging around the reservoir or not, I might go and check later this afternoon.

Hope you like this one!

Image Data:

1/800s. | f/8 | ISO 400

click image to view larger.

Least Sandpiper

Here is a image I got a couple of weeks ago of a least sandpiper. I arrived at the reservoir and was glad to see that about 10 least's were feeding in the shallow stream that flows into the lake. The light was wonderful, but the birds were not quite cooperating; they finally came within range of my lens as the sun was just about to disappear over the horizon and I got a few shots that I really like. This particular bird was standing on the edge of a small waterfall feeding. Of coarse I wish that the feet were visible here, but the light and mood in this image is just so nice that I am going to forget it here!

Image Data:

1/200s. | f/8 | ISO 400 | Flash + Better Beamer

click image to view larger size.

Osprey II

Here is another shot of the osprey that I saw at the nature center last week. I like the pose here, but if you see the large version, you can see very visible noise as a result of over sharpening. I went in to re-sharpen it and discovered that I lost the original raw because of a weird crash to the hard drive that lost all of my images, none of the rest of the files on the drive were missing, only my files! After using a recovery software to get the images back, all but the raw's of my osprey images were recovered which is really odd. Maybe I can find them some day, but for now I hope that you like this one anyway.

Image Data:

1/1600s. | f/8 | ISO 400

Fill Flash + Better Beamer

Osprey

Yesterday my mom and I went to the Fort Worth Nature Center to bird and for me to photograph. We spent a few hours there in the afternoon until closing. We did not see much, I saw a group of White-Throated Sparrows but was unable to get them to come into the open for a clear image. We also saw the usual belted kingfishers and wading birds as well as a few grebes. The highlight of the day though was seeing a pair of ospreys circling over the river and I was very happy to get a few decent shots of them for the first time. If I had a kayak I think I would have been able to get some better images. I very much look forward to all of the other winter migrants that will be arriving and hopefully I will be able to rev up my photography.

Hope you like this one.

Image Data:

1/1600s. | f/8 | ISO 400

Flash + Better Beamer

Yellow Leaf on Moss

Here is another shot taken in Connecticut. I got this one at Devils Hopyard State Park ( interesting name ) . Taken with the S95, this leaf was perfectly placed on a patch of moss and stood out to me, so I used the macro feature on the camera and grabbed the shot. The S95 continued to impress me on my trip and I am very happy that I made the purchase. I edited this on a laptop and am not sure how it looks, let me know if there is anything wrong with it.

Hope you like.

Image Data:

1/60s. | f/4.5 | ISO 400

Canon S95

Click image to view larger size.

Herring Gull in Environment

Continuing with the series of gull images! This is the last one actually, and I think my favorite. I took this one at some beach, I do not know the name if it even had one. This guy kept walking around and it seemed like he was just begging to have his picture taken, so I took it. This is probably a 75% crop from the original. I like the way the image shows this gull's common environment and the slightly foggy ocean. Now if only I would have had some dramatic light, oh well can't have it all I guess!

Hope you like it.

Image Data:

1/320s. | f/4.9 | ISO 80

Canon S95

click image to view larger size.

Backlit Gull

Here is another image from my trip up to Connecticut. This was taken at the same time as my previous post. This gull ( a juvenile herring? ) was on a different post with the sun behind it. I liked the way the light was shining through the edges of it's feathers and beak, so I decided to practice exposing backlit subjects. I was really wishing that I had brought my polarizer along, it would have been helpful to make the sky in the background better looking. I still like this image as it is my most successful backlit image yet.

I hope you like it!

Image Data:

1/250s. | f/8 | ISO 400

click image to view larger size.

Herring Gull Portrait

I got back from Connecticut on Wednesday where I and my mom and two sisters visited some family that have recently moved there. The weather was really nice, but we were just a little early for the best fall colors. I was able to take some photos, mostly with my new S95. I was happy with the performance and quality of the images I got from it. I will share some of the photos I took as soon as I am able to process them, Lightroom does not support the RAW files from the S95 yet, so I am having to edit them in Canon's DPP software, which takes me a little longer to use. But for now here is a image from the trip of a very cooperative gull perched on the dock in the back of my relatives home taken with the 40D. Hope you like it.

Image Data:

1/200s. | f/8 | ISO 400

click image to view larger size.

A New Post, Finally!

Sorry for the lack of post's recently, I have had a very busy September and thus have not been out for any photography. There is hope though, as I will be traveling to Mystic, Connecticut this weekend to visit some family that have recently moved there from North Carolina. I hope that I will be able to capture some nice Fall colors while I am there. I have purchased the new Canon S95 in hopes that I will be inspired to shoot more if I have a camera that I can carry around with me wherever I go and not having to lug a dslr, it is a great little camera loaded with features like RAW shooting and full manual controls and it has amazing image quality. I will be taking this with me on my trip and look forward to giving it a real test. This image was taken this morning with the S95 of a large leaf from a plant in my mom's garden. I used backlighting to show the details in the "veins". I hope that you like it!

Image Data:

1/400s. | f/8 | ISO 80

Canon S95

click image to view larger size.

Giant Tortoise

Here is another image from my trip to the zoo last week. I was thrilled to see these giant tortoises for the first time, they are huge! The zoo has a great 4500 square foot exhibit for these guys and is perfect for getting photos, I hope I can return soon to focus on getting some better images. I decided to get in close and focus on the cool patterns in their shells and later on in Photoshop I converted it to B&W. I was kicking myself afterwards for shooting this image at f/8 instead of at least f/11 to get out some better details, I will not forget next trip!

Hope you like this one anyway.

Image Data:

1/400s. | f/8 | ISO 500

click image to view larger size.

American Flamingo

I went to the Fort Worth Zoo today with my mom and two nieces, I had not been in a while and decided to take my camera along. The weather was overcast and a bit humid, perfect for photography, the overcast skies that is not the humidity! Anyway, I had fun shooting the flamingo's, they are always so cooperative and I came away with a few decent images.

I hope that you like this one.

Image Data:

1/800s. | f/8 | ISO 500 | Fill Flash

Canon 7D

click image to view larger size.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird II

Here is another image of a female ruby throat in my backyard. I took this one this morning. I do not think I like this one as much as the one I posted before, but was glad to get one of her enjoying these flowers. I am going to try some new setups this weekend and will post each time I get a new image worth sharing. Until then, hope you like this one!

Image Data:

1/1000s. | f/8 | ISO 400 | Fill Flash

click image to view larger size.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Sorry for the recent lack of images here! It has continued to be extremely hot here with the short rain showers this morning not helping matters, now it is hot and very humid! I did brave the humidity and took advantage of overcast skies this afternoon to get this shot of a female ruby throat. I have a couple of females that visit my hummingbird garden every day and I saw a male for the first time yesterday. I like the background in this shot and the wings up pose. Let me know what you think!

Image Data:
1/640s. | f/6.3 | ISO 1000 | Fill Flash
click image to view larger size.

Duckling

Things are very slow photography wise for me right now. The temps are in the 100s right now and there is not very much bird activity going on. I am hoping to go out to the Village Creek beds in Arlington next week as a lot of reports from the local Audubon website are positive for flocks of shorebirds, buntings and dickcissel, a lot of species that I was hoping to have images of by summers end. So we will see! For now, here is a image from last year that I dug out of my files to rework in Photoshop cs5.

Image Details:
1/500s. | f/8 | ISO 400
Click image to view larger size.

Squirrel

Here is a image of a common Squirrel that I took while at the Nature Center a couple of weeks ago. These squirrels may look cute, but put them in front of some bird feeders and they will clean them out really fast! I have a couple in my yard that I have to battle to keep off my feeders, very tough fight to fight. I have one hummingbird diligently visiting my yard every day now, so tomorrow morning I will try to get some shots. Stay tuned!

Image Data:
1/500s. | f/5.6 | ISO 640
click image to view larger size.

Red-Wing Blackbird

Well, I did not make it back out to the Nature Center yesterday as I had hoped to get some more painted bunting images, hopefully I can get out very soon though. Here is a shot that I got at the reservoir last week. It was a unsuccessful trip, not much hanging around there right now. I did get this shot of a red wing blackbird who was being very noisy. He let me get very close and I was able to get these neat early evening clouds as a background. Hope you like it.

Image Data;

1/1600s. | f/8 | ISO 400 | Fill Flash

click image to view larger size

Painted Bunting

Here is a shot from yesterday afternoon, taken at the Fort Worth Nature Center of a Painted Bunting. This is my first decent image of a painted so I am very pleased! There were about 4 painted buntings visiting the birdwatching courtyard, 2 males and 2 females, and they came very close. I am anticipating many more images of them this summer. Unfortunately, there is only one decent perch in range of my lens that they land on ( the one pictured ), and I wish there were a few more. Anyway, hope you like this one.

Image Data:

1/100s. | f/5.6 | ISO 640 | Fill Flash

Calling Killdeer

Here is a image that I took a month or two ago. Origially I didn't bother to process it because there was a shadow across the side of the face, but I came across it again today and did some processing in CS5 ( new toy, I mean tool! ) and got it to look a bit better, I think. How does it look to you? I received my copies of Natures Best Photography magazine, which features my image from the Birds in Focus competition and all of the other winners, pretty neat!

Image Data:
1/1000s. | f/6.3 | ISO 200
click image to view larger.

Prothonotary Warbler

Hey Everyone,
Here is probably the best shot I got last month of this Prothonotary warbler, or of any warbler actually, sad I know... It was a overcast day and rain showers soon came. While the image is a bit noisy, I think it is still decent, especially since it is my first of this beautiful species. Every year "proth's" warblers nest in a swampy area of the Fort Worth Nature Center on the lake and can be seen singing along the boardwalk making them fairly easy to photograph. Maybe I will be able to get some other shots of them during the summer. I am very determined to photograph Painted and Indigo Buntings at the nature refuge this summer since they are my top local bird favorites, the key will be finding them ( especially the Indigo ) close to the ground. Hopefully with some research and a lot of luck I can get some good images. Unfortunaley, I will have an extremely busy June, but hope to get out as much as possible.
Anyway, sorry for the longish post! I hope you like this image.

Image Data:
1/60th. | f/8 | ISO 500 | Fill Flash
Canon 7D

I'm Still Around!

Hey Everyone,
Just a quick post to let you know that I am still here. While I did do a bit of shooting a few times last month, I came home with very little. I missed the peak warbler shooting due to some rainy days and being just plain busy. My last few times out to the Nature Refuge I have seen Painted and Indigo Buntings and am hoping that by summer's end I will have some decent images of them. I have made them my target birds to photograph this summer. The weather here is turning rather nasty. We will be in the 100's Fahrenheit by the weekend and that will make photography even harder since most birds are going to choose not to be out until very late or very early. I am hoping to turn things around here and try to do a bit more shooting and produce some decent images, heat and all!

Will try to post again soon!

Dickcissel

I managed to make it out to the reservoir yesterday evening to spend more time shooting the sandpipers, which were very uncooperative! As I made my way back to the car I heard some calling and approached where it was coming from and sitting on a barbed wire fence was this Dickcissel. This was my first time to ever see one up close and I was pretty excited. He/she was calling to about 2 other Dicksiccel along the fence.
Hopefully I can get some images of them on a better perch next time.

Image Data:
1/1000s. | f/8 | ISO 200
Canon 7D

White-Rumped Sandpiper

Here is a quick one before I head out for the the day. This was taken last week, same day as my two previous posts, at the reservoir. I got a lot of great photos of these guys and hope to get back for more before they move on. Hope you like it!

Image Data:
1/1000s. | f/6.3 | ISO 200
Canon 40D
Click image to see larger size!

Lesser Yellowlegs

Here is another shot from the reservoir. I took this one on Thursday afternoon. There were two Lesser Yellowlegs foraging, this one was very cooperative! I am glad to see the shorebirds back and look forward to spending a lot of time photographing them this year.
Hope you like this one.

Image Data:
1/1250s. | f/6.3 | ISO 200
Canon 40D

Good to be out Shooting Again

I received my telephoto lens from Canon on Tuesday from being repaired and went out to the reservoir last evening to see if the shorebirds have arrived and they have! There were about 4-5 Sandpipers, like the one pictured, which I am having a hard time identifying. I think that they are Pectoral's, but am not 100% sure. There were also 2 Greater Yellowlegs and about 10 Dowitchers that flew overhead multiple times but I could never find them on the ground.
I am hoping to get out there again a couple more times this weeekend. I also will try to get out to the Village Creek beds and Nature Center next week. Hope you like this one.

Image Data:
1/250s. | f/8 | ISO 250 | Flash EV-2 1/3
Canon 7D

Maple Leaf on Bark

Going through some files from my trip to Acadia NP last October, and came across this one that I previously didn't pay much attention to at first but has grown on me.
Hope you like it!

Image Data:
1/100s. | f/2.8 | ISO 400
Canon EF-S 60mm

Leaves in Brook

Here is one from last fall when my family and I visited Acadia National Park in Maine. It took 6 months for me to decide that I like this image! I took it at a brook that was near the cottage we were staying at. Tell me what you think! Also, I thought I would mention that one of my images has been featured on the Natures Best Photography Blog. If you want, you can see it here.

Image Data:
1 sec. | f/13 | ISO 100 | Circular Polarizer
Canon 40D | 17-55mm

Mallard + More Gear Problems

I went out to the reservoir yesterday evening hoping to see and even more hopeful to photograph the small flock of Wilson's Snipe that I flushed last time I was there. See them I did, photograph them I did not. They flew over head and to a distant marshy area, I made my way over there but they flew off before I was even close enough to be the culprit of scaring them, so not sure what did. So I had to content myself with this cooperative Mallard. I love how the evening light really brings out the green on his head. This is probably the last bird photo I will take for awhile due to having problems with my 100-400mm zoom. It is extremely hard to zoom and am told it is a out of round barrel, a very common problem with this lens and will have to be fixed by Canon. All of this camera repair is delaying my shooting of the spring bird activity.
Oh well, hopefully it will not take too long and I can have it back soon and it won't cost a bundle. That's hoping anyway...

Image Data:
1/500s. | f8 | ISO 200
Canon 7D
Click image for larger size.

Savannah Sparrow

Glad to have my 40D back with me and working correctly, I headed out to the reservoir on Friday to see if any spring migrants have shown up. I did not see much except the swallows that are back occupying their nests under the freeway bridge. I did flush about 10 Dowitchers ( I think ) and was pretty upset about that! I will try to find them again next time. I decided to see if I could get some photos of the sparrows that are still around and was glad to get this somewhat cooperative Savannah Sparrow. Since I could not get any closer, I tried to get some shots including the environment. I am not overly happy with this one and am anxious to get back there and see if I can get some better ones. I will hopefully go out tomorrow for some shooting but am not sure where yet.
Stay tuned!

Image Data:
1/800s. | f/8 | ISO 200
Canon 40D

Canada Goose

Here is another shot taken with the new 7D that arrived on Tuesday. My brothers and I were driving past the city park yesterday when I noticed a pair of Canada Geese wandering around. I didn't have time to stop and get any photos but decided to come back today and see if they were still there. Sure enough, they were foraging not far from the playground. I was able to easily approach them and get some nice portraits. The 7D continues to impress, AF is very acurate and makes my slow 100-400mm lens a tad faster. Hopefully the geese will stick around and I can get some more interesting images. Hope you like this one.

Image Data:
1/2000s. | f/8 | ISO 400
Canon 7D | 100-400mm

Cedar Waxing - New Canon 7D!

Hey Everyone,
Two pieces of great news; First, I received a e-mail from Canon today saying that they have shipped my repaired 40D and it should get here tomorrow! 2nd, in the meantime I have purchased a Canon 7D with my brothers for our video business and will also get to use it for photography some! This photo of a Cedar Waxing was taken in my backyard with the 7D. I have not had a lot of time to spend with it yet, but am very impressed so far. The ISO performance is very good, as well as the AF, and there are a lot of new features that are really nice. The video is fantastic and I am thinking about making a few short films taken at the places I like to photograph birds. Speaking of which, I am hoping to get out to the reservoir on Friday to see if any shorebirds are back. And am planning to go shooting at the Nature Center on Monday so stay tuned!

Image Data:
1/500s. | f/8 | ISO 500 | cropped some branches out.
Canon 7D | 100-400mmL

No Camera

Hey Everyone,
Just a quick post to let you know that I will not be posting much or any at all here for a couple of weeks or so due to my camera breaking down on me. A quick overview of the issue I am having: As I was taking the camera out of the bag this morning, I noticed the "direct print" light was blinking, I tried switching on the camera but it wouldn't power on. I replaced the battery and tried again, this time it turned on but when I tried to take a photo it would make a quiet click and shut off. I asked the great people on Naturescapes.net for some help and after trying some ideas, have been advised to send it off to Canon for repair. I will package it up and send it off tomorrow and hopefully have it back before the month is over. So, I am really going to miss shooting, the weather has been perfect lately, but hopefully I will have my camera back in time for the spring migrants which should be arriving very soon.
So long for now!

Rainbow

Here is a fun shot that I thought I would share. We had a rain shower on Thursday and there was a period when the clouds moved away from the sun providing some beautiful evening light while it was still raining and created this rainbow. I had my telephoto attached to my camera and did not want to change to my wide angle fearing the rainbow would disappear, and I like the effect the telephoto gave anyway. I snapped a few shots from the front porch before it faded away. Hope you like it.

Image Data:
1/320s. | f/8 | ISO 400

Downy Woodpecker

Made another trip out to the Fort Worth Nature Center yesterday. I spent most of my time once again trying to get a good Kingfisher shot, which did not happen. I decided on a new plan for the kingfisher which I hope works, so stay tuned! I walked the Riverbottom trail and came across this cute Downy. He was very approachable, but never came down to eye level. Not a fantastic shot, but I liked the pose here. Anyway, hope you like it.

Image Data:
1/400s. | f/8 | ISO 200 | Fill Flash EV - 1. 1/3

click image for larger size.

Cormorants flying past Moon

Here is another shot taken at the FW Nature Center on Wednesday. Late in the afternoon hundreds of Double Crested Cormorants leave the nature center and fly South for the night to some other location ( not sure why ). I was looking for a better formation but am pretty happy with this one. Hope you like it as well!

Image Data:
1/500s. | f/8 | ISO 200 | cloned out straggling bird :)
click image for larger size.

Yellow Rumped Warbler

I made it out to the Fort Worth Nature Center yesterday to see if I could get any photos of the Belted Kingfisher that hangs around the bird blind along the river. I did see him but he never came close enough for a good shot, maybe next time! I am hoping to purchase a kayak soon, I just need to decide which one. Cannot wait to paddle around the nature center. After having little luck with the kingfisher I decided to hike along the Riverbottom trail. I didn't see many ducks nor the Grebe that I saw earlier this week. I did see a lot of cormorants, sparrows, chickadees and this Yellow Rumped Warbler ( I think that is what it is ). Not a fantastic image, but I was happy to add this species to my list. Every month the nature center displays photos that photographers have made at the refuge, I will be displaying in December, this months are excellent and I invite you to check out the guy's website here. A lot of his bird images were taken at the refuge and around my area. Enjoy!

Image Data:
1/800s. | f/8 | ISO 200 | Fill Flash

Lesser Scaup

I will lay off of the Goldfinch images for a bit, just so you know that I do shoot other species! This image was taken yesterday at a park next to where I have my guitar lesson. There are an abundance of Lesser Scaup as well as a handful of Northern Shovelers, what I think were Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, Mallards, Canada Goose, Coots and probably some others that I just didn't see. I am going to try and focus on this location whenever I can, I think there will be some great opportunities presented. For now I hope that you like this one. I wish for a lower angle and better light here, but will do better next time!

Image Data: 1/1250th. | f/8 | ISO 250
click image to see larger size.

American Goldfinch - High Key

Sorry for all of the Goldfinch images lately, they are extremely easy to photograph! Here is one from Thursday, I was testing out my new flash and love it so far, but cannot wait to try it out at the Nature Center hopefully on Monday. All of the snow is melting at a good pace, sad to see it go so soon, but that is Texas.
Hope you like this shot.

Image Data:
1/250s. | f/8 | ISO 320 | Fill Flash -3EV

Snowy Woods - Record Day for North Texas

Thursday, February 11, 2010 was a historic day here in North Texas. For 24 hours it snowed non-stop starting early on Thursday morning and as a result we are left with almost 1ft. of snow, more in some places! It probably does not sound like much especially to those in the east, but it is huge here! Never does North Texas see snow twice in less than 2 months and rarely in a year at that. All that to say it was very exciting! We went to the Nature Center hoping to get some landscapes but arrived too late as they closed early. I took this on the side of the road at the Nature Center gate, nothing special but it does give the feel of what we had. Hope you like it.

Image Data:
1/160s. | f/11 | ISO 400
EF-S 17-55mm at 17mm
Click image to view larger size.

American Goldfinch 3

Here is American Goldfinch image number three taken in my backyard on Saturday. This is probably my favorite AG shot taken so far. I hope that you too like it! The weather here has turned rainy again, there might be a break tomorrow, but it will stay cloudy until Friday. I ordered an external flash and Better Beamer today and cannot wait to get them and try them out.

Image Data:
1/640th. | f/8 | ISO 250
Click image to view larger size.

American Goldfinch 2

Here is another bird image taken in my backyard, this one from this morning. This morning has been my most productive morning of trying to get good shots of the American Goldfinches
that visit my yard daily. I got shots of them on two different perches. I hope that I can get some even better ones now that they are cooperating with me! What do you think of this one?

Image Data:
1/500s. | f/8 | ISO 250

Important! Click image for full view, blogger is not showing the whole image for some reason!

Greater Yellowlegs in Habitat

It has been cloudy and wet most of this week, so not a lot of shooting has been done. The sun did come out Tuesday afternoon so I headed over to the reservoir for a couple of hours. I did not see much aside from the usual's, except for this Greater Yellowlegs. I was was waiting for some Savannah sparrow's to come out of some high grass ( they never did ) when I heard the yellowlegs calling overhead. I watched him land about 50-80 yards away from where I was. I started to slowly approach him using the high grasses as cover when I could. I got to within about 20 yards from him and took a few photos, this is one of them. I took a few more steps and that spooked him. Next time, now that I know he is around, I will wait at one of the pools of water or the creek and see if I cannot get a better shot. As disappointed as I was for failing to get a more frame filling image, I still like this image showing the birds surroundings.
Let me know what you think.

Image Data:
1/800s. | f/8 | ISO 400
Click image to see larger size