Thursday, May 19, 2011

Painted Bunting


One of my main goals this summer is to get some good images of painted and indigo buntings at the nature refuge about 15 minutes from where I live and so far it looks like it will be a promising endeavor. In just over two weeks I have come across some very cooperative individuals of the painted bunting on multiple visits to the refuge and have encountered quite a few indigos as well. I have gotten some decent shots of the painted so far, like the ones above, but still have not gotten the shot that I have in mind. But seeing as it is only May, I think I will have many more chances in the coming 4 months or so to get the images I want. One of these was taken on a cloudy day last week and the other this past Wednesday afternoon under some difficult late afternoon light and it did not help matters that I did not have the flash settings right...

Image Data:
1st
1/160 | f/8 | ISO 200 | Fill Flash
2nd
| 1/160 | f/8 | ISO 400 | Fill Flash
click images to view larger size.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Prothonotary Warbler II

Here is another image of the prothonotary warbler taken on the same day as my last post. This is a better looking perch than the one in the last image, but this is probably the best pose I got. I was out again this afternoon trying for some more images of this guy, the light was much better but the bird never gave me any good opportunities. I will for sure keep trying though. This was my last time out for about 10 days as I will be leaving for Connecticut on Saturday morning for a 5 day trip to visit family, I might post again before I leave though. For now I hope you enjoy this image.

Image Data:
1/160 | f/8 | ISO 500 | Fill Flash
click image to view larger size.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Prothonotary Warbler



My plan to visit the Fort Worth Nature Center on Wednesday was washed out thanks to some thunderstorms. So I changed plans and went on Thursday which was overcast and a little cooler. I had great success with the prothonotary warbler that can be found singing in the marsh along the boardwalk of the refuge every year. I love this little warbler and was happy to finally get some good images of it. There was also a indigo bunting along the marsh that was coming pretty close, but I had to leave and was not able to get any images of it. I will for sure be going back on Monday if the weather is good.

Image Data:
1/200 | F/8 | ISO 500
click image to view larger size.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Painted Bunting

Here is a shot of a painted bunting taken at the nature center on the same day as my last post of the indigo. Again using the iBird app on my moms iPhone, we were able to call this guy over to us for me to get some images. I wanted him to choose a lower perch, but he did not oblige. I was still happy to get this one though. I think I might have over sharpened it a bit for the web and will have to go and tweak it later. I am hoping to go back out tomorrow to see if I can get some better images of both buntings on cleaner perches and surroundings, wish me luck!

Image Data:
1/200s. | f/8 | ISO 320 | Fill Flash
click image to view larger size.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Indigo Bunting

Yesterday afternoon my mom and I went over to the Fort Worth Nature Center to see if we could locate the painted and indigo buntings that have just recently arrived for their summer stay. Last year we were able to get close looks of the painted but never got very near an indigo. So we were extremely excited when we found not only a few painted but also several indigos singing in the large prairie that borders a woodland. Using the iBird app on my moms iPhone, we were able to call a few individuals down from the trees and within photographing range for me to get some decent images. The lighting was not ideal and the birds were choosing bad perches, but I was just happy to get my first image of a indigo! I plan on going back soon when there is some better light to work with.

Image Data:
1/250 | f/8 | ISO 320 | Fill Flash
Click image to view larger size.