My camera still travels with me.

Pretty much everywhere I go.

My postings are getting a little scattered for a couple of reasons;

1. I am getting lazy.  My job is taking a lot of my energy so by the end of the day I find myself watching an episode of Burn Notice, Body of Proof, Castle, Bones, or The Closer.  Yes a couch potato.

2. Late fall and early winter are not the best times to get out for only and hour or so and get some wildlife near home.  A little lame.  But again a little burned out and the end of each day.

On a recent trip from Scottsbluff, Nebraska driving back to Denver we stopped in a little town.  I was told by an associate to stop and see a collection of  old dispensers.  He was pretty excited to help in my quest for fun photography locations.  I love old stuff to photograph.  It holds real still and has tons of character.  We soon found the lot and I was out clicking away.

Old dispensers of many brands.   This Gilbarco is a dinosaur.  So am I but I have never seen one quite like this one.  It was very cold out that day.  In the teens.  For most people unbearable.  For me….just need a tissue to keep wiping my nose.  A lot to take in here.  A little tough to shoot.  Harsh mid day sun. But more problematic was the close proximity of all the dispensers.   If you critic my photos you know I hate clutter in a photograph.  Partially because I need more skills to make clutter look organized or at least acceptable in a photograph.

I did not want to disappoint my associate.  He expects good things from my photography.  He is a high achiever himself.  Expects a lot from those around him.  He is an “old” man. (insert smiley face here )  Has years under his belt. And knows what he wants.

I almost paid the price here.  While squeezing around all this antique stuff I turned a corner and was face to face with the county Sheriff.  I guess I looked like an antique thief at this point.  He mentioned that he had several calls from passer-by that saw me rummaging through the stuff.  I held up my camera and suggested that I was only taking pictures not stealing stuff.  Quickly my questions turned on him about the city.  Crime stats.  And thanking him for his service.  He wasn’t buying the nice guy stuff and asked that I leave.  Always say yes to that comment when coming from a gun toting public servant in a strange town.

Ended with a couple of fun shots and another story to tell.

Mr. K.I. this ones for you buddy.

This year I am focusing more on the Biology of the birds and wildlife I photograph.

For a decade or so my winter is a little more exciting when it comes to bird photography.  It easier to locate and shoot the hawks and Kestrels.  My fancy is photographing all wildlife.  Due to weather, travel and my close proximity to world class bird habitat, winter is prime birding time.  So off I go and chase the little (and) big critters that fly.

The American Kestral.  Always at the refuge.  Always hunting.  Can’t miss their tail feathers flapping up and down just after landing on a branch or power line.  They eat insects, small mammals, birds and reptiles.  Not really a migrator here in Utah I see them year round.  Just love the winter shots.  The snow usually highlights their bellies.  They can be more readily seen with no foliage in the trees.  The photograph below is a male.  The male has a much more distinctive coloring.  Especially down his back.  The spots are much more prevalent on the male.  They nest in cavities.  At the refuge there are a couple of man-made nests that have been used by the Kestrels.  They only have about a two foot wing span.  Man! they can fly.  Seen often hovering over prey along roadways.  They are naturally shy.  A very long lens is the best bet to get good photographs of the Kestrels.  The phot0 below is shot with a 600mm lens with a 2x converter producing a 1200mm image.  They are so quick and make such sudden changes that I am usually shoot at least 800 ISO.  I have found myself up in the 3200 ISO range (thank you Nikon and the D3s).  I almost always shoot wide open to get the highest shutter speed possible.  In auto focus mostly.  Shoot in aperture priority.  I love this bird,  He is beautiful.

Look close at the bug wing just below the claws of the Kestrel on the branch….

Time on the Oregon Coast will eventually take you into a wooded area.  And possibly enjoying the manmade walkways.  They are wonderful.  They fit well into the environment.  When raining and overcast they really standout…..

The best of the best photographers have all agreed that rainy days can provide for the best photographs!

On the edge of my whits in Oregon.  Trying to get a permit at the very last minute.  Literally.  The store in Baker City was stocked.  Everything ready to start operations.  Including waiting customers.  I sat in a DEQ office in Bend Oregon.  Literally begging the permits manager there to not bend the rules.  Instead just process the permit in a couple fho ours and not the usual 30-60 days.  It was a very long shot.  I anticipated the call to Maverik’s executive team…” sorry guys we have to delay the opening between 30 and 60 days”.  YIKES!  I was begging. Believe me!  I felt like Jack Bower at an interrogation at gun point.   Didn’t sleep the hole night before.  It was on my shoulders.

I don’t remember walking out of the building in pouring rain calling the area supervisor to tell him “go ahead and open.  I got it”  Felt like the one time mom forgave me for stealing the candy bar from Grand Central and not telling my Dad.  Or the first time I kissed my sweetheart.  Elated would be a slight understatement.

Three days before my plane took me home.  What to do?  As a habit I carried well over 75 lbs. in photographic gear.   Bend is 3 hours from some of the most beautiful coast in the Americas.  Fifty-five miles an hour was just not fast enough.  Until I got to the first mountain range.   Beautiful fall colors.  In the rain the autumn hues were emphasized.  The tree bark contrast was incredible. A photographers dream.  I passed a small sign that pointed down a small to that said “falls”.  Hey I have all day.  Turned around and went back.  Did not regret it.  It was pouring as I hiked to the falls.  The camera gear had all its rain protect in place. I did not.  It was very cold as I turned the corner and gasped.  A small burst of sun shone on the falls. Even where I shot from it was like a morning shower.  I was drenched.  Had about three to five minutes to get exposure, the correct shooting position and break out the gear.  Forgot the tripod!!!!!!!  DUMBY!  I had to hand hold a 1/8 second exposure.  My hope was to get a 9 exposure HDR image.  In the end I think the single exposure worked to my favor.  The contrast of the sun really popped without the HDR coverage.   I love the shot…….

Lighthouses

Easy to get a a decent click out of.  Pretty much they all look the same.  Clouds, weather and light play a factor…but best of all!

When you are raised in the center of the U.S. going to the ocean is a spectacular experience.

Last few miles before the the ocean appears through the windshield is intense.  The anticipation building up.  Then finally it’s there.  Goes on forever.  Loud and rhythmic.    But difficult in many ways to capture in 2 dimension.  Great contrast.  High dynamic range.  For most part I am not thrilled with most of my shots of the ocean every time I go.  Still not thrilled……..

Ok so its been a while!

Life has been crazy.

This last week my camera and I spent a few days on the Oregon Coast.  Tough shooting scenics on the coast.  Especially when raining the whole time.  So I looked for critters.  The ones with wings first.

The background of the Great Blue Heron is the ocean breaking against the coastal cliffs. Kinda cool.

Never got shots of Pelicans on cliffs before.

I picture it before I take it.

When shooting the Terns I had a specific shot in mind.  The Terns circle above the water about 25′ in the air.  When they see their catch they turn and dive straight down.  Almost 100% of the time they completely submerge.  I envisioned the Tern coming up out the water with wings stretched to the sky.  And water thrown upward from the wings and the ability of this bird to quickly get airborne again.  Fish (dinner) in mouth!    About 5400 shots later……

Yes he is dead center.  And the background is quit busy.  But it is exactly what i was trying to get!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO GET FULL SIZE PREVIEW

These crazy Terns.

Man they are so difficult to trap in the point of focus.  Most of the time I have spent with the Terns has been looking through 600mm glass.  A very narrow field of view.  And I have had a 1.7 teleconverter.  Following them in focus is borderline impossible.  They are swift flyers and turn 90 degrees instantaneously.  The best method I found was to flow the Terns watching just over the top of the lens.  When the made the inevitable pause to dive I dropped my eye dropped with them to the water.   The exposure is critical here.  The Terns are white with small patches of black.  Yet the background is mostly darker shades.  To not over expose the Tern I dropped the exposure compensation by -.7.   Most all shot had no highlight “blinkies”.  I shoot wide open.  Adds to the difficulty of getting a sharp/in focus Tern.  The 600mm lens and teleconverter makes the minimum aperture f/6.7.    The time of day I am shooting the light is dropping quickly.  I start at an ISO of 800 and usually end up at ISO 3200.   I always try and keep the shutter speed above 1/2500 in aperture priority.   Each night I shoot between 600 and a thousand frames.  Of those 60% were out of focus.  The rest ….boring!

Once in a while you get ……..

Or this shot from a slightly different angle…..

I often embarrass myself. I am fortunate to receive compliments on my photography.  A gentleman would respond Thank You when receiving compliments like this.    In my case, I explain that photography is nothing more than an odds game.   To a great extent this is true.  If you shoot enough pictures of a subject eventually you will get an acceptable photograph.  Here is an example.  I have been going after work for the last week or so to get pic’s of Terns fishing.  Terns are incredibly fast flyers than can turn on a dime.  Very difficult to shoot.  Thousands of shots gave me a few keepers like…..

Mush easier to shoot is the slower flying seagull family of birds.

This guy was leery about landing right on the fish and then taking off.   So he did a fly-by-catch.  Almost a silhouette.

The shot of the tern was taken from across the water with my 600mm lens.  The seagull shot was with my 70-200.  Why the different lenses and nearly same results.  More to come……