Dust bathing Vesper Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow: Kennebunk Plains, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — This bird was a ways away…captured at 1440mm equivalent with the Nikon B700. It was also very busy, taking a dust bath in the middle of the foot trail out along the woods beyond Day Brook Pond. I would have had trouble identifying it if 1) Vesper Sparrows were not among the most common sparrows on the Plains, and 2) if that distinctive little patch of chestnut feathers on the shoulder was not showing so nicely. Even Google Lens was able to id the bird…if I needed any confirmation. Again, Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode. ISO 100 @ f6.5 @ 1/640th. -.3 EV Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Lincoln Sparrow v.2021
Lincoln’s Sparrow: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — you have to be alert or lucky…or even better, alert AND lucky…to catch a Lincoln’s Sparrow passing through Kennebunk on its way north. The past two springs we have had a few (only one this year) for a few days. And, of course, they are not easy to photograph as they are “skulkers”…always low in the brush and half buried in leaves. Still, it is fun to try! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent from my backyard photo blind. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 800, 250, 250, 640, and 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Before it fades too far into memory, I want to post this shot of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak what spent a day with us last week before heading off north to better breeding grounds. This is the best shot I was able to get away from the feeders and other man made objects. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm. Cropped to about 1100mm equivalent. Processed in Pixelmator Photo’s Machine Learning Super-Resolution (and for shadows, highlights, and sharpness). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Ninja Chipmunk
Eastern Chipmunk: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — We have, of course, lots of chipmunks in our yard, but it is always fun to see them “in the wild”…out in the deeper forest. This is one of two who were playing tree tag in Rachel Carson forest as I was walking the other day. One of the fun things about carrying the Nikon B700 is the 1440mm reach that allows for shots like this from a fair distance. B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode for ISO 1000 @ f6.5 @ 1/125. -.3EV Vivid Picture Control. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. I think this is a satisfying shot for high ISO with the small sensor on the Nikon.
Fringed Polygala and Trailing Pine
Fringed Polygala and Trailing Pine, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Kennebunk, Maine. — Sometimes nature arranges the most wonderful still-lives. This juxtaposition of color and texture certainly looks intentional…artistic in every sense. Nikon B700 (which I bought as a backup camera for trips and for a knock-about camera on my trike adventures, and with which I am having a lot of fun) at about 500mm equivalent. Program mode. Still experimenting with Picture Control modes for the best results with this camera. This was shot in Vivid, with Active-D lighting set to low, and -.3 EV exposure compensations. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Painted Trillium
Painted Trillium: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, Maine, USA — It used to be, not so many years ago, that the Trilliums were bloomed and gone before the first Lady Slipper Orchid was in full bloom…but these past few years they have bloomed together…and both seem to be blooming later. Maybe I am misremembering, and certainly my sample is too small to draw any conclusions. All I know is that after several trips to find them at Rachel Carson, I was happy to see them blooming near the Lady Slippers. Painted is the only Trillium we have here in Southern Maine, or at least the only one I have found. Nikon B700, the first two macro at 107mm equivalent and the third at 1440 equivalent from about 15 feet. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Lady Slipper Orchid season
It is, at long last, Lady Slipper Orchid season here in southern Maine. I have been watching my spots for two weeks waiting for the bloom. Last year a gentleman I met walking pointed me to the most amazing spread of Orchids that I have ever seen…several hundred plants, at the very least, spread along a hillside in the woods above a stream. The exact location will remain undisclosed as some Lady Slippers were dug up nearby last year. Lady Slippers are almost impossible to transplant, as they rely on a symbiotic fungus in the soil, but it does not stop people from trying. So, despite my broken wrist and various deep bruises and a well tweaked back from my walking encounter with a truck on Saturday, I went out with three cameras to see how they were doing this year. I was not disappointed. The shot above is with my go-to Sony Rx10iv at 31mm equivalent. (Program mode for ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/250th). The following shot is with my new Nikon B700, which I bought as a back-up camera to carry on trip (and which might become my preferred dragonfly camera). I am reacquainting myself with the Nikon way of doing things. It was also taken in Program at 68mm equivalent with macro engaged, ISO 100 @ f4.1 @ 1/1000th, -1 EV.
And finally here is a shot with my iPhone SE2020, the Moment thin case, and the Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Standard Camera app on Auto. I really like the “in context” effect of the ultra-wide perspective.
Ovenbird
Ovenbird: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, Maine, USA — I was almost back to the car when this tiny bird hopped across the path and then proceeded to walk up and down a long dead tree trunk among the leaves and dense brush. I did a lot of very quiet scurrying myself, trying to find a clear view of the moving bird, and managed this one shot. I have seen them closer and more in the open at Magee Marsh in Ohio, but this is the best sighting I have had in Maine. 🙂 It really takes a camera as agile as the Sony Rx10iv to capture a bird in this kind of situation. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Purple Finch. Superzoom.
Purple Finch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Nikon B700. I bought a back-up camera last week…and a camera smaller and lighter for taking on my trike when I don’t want to pack my Sony Rx10iv. I found that, while it is very hard to find from US dealers, there seems to a flow of “used, like new” Nikon Coolpix B700s coming out of Japan via Ebay. The B700 was the last upgrade Nikon made to their 60x zoom bridge camera. Basically a P610 with the sensor upgraded to 20mp, and 4K video added. I owned the P610, but gave it away when I got my Sonys. I kept the P900, but that is too big for a back-up camera. I don’t know what I was thinking 🙂 Anyway, I am putting the B700 through its paces, exploring its strengths and limitations. The image quality will never match the Rx10iv, but the longer zoom is nice to have (1400mm equivalent vs 600mm on the Sony). This is a full frame shot in not great light from yesterday afternoon. I really enjoy Purple Finches. 🙂 Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter mode at 1/500th. Auto everything else. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. One thing I miss from the Sony already is the ability to pre-set a higher minimum shutter speed in Program without resorting to a fixed shutter speed in Shutter 🙁 But then all cameras have their limits.
fledgling Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird fledgling: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — It is hard to believe that it is that time of year, but I saw our pair of Eastern Bluebirds feeding fledglings on our deck and at the feeding station out by my photo blind yesterday already. Bluebirds do at least two broods a year, so this is their first nest…they fledged two. The fledglings will often “park” themselves near our feeders while the adults go out to forage, and the adults do take mealworms from the feeders when they return, even if they have other food for the young. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.