Posts in Category: Texas
12/3/2009
Green Kingfisher
The Green Kingfisher is, most days, my most favorite bird. It is so improbable. Not much bigger than a sparrow, with that massive beak, and that intense green. The rust breast on the male just adds to the beauty of the bird.
It has not been an easy bird for me to photograph. They only live right down along the Mexican border, and I only get down that way once, or twice at most, a year. They are common there, meaning that they occur at least in small numbers where there is appropriate habitat, and are regularly seen…but seeing one and getting close enough for a good shot are two different things.
This is a small bird. Worse, the feature structure, typical of a diving bird, is very fine (waterproof tight) so that getting real detail means you have to be very, very close and have very, very good light.
All of which is to say that this is one of my best shots of a male Green Kingfisher to date. I like the greens. I like the pose. I would have liked, even using what amounts to a 1600mm lens, to have been closer.
Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL at 40x (as above, about equivalent in field of view to a 1600mm lens on a full frame DSLR). 1/80th sec. @ ISO 100. Metered at about f5.6.
In Lightroom, I moved the Blackpoint considerably right, added Clarity and Vibrance (a little), and used the Sharpen Landscapes preset.
From Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL.
11/18/2009
Anhinga 1
Anhinga 2
Anhinga 3
The Anhinga always looks to me like a bird assembled by a committee. Especially the females, with their long necks dressed in what appears to be brown fur. Check out the feet. This lady is preening and primping for all she is worth, an very aware of herself.
The light is from the back here, and a bit of a challenge, and not close…across the full width of a Alligator Lake at Estero Llano Grande State Park (about 60 feet at this point), but the bird is irresistible…if you are into birds.
Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL at 40x (about 1600mm equivalent field of view). 1/35 and 1/40th sec. @ ISO 100. Metered at about f5.0.
Basic increased Clarity and Sharpen Landscape preset in Lightroom. Blackpoint to the right slightly. A touch of Recovery for the highlights.
From Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL.
11/17/2009
Just about to burn...Young Male Vermilion Flycatcher
There were more Vermilion Flycatchers at Estero Llano Grande State Park than I have ever seen in one place before. The full adult males are one of hardest birds to capture on digital medium since the red/orange almost always saturates the sensor to the point where all detail is lost. Very tricky. This young male, however, is well within range, especially as posed here on a branch tip under the partial shade of a tree. The gray tones of the tree and the out of focus greens just add to the overall composition.
Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL at about 40x (1600mm equivalent field of view). 1/500th at ISO 100. Metered at about f5.0.
Very little processing in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Sharpen Landscapes preset.
From Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL.
5/6/2009
The Other Prickly Pear
Prickly Pear comes in at least 2 colors in Texas, yesterday’s yellow and today’s red. The exposure problem is the same: keeping the predominant color from burning out. Same solution. -1.3 EV exposure compensation, and restore exposure in Lightroom to desired effect.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide and macro. F4.5 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto with -1.3 EV.
Cropped from the right. Added Clarity and Vibrance in Lightroom. Landscape sharpen preset.
From Corpus Christi ABA.
5/5/2009
Prickly Pear
Prickly Pear cactus in bloom, near Kingsville TX. The challenge with PPC is always keeping the yellow from over saturating the sensor and clipping, so that you lose all detail in the highlights. For this quick shot while birding, I used -1.3 EV exposure compensation and then pulled exposure back up in Lr to get the effect I wanted, and maintain the full rich detail in the flower petals.
Also in Lr I cropped in from the left to improve comp0sition.
Sony DSC H50 full wide and macro. F5.6 @ 1/1000 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto with -1.3 EV compensation.
Added Exposure in Lightroom, Vibrance and Clarity. Landscape sharpen preset.
From Corpus Christi ABA.
5/4/2009
Night Carnaval Corpus Christi
They put me on the 17th floor of the Omni Hotel on the waterfront in Corpus Christi for the ABA Convention. This is the view from the balcony. This is apparently a permanent carnival.
Image Stabilization and ISO 400. I used negative exposure compensation to save the bright lights. Cropped and pumped up the Saturation and Vibrance in Lr.
Sony DSC H50 at about 120mm equivalent. F3.5 @ 1/30th @ ISO 400. Programed Auto. -1.3 EV exposure compensation.
From Corpus Christi ABA.
4/7/2009
PB...
Just a bit of architectural detail from the industrial district on Galveston Island. I love Peanut Butter. The image is cropped at bottom and top for composition. It is all about shape and texture and the way the light plays with both.
Sony DSC H50 at about 375mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/640th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom, just the most basic Presence and Sharpen.
From Galveston 2009.
4/6/2009
Primrose in the Morning
This shot will benefit from being viewed at a larger size. Click on it and choose your size from the settings across the top of the viewing page on SmugMug.
This is one of those shots where I wish I could say I took it because its best feature…but honestly I did not even see the dew drops on the petals until I was processing the image in Lightroom. I was out birding for a very few moments before work, hurrying around my first visit to a new location in a Galveston (I am in Galveston only once a year for a few days) and I was almost back to the car. I had taken several flower shots along the way, since the birds were pretty thin, and I saw the primrose by the path, flipped the LCD out, bent over, took three shots, and was back in the car in less than a minute. Hours later, when I downloaded the photos and loaded them into Lightroom, I picked the best of the three by the thumbnail and opened it in the Develop mode. Then I saw the dew drops. Surprise!
I know from my own experience that I am often surprised by what I see in my own best images…after I have taken them (sometimes weeks or years after).
Sony DSC H50 at full wide in macro mode (about 1/2 inch from the flower). F5.0 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom, I applied just a touch of Recovery to make the water drops pop out a bit more, some Clarity and Vibrance, and the Sharpen portrait preset.
From Galveston 2009.
4/5/2009
Brown Pelican in Galveston Harbor
Just down the dock from the tall ship of yesterday there were a group of Pelicans sunning and feeding. Pelicans are, of course, almost too easy. The 465mm equivalent of the Sony H50 is more than long enough for satisfying pelican shots. This handsome fellow was actively feeding along the length of a long dock.
Sony DSC H50 at full tel. F5.6 @ 1/640th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom, I pulled the highlights back with a bit of Recovery, shifted the black point slightly to the right to intensify the colors, added Clarity and Vibrance and used the Portrait sharpen preset.
From Galveston 2009.
And just for fun.