Posts in Category: flight
Maine! Canada Geese
Canada Geese: York County, Maine, USA, January 2024 — Down at the beach after the storms looking to see what birds might have come in. There is a small flock of Canada Geese perhaps wintering in the marsh around the mouth of our river. We will see how long they stay. I caught these on the move from one feeding area to another. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! White-necked Jacobin
White-necked Jacobin: Dave and Dave’s Costa Rican Nature Park, La Vergin, Costa Rica, December 2023 — This shot of the White-necked Jacobin with the tail flared against the sun is one you can hope for at Dave and Dave’s on any visit. Patience and anticipation are all that are required. A camera that is up to the job helps. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Flying Eagle again
Bald Eagle: York County, Maine, USA, January 2024 — Another from the flight sequence of one of the two Eagles who often sit in the tall trees on the far side one of our local rivers. Right place at the right time as the bird launched out and came right by me. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro.
Maine! Flying Eagle
Bald Eagle: York County, Maine, USA, January 2024 — We will pause our coverage of my December trip to Costa Rice for this local update. I went out yesterday, after finishing up clearing the drive, and resting for while, to photograph the fresh fallen snow, and check a few spots for birds. You never know if a Snowy Owl might have blown in on the storm. No owls, but our resident Eagle flew into one of its favored perches above the river while I parked the car, and sat for a few portrait shots before showing obvious signs of flight. I could not get my finger off the shutter release long enough to switch to my birds-in-flight mode…in hindsight I should have taken the half second it takes to do that when I first began to think the eagle was about to fly…but I didn’t. Next time. Still I got a few shots as the eagle passed in front of me fairly close. It is amazing how much bigger the bird looks in flight than it does sitting on a branch. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -0.7 EV. Processed in Pixomator Pro.
Costa Rica! Not your normal Quetzal shot
Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — I am still trying for my “best” Resplendent Quetzal photo. The light is never good, just after dawn in the shadows of the steep mountain valley on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica, and the distances are just over what we might like…and with the streamer feathers the bird is hard to fit effectively in a frame at any focal length that will capture the feather detail…but still you have to try every time this magnificent bird gives you the chance. And Quetzals in flight? Even harder 🙂 So I am happy with this photo. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 552mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and Photo Quality (photo enhance and photo unblur). Another shot at ISO 25600.
Costa Rica! In one end and out the other
Lesser Violet-ear Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Just for a smile. Stuff happens. This Lesser Violet-ear was sipping from a suspended flower and reached the saturation point. This is more common than you might think when hummingbirds drink sugar water. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 570mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight modifications. Processed in Photomator and “photo enhancer and unblur” (great app, terrible title).
Costa Rica! Bird of the day
Lesser Violet-ear Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica — It was raining off and on and quite dark when we got to Batsu Gardens high above the Savegre River, but the hummingbirds came to flowers placed for them and doused with sugar water. This is a Lesser Violet-ear (and no, there is no greater violet-ear)…one of the common hummingbirds of the foothills and cloud forest of Central America. This is a natural light shot…not a multi-flash setup. I was very pleased with the results from the OM-1 in the low light we had to work with. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 570mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Bird of the day…
Great Green Macaw: We went to a local ranch here in the Sarapiqui Valley where the family has been protecting Macaws for going on two generations. Not, in the beginning, for any other reason than they liked Macaws. They now have a flock of maybe 2-300, mostly Scarlet and hybrid Scarlet and Great Green…with a few pure breed Great Greens. They have feeding platforms where you can watch, and attempt to photograph the Macaws as they fly by at eye-level…and a garden where you can get close enough for portraits…of both the Macaws, and, on the day we visited, a visiting troop of fairly tame White-faced Capuchin monkeys. It is maybe not the same as seeing the macaws at the salt-licks in the Amazon, but it is a pretty amazing experience. And it certainly put my birds-in-flight Program modifications to the test. I was pleased with results and with how easy it was. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 200mm equivalent. (This bird was literally right in my face!) Processed in Photomatic.
Maine! Splish splash
Canada Geese: I was photographing a small flock of Canada Geese who had spent the night at the high tide mark in one of our tidal rivers when they decided it was time to get up. Nothing has a messier take off than a flock of geese. Splish splash! And the noise! OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Gullish airshow
Ring-billed Gull: York County, Maine, USA, November 2023 — Difficult lighting, but a show for sure. A small flock of Ring-billed Gulls soaring at eye-level…playing in the strong wind off the point of beach where a tidal river meets the sea. These are 2 selected by my long lens. Precision formation flying at its best. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.