Posts in Category: flight
Maine! great white wings
Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, July 2024 — I was photographing Least Terns and Plovers when this Great Egret flew toward me and then over and out toward the mouth of the river. Close over. I had just increased my minimum shutter speed to 1/4000th of a second to see if would work better for the terns in flight so this is pretty sharp 🙂 OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko ED 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Drawing a bead
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — This Tern has me in its sights for sure! I was standing on its section of beach…though well outside the protected area and no where near its nest. Terns seem to have a compulsion to protect their territory and they lay claim to pretty much everything between their nest at the far edge of sand up against the dune, to the surf line no matter how far away that is. That is okay by me. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko ED 100-400IS zoom at 614mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! winging it
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — I am still learning to photograph Terns in flight…I have a feeling that no matter how many I photograph I will always still be learning. 🙂 There are always tourists on the beach and there are always Terns in the air. I find that 600mm equivalent is the maximum I can currently handle and still occasionally get the bird in the frame. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko ED 100-400IS zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine: Bringing it
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — As I mentioned, there was lots of courting action on the beach the last time I visited. It was getting on for high tide and the terns were down along the surf line, catching and offering Rock Gunnel. Note the band on the leg of the bird in flight. The Least Terns in Maine are carefully monitored. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko ED 100-400IS zoom at 684mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Angel unaware
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — I have the new M.Zuiko ED 150-600IS zoom for testing, so of course I had to go down to the beach and try it on Least Terns in flight. It is a big lens compared to my 100-400IS and much heavier, but it handles well. The Terns were doing their usual thing and I caught this one near the end of my visit…doing an excellent impression against a great backdrop of distant clouds of an angel. Of course this may have been the same tern (likely was if memory serves) who scored a direct guano hit on what would have been my forehead if I had not been wearing a hat…so not so angel like at that. Just doing what Terns do. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko ED 150-600IS zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Flying fish
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — It is the abundant supply of Sand Eels at the mouth of our tidal rivers that attract the breeding colonies of Least Terns, and, in my experience, about 1 in 10 close ups of a Tern in flight right now will show it carrying a Sand Eel. Sand Eels are part of the courtship ritual of Least Terns in Maine and the mate still brings eels to the sitting bird on the nest. When the eggs hatch both birds will bring eels to the young. So it is, literally, flying fish that keep the Least Terns on our beaches. And yes, the Sand Eel or sandeel is actually a fish, not an eel. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 454mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Downy away
Downy Woodpecker: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — Another shot from the “waiting for the hummer’s” series. Sitting on my back deck this Downy Woodpecker, one of the most frequent birds at our feeders year round, settled in the big maple above me, so I grabbed a few shots and was still on the bird when it decided to move on. So, not quite an accidental photo, but close to it. 🙂 Low light on a cloudy afternoon. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Least of terns
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — Nothing like a close encounter with a Tern in flight 🙂 This one was hovering momentarily as it decided whether to come down to the beach. This is a crop of about a quarter of the frame at 800mm equivalent (which would make it like the view through a 3200mm lens), but even-so it is about as close as you can get to a tern in flight. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Tern chase
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — another version of the chasing Terns…this time lower against the beach grass and sea peas. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 538mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Tern art
Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, June 2024 — Sometimes it is not so much about the birds as it is about the light, the form, the composition. Art. 🙂 These two Least Terns were chasing each other down the beach in close formation. I don’t know why. They just were. I have several shots of them framed against the green backdrop of distant trees and the closer backdrop of the beach grass and sea peas. This is not a tern portrait, and it is not an id photo. It does not have that kind of detail. It is something else, but I can’t help but like it. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 538mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.