Posts in Category: close up
Black-throated Geeen Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler. Magee Marsh, Ohio
It was one of those days at Magee Marsh that make believers out of birders, and birders out of casual citizens who just happen by. Lots of warblers, lots of species, and feeding down low where you could see them. This Black-throated Green posed nicely just a few feet away.
Nikon P900 at 1200mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 100 @ f6.3. Processed and cropped slightly for scale in Lightroom.
Scarlet!
Scarlet Tanager. Magee Marsh, Ohio
Not great light but a great bird. This Scarlet Tanager was down low right over the boardwalk at Magee Marsh during the Biggest Week in American Birding. I, and about 20 other photographers who happened to be right there at the right moment, had a chance at some good shots, and an experience we will remember.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 320 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Feed me! Great Egret chicks.
Great Egret chicks in the nest. St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St Augustine FL
The Florida Birding and Photo Fest is a week later this year than last, and you can really see it in the age of the Great Egret nestlings. Last year there were many nests of newly hatched Egrets. This year, some of the nestlings are ready to fledge. This is another of the “laugh-right-out-loud” images that yesterday’s Day Poem was based on. When I first pulled it up for processing, I did indeed laugh out loud. 🙂
Nikon P900 at 1100mm equivalent field of view. 1/800th @ ISO 100 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom.
This is the Day Poem I mentioned.
an image will pop up on my tablet
that makes me laugh out loud.
or a chipmunk looking clownish…
it may be the way the clouds paint
the landscape with shadow, or
an unguarded expression caught
unaware on a familiar face…some
chance juxtaposition of unlikely
elements within the frame…some
fraction of a second frozen and held
up for our attention, our admiration,
our amusement and delight. That
is the real power of photography… to
wake our wonder, our compassion, our
soul, by a gentle tugging on the eye.
what keep me out and about daily
with a camera in my hand.
Gopher Tortoise
Gopher Tortoise, Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, Florida
This is the business end of what I think is a large Gopher Tortoise that was crossing the road on the way into Washington Oaks Gardens State Park in Florida when we visited yesterday. I lead a photo excursion there on Sunday with the Florida Birding and Photo Fest and need to “scout”.
This turtle was fast and fearless. And hungry. It was eating some herb growing in the grass of the median. This shot was taken from inches away.
Sony HX90V at 100mm equivalent field of view. 1/320th @ ISO 80 @ f5. Processed in Lightroom.
Chipper comes close
Chipmunk, Wells National Estuarine Research Center at Laudholm Farms, Wells ME
This bold little Chipmunk at the Wells National Estuarine Research Center at Laudholm Farms in Wells Maine apparently thought he could drive me off if he got close enough. He steadily advanced around the base of a tree. Here he is about 8 feet away, and I had to zoom back to get his full body in the frame. I already had my close focusing P610 out, having just photographed an Spring Azure Butterfly. The light was really lovely.
Nikon P610 at 900mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 160 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Rachel Carson NWR Headquarters trail, Wells ME
We don’t have Red-headed Woodpeckers in Maine (or at least I have never seen one), but every time I see a Red-bellied Woodpecker I have to correct myself, since my first instinct is to call it a Red-headed Woodpecker. It is not that they look alike. I know the difference…but this woodpecker should be called “red-headed”, don’t you think? I have, just recently, actually seen the “red” (more like pink) on the belly in the field, but still! Notice the nice fresh and perfectly round nest hole this Red-bellied Woodpecker is working on. Taken along the headquarters trail at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells, Maine.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 320 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Song Sparrow doing its thing
Song Sparrow, Wells Harbor, Wells Maine
Yes, well, I could not have planned this shot. The Song Sparrow is at Wells Harbor, in the beach rose along the edge of the sandy beach, with the boatyard and a winter shrouded boat in the background…just far enough away to provide a nice even background for the sunlit sparrow. It has the look of a studio shot. Right place, right time, and a cooperative subject. What more can I say?
Of course the right equipment helps. Taken at the full 2000mm equivalent field of view of the Nikon P900. This is my second P900 as the first is in for repair, and I have a whole bunch of workshops scheduled over the next three weeks. Could not go to Florida (FL Birding and Photo Fest) and Ohio (Biggest Week in American Birding, aka Warblestock) without my P900…so, a second camera. 1/640th @ ISO 100 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Cardinal in Song
Northern Cardinal, Kennebunk Bridle Path, Kennebunk ME
The old red bird sings in the bare birch tree. Sounds like the lyrics of a song. Or maybe the beginnings of a poem. 🙂 Northern Cardinal along the Kennebunk Bridle Path near the Mousam River.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 160 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom with NIK filters.
Caught Looking: Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch, Kennebunk Bridle Path, Kennebunk ME
This is another shot from my encounter with the nesting White Breasted Nuthatches. This is the female trying to keep track of the male as he foraged around her.
Nikon P900 at 4000mm equivalent field of view (2000mm optical plus 2x Perfect Image zoom). 1/500th @ ISO 125 @ f6.5. It does not seem possible that you can handhold 4000mm equivalent magnification…but, obviously, you can 🙂
Turtles on a log!
Painted Turtles, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, W. Kennebunk ME
It has been in the 50s the past few days, and sunny, which has brought the Painted Turtles at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area out in force. I saw a dozen or more, of all sizes, sunning themselves on the half-submerged White Birch trunks along the edge of the pond, and I am sure I did not see them all. They seemed to like to pile up on each other. I am not sure why. Maybe that gave the smaller turtles a better view.
Nikon P900 at 1400mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 140 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom.