Posts in Category: OM-1Mkii with ED100-400IS
Maine! Her Majesty flys
Red-tailed Hawk: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — I spent a long time waiting for Her Majesty to leave her perch when I encountered her along one of my favorite birding trails across the marshes. It took her a long time to decide that the hunting might be better from another perch. I had the camera set for flight and I would hold it on her on the perch, waiting, watching the strong off-shore wind buffet her, for as long as I could hold it up…then I would put it down to give my arms a rest…then back up and waiting some more. Finally it happened, and I caught it 🙂 Again, harsher light than I would have preferred, but otherwise a very cooperative bird. OM-System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and Apple Photos.
Maine! Her Majesty
Red-tailed Hawk: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — When I started out on one of my birding trails a Red-tailed Hawk came flying across the marsh right toward me at eye-level and then swooped over and climbed in spirals higher and higher and way inland. All I managed were a few “going way” shots. Ah well. But then, on the way back to car, almost back, I caught sight of big bird shape right over the highway in a tree…sure enough it was the hawk. I watched it hunt from several different perches along the edge of the marsh until it moved on back the way it had originally come from. The light, high noon, was about as harsh and hard as it gets in Southern Maine this time of year…but still, such a majestic bird. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. -0.3 to hold the highlights. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Honey Bee on Dog Tooth Violet
Western Honey Bee on Dog Tooth Violet (Trout Lily, Adder’s Tongue): Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The bees and the hoverflies were very active in the early blooming Trout Lily patches at Emmon’s Preserve the other day, so I turned the dial on my camera to program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications and attempted to catch a few around the flowers. 1/2000th of a second at 15fps and bird subject recognition with eye tracking got me a number of keepers as the Western Honey Bees were busy with the flowers. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent from about 4 feet. Cropped, these are very close to 1:1 image scale. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Vespers
Vesper Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — I am falling way behind in my postings. These were taken a week ago already, but I can’t not post my first Vesper Sparrow sighting of the year in Southern Maine. Vespers are not uncommon in Maine, but I know of only one place where I see them commonly, and sure enough, they are back again this year. It always takes me a moment to get reacquainted with this bird. I spend at least a while trying to make it into some other species before my mind settles on Vesper. They are not flighty…this one was actually working its way closer to me, so I get a chance to study them. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Mourning Cloak Butterfly
Another gift from yesterday’s visit to Emmon’s Preserve (Kennebunkport Land Trust) in search of Trout Lily. Lit in front of me, flew off, and then returned even closer…and then sat with its wings open as long as I stood there. 🙂 Warming up in the thin April sun. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Gift Owl
Barred Owl: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — Sometimes Owls happen. I was down on the ground photographing Trout Lilies in one of my favorite spots for aka Adders Tongue, Yellow Dog Tooth Violet. I had been down there for at least 10 minutes when I decided to stand up and move to another clump. When I stood, a big bird dropped out of the tree right above my head…no more than 10 feet above my head, and swooped away through the still bare trees to land in a big maple 50 yards into the forest. It must have been there when I walked in and I must have been right under it all the time I was photographing the lily. It took me a moment to process the fact that it must be an Owl. I could see it there sitting on a limb with its back to me, way too wide for a hawk, and its flight had been absolutely silent. Owl! I worked my way around, looking for a more or less unobstructed view, trying very hard not to disturb the bird any more than I already had. There was, of course, no ideal line of sight and though it was sitting in full noon sun, its eyes were in deep shadow. Still, a Barred Owl in broad daylight. That does not happen often, or at least not to me. OM Systems OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator. This is an image that required more than normal processing to find the eyes in their shadowed recesses, and to remove foreground obstructions, but, still…my best shot ever of a Barred Owl, and only the third one I have seen in Maine. What a gift!
Maine! Full song!
Brown Thrasher: York County, Maine, USA — It was a treat to find this Brown Thrasher when I was out looking for Trout Lily the other day. It even sat up and sang for me. 🙂 OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Head and shoulders
American Robin: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — If I sit very still in my camp chair, the Robins, most common of yard birds here in Southern Maine, will come right up to me. These two shots are at 1600mm equivalent, using the digital tele-converter in the OM Systems OM-1Mkii with the M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom, so I was not as close as it looks. Still, pretty close for a wild bird. Late afternoon light picks out every feather detail. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Most Purple!
Purple Finch: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — Even though I am skipping over many memorable photos from the extended neighborhood here in Southern Maine from the last few days (and weeks), I feel it is only fair to celebrate the most purple of Purple Finches who came and posed so nicely in the late day, last of the sun, in the backyard, just before supper time. I have been waiting for the male Purples to arrive, and for an opportunity to photograph them away from the feeders. Only fair to share. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 1600mm equivalent (using the 2x digital tele-converter in the camera body). Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and Apple Photos. (And no, this is not an exaggeration. In the soft sun of early evening in the spring, the Purple Finches, or at least this Purple Finch, do (does) look that purple 🙂
Maine! Song Sparrow again
Song Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — Except for the Chipping Sparrow, of which there are thousands in Southern Maine, our most common Sparrow of spring and early summer just might be the Song Sparrow. They are certainly among the most visible, probably because they are so often drawing attention to themselves with their songs. We get them in our yard occasionally, but I know of several pairs on established territories just right in my area, and you are likely to hear and see them most anywhere you go. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.