Posts in Category: San Diego
3/20/2012: That’s Mister Herring Gull to you! San Diego CA
Herring Gulls are, of course, easy. They stand on the shore of almost any larger body of water in the United States (and well beyond)…under picnic tables and grills, along tide lines, in parking lots…and they are fearless. All gulls are bullies, but the Herring Gull is the bully of the bunch, so secure in its dominance that it is relatively easy to approach. Indeed, if you stand still and look like you might harbor french fries it is quite likely to approach you.
This classic portrait was taken on in one of the park areas of Mission Bay Park in San Diego, just north of the Dana Hotel and Marina. I like the eye, and the bokeh.
Canon SX40HS at 1240mm equivalent field of view (840 optical plus 1.5x digital tel-extender function). f5.8 @ 1/640th @ ISO 100. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
And a second shot, with 2x DTE for 1680mm equivalent.
And finally the 3/4 shot.
3/25/2011: Black-chinned Hummer with attitude
Feathers on Friday! While digiscoping shore birds at Famosa Slough in San Diego a few weeks ago, there were several Black-chinned Hummingbirds patrolling the margins. That is, in my very limited experience, somewhat odd, in that, until then, every hummingbird I have ever seen in San Diego has been an Anna’s.
This is likely a separate individual, since he was well around the corner and down the long narrow south arm of the Slough, but I can not be sure. Black-chinned Hummers are aggressive and protective. One could have decided he wanted the whole Slough to himself. Certainly both these birds show the same attitude…or if it is a single bird, he certainly has enough attitude for two!
Canon SD4000IS behind the new 15-56x Vario Eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for 1) 1700mm equivalent field of view, 1/500th @ ISO 125, f4.5 effective, and 2) 3000mm equivalent field of view, 1/320th @ ISO 125, f8 effective.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity and sharpness.
3/17/2011: Little Blue/Liquid Light
Little Blue Herons are great birds…with the range of blues and purples in the plumage, but this image is as much about the reflections that frame, and set-off, the bird as it is the bird itself. If you could pull back you would see that the reflected colors come from the urban surroundings of this pocket refuge at Famosa Slough in San Diego, in the residential area at the head of Point Lomos. Still.
Canon SD4000IS behind the 15-56x Vario Eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL Spotting Scope for the equivalent field of view of something like a 2500mm lens. 1/320th second @ ISO 125, f7 effective.
Processed for clarity and sharpness in Lightroom.
3/16/2011: Cooper’s Hawk, Wings on Wednesday
The San Diego Birding Festival has turned up some nice local birds over the years, around Mission Bay, in the marina or in the San Diego River channel just beyond. This year a pair of Cooper’s Hawks were building a nest in a tree right in the parking lot of the Marina Village Conference Center where the Festival is headquartered. As you might guess, this is a very photographed bird 🙂
The male was about 10 feet over and up in this same tree, busy breaking off branches and flying them back to the nest. I am not sure any of us were fast enough to catch him in the act, but it was interesting behavior. He would snap the branch off with his beak, drop it, and catch it on the wing to take it back. Very impressive! Momma had apparently come over to the harvest tree to supervise his choices, as she was not active in gathering (and therefore provided the easier target for digiscoping). Decent light, somewhat offset by an active bird and good stiff breeze moving the branches. And the bird was further away than it looked. In the top of one of those very tall Eucalyptus and several rows of cars over, so I was working at maximum zoom on the camera. The second shot is near maximum zoom on the scope as well. All in all I am happy with the results. Both images took some extra sharpening on the birds head.
Canon SD4000IS behind the 15-56x Vario Eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL spotting scope. 1) about 3000mm equivalent field of view, 1/250 @ ISO 160, f8.5 effective. 2) about 4500mm equivalent field of view, 1/200 @ ISO 200, f13 effective. Programmed auto.
Processed in Lightroom for clarity and sharpness.
In both shots, the bokeh of the moving leaves behind the bird, the pattern on the branches, the light itself, add interest and impact to the shots.
3/15/2011: San Diego Bay
This shot will benefit from viewing at a larger size (click the image and it should resize to as wide as your monitor will take). San Diego Bay and Harbor from Point Loma’s Cabrillo National Monument. Not the clearest of days but a good sky. Cropped from the bottom for the panorama effect.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent field of view, f4 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 80. Landscape mode.
Processed for intensity and clarity in Lightroom.
3/14/2011: Looking at You, Godwits
Not quite as sharp as I would have liked but the light was miserable, and I was working at the limits of magnification range of the camera/spotting scope combination. At the best of times the image would have been a challenge from a depth of field stand-point, and the shutter speed was too slow as well.
What makes the image a keeper for me are the feather patterns, the overall overlapping form of the three clustered birds, and the eyes (dare I say the expressions on the birds).
Canon SD4000IS behind the 15-56x Vario Eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for the equivalent field of view of something like a 4000mm lens on a full frame DSLR, 1/80th second at ISO 400 (bad, bad, light!).
Processed in Lightroom for clarity and sharpness, contrast, exposure, etc. trying to get it as sharp as possible.
3/18/2010
Higher Up and Around the Bend
The new section of trail at the Cabrillo Tide Pools takes you up across the face of the steep slope via log steps and some actual stairs to new overlooks further north. This a view I had not seen before.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F4 @ 1/500th @ ISO 80. Landscape program.
Recovery for the sky and Fill Light for the foreground. Blackpoint right. Added Clarity and just a bit of Vibrance. Landscape sharpen preset.
From San Diego 2010.
3/17/2010
Knob with a View
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! I’ve enough Celt in me to be happy.
And maybe it is the Celt in me that feels the pull of this image. So many lines and layers, interesting textures, the splash of green for color, and the drama of the clouds and sea. Down low with the flip out LCD for this, placing the rock so that it breaks an otherwise unfortunate horizon line in the middle of the composition. The rock pulls the eye and focuses the whole, giving it, to my eye, a dynamic that keeps me looking past the first glance.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F4 @ 1/500th @ ISO 80. Landscape Program.
In Lightroom, some Recovery for the sky, and Fill Light for the foreground. Blackpoint to the right. Added Clarity and more than my usual Vibrance (for the Canon), to pick up the green. Sharpen landscape preset.
From San Diego 2010.
3/16/2010
Seaweed and Stone
After a stormy morning, the rocky fringe at the base of the cliffs at the Tide Pools (Cabrillo National Monument) was littered wit interesting seaweed. Add the interesting texture of some of the conglomerate stones, and the range of tones and colors in the stone, and it kept me busy for close on a half hour. The rain helped…as these stones would not have been nearly as interesting dry.
Canon SX10IS at about 115mm equivalent. F4.5 @ 1/80th @ ISO 125. Programmed auto.
In Lightroom, just a bit of Recovery for highlights. Blackpoint right slightly. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Sharpen landscapes preset.
Two others from the same session. I am really liking the way the Canon captures texture. The stones here are, to my eye, just as I remember them.
About 60mm @ F3.5 @ 1/8th and ISO 80, and about 100mm @ F4 @ 1/80th and ISO 80.
From San Diego 2010.
3/15/2010
Past Pools and Rock to Strom
Another image from the rainy day visit to Cabrillo National Monument’s Tide Pool area. The storm moving over the coast certainly provided drama in the sky, and the wet rock and surly ocean echoed the mood. This is definitely a “from under the umbrella” shot.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F4 @ 1/500th @ ISO 80. Landscape Program mode.
Recovery for the sky and Fill Light for the foreground. Blackpoint right slightly. Added Clarity and just a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset.
From San Diego 2010.