Monthly Archives: August 2023
Maine! Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs: York County, Maine, USA — Among the birds I found in the tidal pools in the marsh while looking for stray egrets was this Greater Yellowlegs, caught here on its own reflection. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f63 @ 1/640th.
India! Tiger!
Tiger: Rathambore National Park/Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — It is time to finish up my photos from our March 2023 trip to India. We worked hard for these photos of a young female Tiger at Rathambore…which we only found on our very last safari into the park. We spent most of an afternoon with her, as she rested in the shade across a pond from us. She is only a few years old, and had her first cubs with her, hidden somewhere in the deeper brush. Truly a privilege to spend time with her…and, for many of us, birders that we were, the highlight of our trip. The next morning early, we were on the train back to Delhi and one last night at a hotel and then the airport. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. Assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Maine! Crow
American or Fish Crow? York County, Maine, USA — Both are possible in York County and I have seen, or rather, heard both. American is more common, but on a silent perched bird like this it is really hard to say. If anyone can see something on this bird that would make it one or the other, please let me know. 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/1000th.
Maine! Great Egret
Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, August 2023 — Another shot of a bird way out in the marsh! Great Egret looking very regal against the marsh grasses. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 320 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA — By the time I got out yesterday morning the tide was at full, and the sandbar at the mouth of our local river was completely under water. The congregation of egrets and herons that gather there at other tides was dispersed far and wide in the marsh pools looking for food. I did an explore up and down the Bridle Path through the marsh to see if I could find any close…but they were pretty far out in the marsh when I did find any. This Great Blue Heron was about as close as I could get. Even at 800mm equivalent, there was just too much moist, moving air between us. 🙂 Still, it is a satisfying image for its range of tones and textures, and for the interesting details that the wind is revealing in the plumage. I think. 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 250 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Happy Sunday! Northern Blazing Star
Northern Blazing Star against Goldenrod, Kennebunk Plains, Kennebunk, Maine. — Both Northern Blazing Star and Goldenrod are in full bloom on the Kennebunk Plains right now…but they the stands rarely overlap. I had to look long and hard to find two plants close enough to put them in the same frame, but who could resist trying? The color contrast is just too wonderful. I offer it as a celebration of Sunday! Sony A5100 with 18-50mm zoom at 45mm equivalent. Auto.
Maine! Blue Jay
Blue Jay: York County, Maine, USA — I was photographing Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at the feeder on our back deck when this Blue Jay flew in and landed on one of the feeder supports. It is relatively rare for us to have Blue Jays in the yard, only a few times each summer, and very rare for us to have one on the deck. I suspect this is a juvenile bird, mostly due to the pale forehead and crown. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 5000 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
India! Painted Spurfowl
Painted Spurfowl: Rathambore National Park/Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — Getting near the end of our trip to India in March, or at least to the end of the photos 🙂 This is a Painted Spurfowl from Rathambore. Again, along the stream below the temple. Such a handsome bird! Sony Rx10iv at 595mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Maine! Walk this way…
Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, August 2023 — Strutting his stuff! One of a dozen or more Great Egrets gathered at the mouth of one of our local rivers. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.
Maine! Northern Blazing Star
Northern Blazing Star: Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, York County, Maine, USA. — It is the season of Blazing Star on the Kennebunk Plains. The Plains are one of the few remaining sand-plains in the Northeast, and are managed for several rare and endangered species…the Northern Blazing Star chief among them. Blazing Star is a fire-dependent plant, and the Plains are burned on a regular rotation to keep the population healthy. This time of year the Blazing Star is host of a wide variety of insect and bird species as well, and it is right now that the the Plains are perhaps the most alive. This year’s crop is notable for its height…all the plants are very tall, taller then average by almost a foot, and they have blossoms all down the stalk. If the weather holds the last of those won’t bloom until the first week in September, making for an exceptionally long bloom. I have been tracking and photographing the Norther Blazing Star bloom on the Kennebunk Plains for over 20 years now. Every year is different. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at various focal lengths for framing. Program mode with my custom birds modifications (yes they work for plant macros as well…not need to change mode.) Processed in Pixelmator Pro.