Never close enough, but close enough to try a shot

This spring, I've been proving to myself that the bird photographer's cliche about telephoto lenses never being long enough is mostly true. Of course a person with the patience and skill to closely approach wildlife would not have this problem. For casual wildlife shooters, though, it can seem that you never have enough magnification. (Another way to state the situation is that the lens is never long enough except when it's too long. Birds tend to be shy and fast, so they don't closely approach until they suddenly fly right by you, at which point your long telephoto is too big and heavy to aim quickly, can't focus on a subject that close, and might not include the whole bird in the frame anyway!)

With all of that said, here are three shots from this afternoon, each of which required cropping. These blackbirds showed up before any geese, gulls, or herons.

I had almost given up on seeing any Great Blue Herons when this one soared across the opposite end of the lake.

I had about decided I wouldn't see any more interesting wildlife at all, and was headed home when this cardinal landed in a nearby tree and played hide and seek amid the branches.

[All photos Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II with Extender 2X III]

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Double take from a gray squirrel

Here's a "Carolina Koala", hopped up on spiked eucalyptus...or maybe it's just an ordinary gray squirrel. It did quite a double take when I pointed the lens at it.

"Yeah, so I'm here, whaddaya want?"

"Whatevah..."

"Wait, what?"

Let's put it in motion:

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A quiet walk in the woods

Walking quietly through the woods at dusk...well, actually, walking noisily through the carpet of dead leaves and dry weeds this evening, I mostly didn't see much to photograph besides some interesting trees like this one.

Even though I'm sure any wildlife around could hear me coming from a good distance, I did manage to creep up on a doe. We had a contest to see who could do a better imitation of a statue. She won, but with the technology of image stabilization compensating for my not-quite-motionless hands, I got this photo (at ISO 20,000!) before she darted away.

 That shot will never win any awards, but it enhances my memory of the encounter by providing more detail than I could see with my naked eyes, and freezing it. Shot at 400 mm, and cropped a bit from the original.

Permalink: http://jilcp.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-quiet-walk-in-woods.html

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Wood and wood products

If you came here looking for particle board, sorry to mislead your search engine. The oak leaves have curled into interesting shapes, and the existing light brought out the textures pretty well. I'd like to think that the subject matter complements my previous post. No experimenting with different cameras this time, just a quick tripod setup, compose and focus using live view, and a manual exposure of 20 seconds at f/13, ISO 100, 100 mm.

It's sometimes fun to look for animal-like shapes in static plants (not to mention rocks, clouds, etc.), but then the real thing arrives to show you a true action pose, if you can catch it:

I know squirrels are rodents, and commonplace, but I still think they're cute, and sometimes downright funny! Also, even urban squirrels are products of the woods.

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Antischadenfreude

I do not take pleasure in the misery of other people or any other animals. I don't know how much a chipmunk suffers from the after effects of mosquito bites, but I wouldn't wish those nasty bugs on anyone or anything. So why have I got a photo of a mosquito biting a chipmunk? It was an accident. The little fellow paused and gave me a chance at a few shots, and I concentrated on getting his eyes in focus and catching the posture of paws in front of mouth with claws extended. It was only afterward that I noticed the tiny predator doing its "syringical" thing. Of course, predation on all scales is part of life. Nothing to be sorry about here, anyway. This chipmunk has eluded snakes and other life threatening predators, and is evidently eating well and storing up for winter. Look at those cheeks!

So, it's often "eat or be eaten", but here we could say "eat and be eaten"!

Permalink: http://jilcp.blogspot.com/2012/08/antischadenfreude.html

Jess Isaiah Levin

www.jilcp.com

Squirrel of the day

Squirrels are almost ubiquitous in urban/suburban environments, so it's no challenge to find them. They also become "tamer" than most wildlife, as they're so used to proximity to human dwellings. Not to mention the occasional handouts of seed...

Although they are "just rodents", and a lot of people would much rather be surrounded by birds of almost any type (rock doves, aka pigeons, might be an exception), squirrels can have their charm. At any rate, I like to practice photographic skills on the things that I see regularly (if you can't be with the one you'd shoot, shoot the one you're with?), and it's still a challenge for me to catch interesting postures and expressions, maybe occasionally with some interesting background colors.

[Canon 1DMkIV, f/4, 1/320 sec, ISO 1600, 300 mm w/ 1.4X extender]

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Juvenile cardinal with seed

Learning to fend for yourself when you're only a couple of months old is a tough nut to crack. 

Juvenile cardinal with seed in beak

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stalking the familiar

A common bit of advice about attempting to photograph birds is to start with common birds. Go after the ones you see often where you live. I think this is a good idea, especially for those of us who don't often get to spend time wandering through nature preserves, camping in the wilds, or sitting in bird blinds. Even a visit to the Zoo aviary is an unusual treat. I don't know if I'll ever be able to do the kind of amazing bird photography that is done by people dedicated to that craft, but I've learned a lot of patience simply by observing avian residents of the city. Watching their behavior is the first step toward capturing some of the interesting moments in a photo. A juvenile cardinal found some seed on the ground, and offered me a variety of poses, almost the way a good human model would do.

This juvenile cardinal spotted me, and hesitated to come out in the open.

In time, she (?) decided it was worth the risk to grab a seed she'd spotted.

She flew, but only a short distance, and returned quickly.

"OK, I'm back. Do you really expect me to pose? What position would you like?"

"How about a classic three quarter view? Don't I look great with food in my beak?"

Jess Isaiah Levin

www.classicalphotography.com

Permalink: http://jilcp.blogspot.com/2012/07/hunting-familiar.html
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Birds, because they're fun to watch

The North Carolina Zoo is a fairly long drive for me, so I don't get there as often as I would enjoy, but it would be well worth it for the aviary alone. The birds are free to fly about a rather extensive enclosure. The tropical plants surrounding them make at least a good approximation of their natural habitat. My recent trip was a lot of fun!

This parrot at the beginning and the eagle at the end of my trip were pretty cooperative about remaining in view. All of the other denizens were shy, so the other photos here were caught by peering through the leafy canopy and hoping to spot someone, then hoping they'd remain for a second or two before flying off for new cover.

Eating:

Bathing:

Jess Isaiah Levin

www.classicalphotography.com

Permalink: http://jilcp.blogspot.com/2012/07/birds-because-theyre-fun-to-watch.html