I’ve not been having much success in crafting regular posts these days. I had planned on dedicating a post to birds in flight, but many of the photos I thought I would use do not look as crisp as I would like, and are now in the reject pile. Besides, it seemed a bit discriminatory towards those birds I have had the pleasure photographing that do not have the gift of flight.
So instead I’ve put together a rather random selection of birds to feature this week, and fingers crossed I will have both the time and inspiration for something more next week.
So without further ado…
A vulture coming in to land, South Africa, April 2013Cormorant in flight over the Chobe River in Botswana, April 2013A penguin at Boulder Beach, near Cape Town, April 2013A group of bee-eaters along the Chobe River in Botswana, April 2013I have no idea what type of bird this is! The photo was taken in January 2011 while on a Caribbean cruise. Several of these birds flew next to the ship for hours at a time.An ostrich near the Cape of Good Hope, April 2013Egyptian Geese at the Botanical Gardens in Cape Town, April 2013
Pitt River Bridge, June 2013 1/30, f22, ISO100, 65mm
I headed out at 6am on Saturday, armed with a travel mug of coffee, my camera, tripod and ND filter, in the hopes of practicing some long exposure landscape photos at the Pitt River. My intention was to work on techniques that when converted to monochrome, renders the water looking misty and any clouds in the sky ethereal. But the BC weather foiled me again – it was TOO NICE. I won’t complain about that, ever, I just couldn’t photograph what I had hoped to.
Coquitlam in the distance, June 2013 1/10, f22, ISO100, 55mm
I’ve noted the settings that I have used and some of the combinations may seem a bit odd. I was playing around in manual mode and while it was bright, I was in the shade. Since I had my tripod, I went with the one thing my instructor repeated a good half dozen times in class “If you have access to a tripod, you have no reason to use anything other than ISO 100.”
Great Blue Heron, Pitt Meadows, BC, June 2013 1/350, f5.6, ISO 100, 300mmMirror Images, June 2013 1.0sec, f38, ISO100, 48mm
The river was smooth like glass and a lovely Great Blue Heron sat on a pillar in the water the entire time I was out, giving me the opportunity for some lovely shots of both the hills and the water, and the heron. I’m sure I’ll be back to African animals later in the week, but I was pretty happy with these shots, taken so close to home.
Great Blue Heron, Pitt Meadows, BC, June 2013 1/30, f5.6, ISO 100, 300mmGreat Blue Heron, June 2013 1/30, f5.6, ISO 100, 300mmMirror image Great Blue Heron, Pitt Meadows BC, June 2013 1/125, f11, ISO 100, 120mm
This little bird captivated me from my first sighting, but proved to be a difficult photography subject for the first couple of days. Obviously there was the usual scenario – that birds don’t necessarily sit still long enough for photographs. Then I had overcast weather or flat out rain that did not do the colours justice, or fading evening light. But in the end, I managed several lovely shots, one of which is now framed so I can see it every day.
From Wikipedia:
“The Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) is a member of the roller family of birds. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, preferring open woodland and savanna; it is largely absent from treeless places. Usually found alone or in pairs, it perches conspicuously at the tops of trees, poles or other high vantage points from where it can spot insects, lizards, scorpions, snails, small birds and rodents moving about at ground level.[2]
Nesting takes place in a natural hole in a tree where a clutch of 2–4 eggs is laid, and incubated by both parents, who are extremely aggressive in defence of their nest, taking on raptors and other birds. During the breeding season the male will rise to great heights, descending in swoops and dives, while uttering harsh, discordant cries.
The sexes are alike in coloration. Juveniles do not have the long tail feathers that adults do.
This species is the national bird of Botswana and Kenya.”
