Tag: #fishing

As the Osprey Flies

The osprey is a bold, vocal and athletic bird. In Florida I enjoy watching them soar, pluck fish out of the water and return to the nest to feed the young. This week I aimed my camera lens at one osprey while it was looking for fish in a lake. Then I combined four images into one composite showing the same osprey in flight in four positions.

osprey, flight, birds, birdphotography, naplesflorida, florida, fishing, soaring, raptor, nature, wildlife
Enjoy the strength and grace of the Osprey in flight in this composite image. Zoom in to see even better.

Egret in Profile

Wildlife doesn’t pose, and it doesn’t wait for you. To become a successful wildlife photographer, you need to be prepared, have some knowledge of animal behavior, be prepared and anticipate what may happen next. (These rules also apply to candid photography of people too!)

#egret, #wings, #whitewings, #greategret, #action, #wildllife, #outdoorphotography, #wildlifephotography, #anticipate, #howto, #secretsofsuccess, #lucky, #naplesflorida, #golfcourse
Early Monday morning, this Great White Egret was fishing in this golf course lake. I was following his movements with my camera set at 1/1000 second and 600mm lens focused, poised for the moment that the bird stretched his wings. I was happy with the backlighting of the sun.

The other axiom I say to myself often is: the more often you go out, the luckier you get. Put another way, if you stay home, you won’t get the shot, for sure!

Tricolor Heron On the Go

This sequence of photographs of the Tricolor Heron in the morning light show his feathers from many angles. Such a delicate creature..

Landing on Bunche Beach near Fort Myers Beach, Florida, this Tricolor Heron is foraging for his morning meal.
Tricolor heron comes in for a landing. Look at that spread of blue feathers.
Tricolor heron flies on to a better spot in the creek, showing his white underside.
tricolorheron, feathers, eye, closeup, nature, wildlife, fishing, feeding, wading, foraging, march, Florida, beach, Bunche, fortmyersbeach
Tricolor heron walks by the water’s edge to get a better look at the photographer. He sees us with that red eye.

More Dance Moves (Reddish Egret)

Bird photography gets really fun when you are trying to capture unique behavior. This Reddish Egret I observed on Sanibel Island, Florida had some cool moves. I was amused by the head tilt that began his feeding dance. In this image, it looks like he is given the duck some attitude.

#reddishegret, #egret, #heron, #feeding, #fishing, #dance, #headtilt, #nikon, #tamron, #sanibel, #dingdarling
The Reddish Egret begins his feeding dance with an amusing head tilt. You can see the transmitter attached to his back.

#reddishegret, #egret, #heron, #dance, #feeding, #fishing, #sanibel, #dingdarling, #wing, #tamron, #nikon, #birdphotography, #bird
Using one outstretched wing to shade his prey, the Reddish Egret takes a better look at his dinner.

 

Reddish Egret Dance

I drove three hours roundtrip last evening to Sanibel Island, hoping to observe and photograph some birds during low tide at the Ding Darling Nature Preserve. It seems you never find what you expect to find — the white pelicans or the roseate spoonbills — but lucky for me, I met a  big bird that was new to me: the Reddish Egret.

The medium-sized heron is not too common, categorized as “Nearly Threatened,” and this bird wore a transmitter on his back. Some naturalist is keeping track of his movements. I enjoyed watching the unique way the Reddish Egret fishes by wading in shallow water and using his wings to shade the prey right before spearing it. With my 600mm Tamron lens, I had a close look and spent about a half hour tracking it as it moved about in the shallows. Of course, I had to use a tripod to steady the heavy lens.

#reddishegret, #heron, #dance, #feeding, #sanibel, #dingdarling, #behavior, #florida, #wadingbird, #bird #tamron, #nikon
The Reddish Egret shades its prey using its wings like an umbrella. Look at the evening light on its translucent pink bill.

#reddishegret, #bird, #wadingbird, #heron, #sanibel, #dingdarling, #fishing, #behavior, #dance, #tamron, #nikon, #florida
The “gotcha” moment for the Reddish Egret as it spears a fish. See its unique red and blue coloring.

A moment that transcends time

Today I was inspired by a quote from National Geographic photographer Paolo Pellegrin.  Reflecting on a photo he shot of two girls swimming in the Dead Sea, he said what he likes about this image is, “the girls could have been swimming there 2,000 years ago. I am always interested in a picture that speaks of a particular moment but also transcends it.”

I realized that timelessness is what attracts me to many scenes that I shoot. When I travel, I am attracted to markets, fishermen and farmers at work, and this is especially true in less developed regions that don’t resemble my home in the United States. Here are a few such images that I shot in China in 2005. While China is changing at a rapid place, there are scenes that portray a way of life that may not have changed for generations.

#yichang, #market, #timeless, #china, #travel
Busy market in Yichang, China. While the man’s leg motions suggest an instantaneous moment, the baskets balance on a pole suggest old ways.

#cart, #guillin, #china, #travel, #when, #hardwork
Muscle and wheels in Guillin, China. So often you see carts and bikes and loads carried on poles. Unlike the clogged highways of Beijing, this scene feels nostalgic.

#fishing, #nochange, #timeless, #Yangtze, #china, #travel,
Fishing in the muddy Yangtze. It appears the men are fishing for supper.