Heron, Osprey, Yellow Jacket & Ducks - Photos from the Lake Vacation

As I wrote in my last post, I love vacationing at my mom's family's lake property in Eastern Washington. Quiet, peaceful and when we are there in the summer nice and hot. Of course when you are lake side, hot weather is always welcome as the coolness of the lake beckons to cool you down when the need arises.

Nature and Wildlife are my favorite subjects (outside of my kids) to photograph. While on vacation at the lake, I had several opportunities for photography while relaxing on vacation. We saw several Heron's and a few Osprey either looking for fish on the docks, or perched in the evergreen trees along the shore.

The Heron's were fun to watch, slowing walking along portions of the dock looking for fish. My 3 year old son and I got to see one take a stab at one, didn't have my camera with me for that one though. With the Osprey, I stood there watching him for quite a while – just waiting for him to take off to attempt to get a wing spreading take off photo. Well, as luck would have it, when I wasn't aiming up waiting my mom made a whistle or some other noise just to see if the bird would react. And at the sound, took off – missed opportunity!

On the Hunt for Fish

Taking off, the next shot in the series was not in focus

Yellow Jacket

Osprey Preening

Looking for food, waddled all the way up to the cabin

Till next time, hopefully I will get some of the take off shots I really wanted to get this go around!

Blessings,

Jesse

A Bald Eagle and His Rabbit Dinner

To set the stage for tonight's photos, we will rewind a month and a half ago or so to a return trip from my in-laws. We had just recently exited the freeway and were on the home stretch to arriving at home and on the side of the road not 20 feet from the pavement is a mature bald eagle standing there, likely eating some small animal. Returning from a weekend trip we had the camera in the car and everything, but as the kids have already been in the car for a good two hours I didn't think it fair to them to stop and prolong the impending arrival at home. Looking back I wish I would have stopped as, at the very least, I would have been able to jump out for a minute and a half and taken a couple quick photos of the lovely bird.

Now, fast forward to last Friday when I am on my way home after making two quick stops after work. My wife and our two kids are already at her parent's house and I would be heading out after work to join them for the weekend. I was actually thinking on my way home how sweet it would be to see another eagle on my way out of town as I will have the camera and no kiddos to worry about, making it quite convenient to stop for photos. Turns out I didn't have to wait until my way out of town to see one. Driving home I see what looks to be the unmistakable white tail feathers of a bald eagle flying away toward the foot hills and also nearby I can see two juvenile eagles circling around above the field. As I was passing the house adjacent to this particular field I look over just in time to see another eagle descending near the home toward the field. With time to spare before leaving town (my way of avoiding traffic, leave later and miss it all!) and an empty house, there is no way I am passing up this potential opportunity for eagle watching! I get home, change shoes, grab the camera bag, attach the 55-300mm lens, jump back in the car and head back out to see if the large raptor is still nearby.

As I near the field I can see that no more than about 50 yards from the side of the road the sight I was looking forward to seeing was right there: a beautiful mature bald eagle, picking at a dead rabbit. I pull off the road, get out of my car and start my evenings adventure of avian photography. The photo session begins with me taking pictures of the bird while he consumes his rabbit dinner, not a lot of movement, but nonetheless I am enjoying every moment.

At one point while I was crouching there watching the eagle eat, I hear the loud blast of a passing vehicle's horn. Slightly startled, I instinctively glance back at the road seeking the source of the disturbance. The loud, and brief, outpouring of sound also gave a slight start to our feasting feathered friend. As I shift my focus once again to the field and the subject of my evening's fascination, I am refocusing just in time to see his wings close up and his feet settle back down onto the valley's floor. My first thought was oh no, I missed it! Why did I turn and look away?! But this little disturbance would prove to be a God sent blessing as it would lead to my favorite and best photo of the day. Moments after my attention was once again fixated on the magnificent eagle, he took one little hop then spread out his wings to make the short jaunt of several feet back over to his momentarily neglected meal. Once settled back down to his evening's sustanence I checked my LCD screen to see that I had in fact captured his little hop and flap movement in focus with wings fully spread!

No wanting to miss anything, I stayed and watched the eagle until he took off and flew out my 300mm zoom lenses usable range for detailed photos of my subject. I did manage to capture a photo of him moments after take off, still clutching in his talons what was left of the rabbit meal just before he dropped it. Unfortunately, this photo wasn't focused perfectly though it is acceptable for viewing and might still look alright as maybe a 5x7 print. On my way out of town, I glanced over at the field to see if there would be reason to stop for an encore show. There wouldn't be this trip. The  two juveniles were still lingering around the field, but not close enough to make for any compelling photos with the gear I have. There's my story, now for the photos!

Picking at his rabbit dinner

Looking up from the rabbit

Spreading his wings with a hop-flight back to his dinner

Almost back to his dinner

Taking off with his rabbit dinner

I sure hope this isn't my last time being blessed with a similar scene to photograph along this road. With any luck I will either have a longer lens or a closer bird for a target! This sure felt like a small gift from God, as the thought was on my mind as I was leaving work and the timing was incredible given the travel plans of the weekend (no kids waiting at home).

Blessings,

Jesse

First Visit to Rasar State Park

As a photographer it's tough to beat state parks for scenery to photograph, bonus for lesser known or visited parks that present photo ops that aren't as cliché.

Here in Washington, our state parks are accessible with a yearly pass (called the Discover Pass) or a daily use fee. However, they do offer a handful of Discover Pass free days. Two of the free days for 2015 happen over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (which I had off from work). Taking advantage of the free day, I took my two year old son and my camera to the park hoping to do some eagle watching. As January also happens to be part of the peak season for migratory eagles in the Skagit Valley, I came sporting my 55-300mm lens hoping for some eagles and wildlife photos.

Well, the eagles weren't around while we were there and the only Raptor I saw was a hawk making a landing on a phone pole during the drive there. Wildlife viewing was minimal at the park as well, all we saw were a few small birds (probably finches) and some half eaten dead salmon. We even had some light rain at the park, even though it was dry and nice when we left home, so my little one didn't get any playground time as it was soaked.

View from the river's edge

On this trip I was sporting the wrong lens for the type of photos I would end up looking for. Times like this I can really start to see the appeal of all-in-one zoom lens like Nikon's 18-200/18-300 or Tamron's new 16-300mm, would have come in handy this trip!

Blessings,

Jesse

Revisitng and Re-Developing Old Photos

I'll have to admit, this post was indirectly inspired by my brother and one of his panoramic photos of Crater Lake in Oregon. For Christmas I helped my mom get his photo printed on a 16x48 canvas from Costco and seeing the print really got my wheels turning about some of the panoramic photos I have taken in the past. While I liked the photos in my archives, there were different flaws in them to where I wouldn't be happy with how they would look printed out (tilted horizons or the colors turned out flatter from the camera than how the scene looked in person).

Fast forward a few years and now I have more experience with editing software and I was able to correct the shortcomings of my old photos. Now I can look at the digital image and picture how it would look on a printed canvas and be excited about getting the print made.

For comparison, below are two versions of a panoramic photo taken on New Year's day several years ago at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island. The first photo is the original panorama I had created, followed by the newly re-created and developed version.

Original from 2011, no edits - simply stitched

Newly re-done image. Re-stitched and further developed

All stitching was done with the Hugin Panorama Photo Stitcher and the image developing was done with The Gimp.

Revisiting older photos is something I would definitely recommend. Looking over older photos with a time removed eye, might just uncover a new favorite. Throw in a sharper skill set for digital developing and you just might find some new shots for your profile.

Blessings,

Jesse

Hummingbird on a Cold November Morning

I always enjoy watching (and listening) to the hummingbirds that frequent the feeder we have hanging on our front porch. Their little chirp is a pleasant sound and the hum/whoosh sound of their wings is really enjoyable to hear buzz by you. We recently had a week long cold snap, colder than we usually experience in late November in Western Washington, that froze the feeder contents solid as the temperature dipped into the high teens over night.

On the cold Sunday morning while getting ready for Church and the rest of the day, I noticed one of the resident hummingbirds was frequently perching on one of our hanging baskets waiting for the frozen food to thaw out. I of course thought photo opportunity and hitched up the 55-300mm and waited for him to come by. Once I saw the little bird, I slowly cracked open the front door (with the camera settings all set - zoom, focus etc...) aimed and took a few shots. Below are my favorites: one of him sitting and looking about and one just moments before he flew away.

Perched on a hanging basket, waiting for food to thaw

Spreading his wings to take flight

I typically see what looks to be the same bird sitting in nearly the same spot when I get up for work during the week. So hopefully I'll grab a few more shots of him in some different lighting, or even more fun shots of him spreading his wings out.

Blessings,

Jesse

Red Wolves, Bald Eagle and a Shark: Photos from the Point Defiance Zoo

Zoo's make great places to practice photography. The scenery is great and there is a variety of animals, lighting and situations to practice. They also make great family days with small kiddoes. Over Memorial Day weekend this year, my family and I spent an afternoon at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. And while we had more photos of our son and his cousins, I did manage to get a few good shots of the animals that I have below to share:

Red Wolf looking on from his resting spot

Red Wolf Looking on from his perch

Red Wolf resting, he looks so sad here...

A Bald Eagle at the Zoo

One of the Aquarium Sharks

The indoor exhibits can be challenging with low light so don't be afraid to boost the ISO a bit to snag a shot you would otherwise miss. The Photo of the Shark above was taken at ISO3200.

Blessings,

Jesse

Photos of Local Trumpeter Swans

Here in the Skagit Valley we are blessed to have large groups of Trumpeter Swans that winter in the fields every year. These beautiful birds are the largest of waterfowl and typically range between 54 and 65 inches in length. Living in the valley, I am blessed to see the wintering swans in local fields on any given drive away from home. Most of the time I don't have my camera, but one day fairly recently my lovely bride gave me a call to let me know the Swans were in a field close by and could make a good photo opportunity.  The two photos below are my favorites of the few I took on a quick photo trip.

Trumpeter Swan Stretching His Wings

A Group of Trumpeter Swans

I still want to get some more photos of the birds before they leave the valley for the season, especially a few photos of them coming in for a landing - or even taking off.

Blessings,

Jesse

Rabbit Hunting with a Northern Goshawk

I haven't had any opportunities to photograph any of the local Hawk's as I usually see them perched on light poles or telephone wires while driving (usually on the freeway). That changed recently when I was able to join a friend on a rabbit hunt with his Northern Goshawk. I have always liked the birds and wanted to get some good photos of them as they are beautiful birds far away and even more so up close.

It was a great time and a good opportunity to work on my wild life/avian photography without the worry of only getting one shot of a Hawk in action before watching the bird fly away from the range of my equipment. Armed with my 55-300mm lens I was able to capture some good photos of the Hawk, unfortunately all but one of the shots taken of the bird in flight turned out blurry.

We also didn't have any luck on the rabbit hunt.  The Hawk did take off to chase after some small birds - which was quite cool to see just how fast the bird is - but didn't catch anything this time out.

The Northern Goshawk Perched and on the Hunt

The Northern Goshawk Taking Flight

Perched in the Blackberry Brambles

Next time I will have an idea on what to expect, and leave the camera on single servo AF instead of continuous. The focus with continuous-servo didn't seem to be the best when the hawk was sitting still and with how close we were to the bird it was not practical to try and track and focus on him in flight.

Blessings,

Jesse

Feeding the Gulls

A Pacific Northwest beach will never be short of Seagulls. Love 'em or not, they are a fixture on many a beach and they can make for some fun photos, and even challenging ones.

One thing is for sure though, if you feed one you will get an ear full and many sets of hopeful eyes waiting for any little morsel that might come their way. In this first photo, I like how the closest gull appears to be posing, while each of the other birds are nearly perfectly aligned and staring us down hoping for a snack.

Whatcha got for me?

Seagull in flight

Getting the in flight shot was not the easiest shot to get while being fairly close to the birds and sporting an Ultra Compact camera. Of course, most scenarios involving fast moving and unpredictable animals are not the easiest with more limiting gear - but they are still fun to take and satisfying when they turn out well for sure.

Blessings,

Jesse

Photographing Hummingbirds

Getting a shot of a hummingbird takes patience, and plenty of it. Not only are they fast, but they don't hang around in one spot for very long. But you can be rewarded with a satisfying image if you wait long enough.

During a recent visit to my in-laws' house, I had a chance to take a shot at getting a hummingbird photo. My first thought was to set my camera on shutter priority at 1/640 to try an capture the fast movement. That didn't pan out as the 1/640 images were way too dark on an overcast day for the lens I was using (55-300mm f/4.5-5.6). I could have boosted the IS, but I had a space out and didn't even think about ISO settings and my auto ISO settings were off so the camera stayed at ISO 200.

Next thought was to use the flash to capture the fast moving hummingbirds. This proved what would be the right approach as I got the below photo of a hummingbird taking flight.

Taking flight 1/200 @ f/5.6 ISO200 - flash used

I enjoyed my short little hummingbird photo shoot, and look forward to getting another shot. Next time I will remember my auto ISO setting (or boost it manually) if there is not enough light for faster shutter speeds.

Blessings,

Jesse

Photographing Whales

On June 2nd, my wife and I were finally able to go on the whale watching trip we have been wanting to do for years. We booked with Island Adventures out of Anacortes and our day started out and would stay warm and sunny. Though we were very glad to have dressed in a couple extra layers as it wasn't super warm once we were underway with the wind chill on the water.

Before our departure, I set up the camera prepared for fast moving animals. Shutter priority ( at 1/640, or higher on some occasions), continuous release and continuous focus servo. Even with the camera set on burst, it took me a while before I actually started utilizing the feature - not being used to using it I would out of habit let off of the shutter release after the first frame.

Being ready at the right moment and trying to predict when the animals would surface was a bit harder than I thought, and resulted in many dorsal fin shots. A definite photographic learning experience, and one I would highly recommend to anyone (especially those who love nature photography). Even with VR and the relatively light combination of my D5100 & 55-300mm lens, framing and keeping the camera steady posed a challenge from a moving boat. It was much easier when the captain shut the engines down so we can drift and watch the whales in the calm seas.

Besides the whales we saw many sea birds (both swimming and in flight), including a couple bald eagles, and some fleeting glimpses of some harbor porpoises. The harbor porpoise as the most challenging and camera shy animal we would see all day. They are very fast and by the time you spot one they may only surface once or twice more before they are out of view.

The Humpback's Tail

Orca calf doing a tail slap

"Kissing" Orcas

Cormorant Taking Flight

We would really love to go whale watching again, and next time (if I have one) I will be sporting a monopod and paying closer attention to the photographer that works with the tour company as he knows more what to expect and came out with some fantastic photos.

Blessings,

Jesse