outdoor photography

American Avocet The other day at Merritt Island's Blackpoint Dr. a sizeable flock of American Avocet decided to fly in relatively close to shore when I was photographing ducks.  They were chasing something in the water, and every once in a while, some would fly over the others to get into the front of the line.  It was one of those rare times when I wish I didn't have a 400mm lens attached to my camera.  I probably would have come home with better photos if I used my 180mm macro, but I knew that by the time I changed lenses, the moment would be over. It was still a lot of fun to watch them work. American Avocet American Avocet American Avocet

Savannah Sparrow It's always fun when birds pose for you, and it's even better when they do something interesting too.  It doesn't matter to me that Savannah Sparrows are very common here.  This one sat on a branch, and there was nothing behind him but blue.  For these, there was nothing difficult about the exposure here, so I just waited for the sparrow to be looking in a direction for me to get "catch light" in they eyes. I composed these photographs with the bird in the center of the frame to ensure that he would be sharp; then I framed the shot by cropping the image afterwards.  Unless the bird is close enough for you to compose the shot the way you would like to present it, I believe this is usually the best way to compose bird photographs. Savannah Sparrow Savannah Sparrow

American Avocet It was a pretty good day at Merritt Island this morning.  I thought it was going to be dreary and cloudy all day, but by the time I arrived on the island, the lighting was pretty good, and there was no wind, so the reflections were nearly perfect.  For me, there's nothing better than a good bird photo with its own reflection. I first went to the Max Brewer Causeway and found some Ruddy Turnstones and plenty of gulls (almost all Ring-billed).  I then went to Pumphouse Rd and found many more gulls, and I think there was a competition for who could make the most noise.  Several Black Skimmers were there too.  It was also fun to see a few Savannah Sparrows and a Swamp Sparrow there.  From there I went to Blackpoint Dr.  It was nice to see ducks relatively close to shore--I took my best Redhead Duck photos this morning, and there were also several Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintail, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks close to shore. ...

Ring-billed Gull A couple weeks ago I was at Merritt Island, and right by the causeway there were dozens of gulls, most of them Ring-billed. I don't normally spend a lot of time photographing gulls, especially at Merritt Island.  There's so many other interesting birds on the island that I want to be able to see.  But this morning it was hard to resist them. Ring-billed Gull Ring-billed Gull

Forster's Tern A couple weeks ago at Merritt Island, I had the opportunity to photograph a few Forster's Terns in flight.  They can be very tough to catch!  Normally when shooting birds I select only the center focusing point so that I can be more likely to get the bird in focus.  But when I'm shooting birds in flight against a plain blue background, I frequently change my focusing mode to include all focusing points.  The reason is simple: there really are only two places the camera will focus--on the bird or on the background, and the more focusing points I enable, the more likely I will get the bird in focus. Forster's Tern

Great Blue Herons It's Valentines' Day. I'm a way from home until tomorrow afternoon, missing my wife, and well, I gotta post something.  I thought it might be fun to dig up some old photos from shortly after moving to Florida (the heron and Anhinga photos) and combine them with some newer photos (the ducks).  Love is in the air, it seems, and the birds know it. Anhingas Anhingas Wood Ducks (facing away from each other, do you think he forgot it's Valentines Day?) Mallards

Red-bellied Woodpecker A few weeks ago I went to Mead Gardens, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker flew to a tree very close to me, and I was reminded of how much I enjoy these (and all) woodpeckers. Woodpeckers are always fun to watch, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers are a very common sight all year around in FL.  My six-year old daughter has decided that she really likes them, so I thought I'd put together a post of recent photos for her as well as for you. The first two are from my most recent trip to Mead Gardens, and the last one is from my most recent trip to Merritt Island. Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker