Bald Eagle Perched in Tree Near West Entrance, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

One of the things I love about Yellowstone is that you can drive less than five miles and photograph a wide variety of wildlife. Shortly after photographing the elk, I saw this bald eagle perched in the tree. I had only seen a bald eagle in passing roadside near the Salton Sea so this was my first good look at one. You can’t get that close to it but even then you could tell that it is a very imposing bird. You certainly don’t want to mess with them!

See more of my Yellowstone National Park pictures.

Canon Teleconverter Trick

As mentioned in the previous blog post, certain Canon lenses do not autofocus with the 1.4x teleconverter on crop sensor cameras. There is a simple trick to get around this issue however. Just simply tape over the three closest pins to the left of the red lens mount dot.

The Canon 400mm f5.6 lens essentially now becomes an 896mm lens with autofocus.

Snowy Egret Ruffling Feathers, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California

Wood Duck, Los Angeles County Arboretum, California

I have nothing deep to add other than I just wanted to share another pretty picture taken on the Canon 400mm f5.6 lens.

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Wood Duck Couple, L.A. County Arboretum, California

I received a Canon 400mm f5.6 lens this week and went to test it out locally at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. I previously blogged about renting the Canon 500mm f4.0 lens and testing it out on wood ducks at the L.A. County Arboretum but not liking the bulk of that lens so that led me to this lighter weight lens. From initial testing, I think the image quality is probably better than the 500mm lens and it is much easier to use since it is about 2.5 lbs rather than 9 lbs. My only complaint is that there is no autofocus with a tele-converter attached to my 20D camera unless you tape over the pins. Plus, the lens is slow to focus at f8.0 which is the widest aperture with the 1.4x teleconverter attached. I don’t think it will be an issue for me photographing bison in Yellowstone and grizzly bears in Alaska though since they are big lumbering mammals as opposed to small birds in perpetual motion. I’ll likely be using manual focus for those subjects.

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Waterfowl, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, California

One of the most amazing places in California is not even located in a pretty location. However, during the winter months, the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge comes alive with hundreds of thousands of migrating Pacific Flyway birds. I visited on a December day five years ago to shoot some new slides for class and was blown away by how noisy it was with all the birds squawking. This is another place that I would like revisit with a digital camera to see how things would be different with another five years of experience under my belt.

See more of my Northern California pictures.

Green Heron Ruffling Feathers

I’ve had luck in the past with birds at the Fullerton Arboretum so I took the gargantuan 500mm lens out for another test run. A quick run through of the ponds revealed nothing more than common ducks and American coots until I was about to leave when two green herons flew from out of nowhere with one landing on the opposite shore. I walked over there and used the plants as a blind so I could sit close by and observe without disturbing the bird. I put on the 1.4x teleconverter on the lens and photographed through the openings in the plants and got clear looks at the bird as a result. The green heron is pretty small so it took 1120mm worth of focal length to get these tight portraits even though I was no more than 15 feet away.

Since the green heron is a long-legged wader bird, which are slow and deliberate in their movements, it was much more fun to photograph with the bulky lens than trying to chase wood ducks around a lagoon. I had never seen a green heron before so it was exciting to be able to photograph it this sort of environment.

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Mandarin Duck

I had only seen one mandarin duck before but didn’t get a picture of it so this has been on my trophy photo list for a while now. I didn’t expect to see one on Saturday but I caught a fleeting glimpse of it from afar when the ladies near me asked what I was looking for. “I think I saw an orange duck but it left before I could get a good look.” “That was a mandarin duck.” “Nice! That is what I thought it was.” So I walked around both sides of the lagoon multiple times (with a 500mm f4 lens + tripod) but didn’t see it until more than an hour later on the opposite shoreline. Eventually it came over to my side and in fact, too close on a several photos but I did manage a few clear pictures of the mandarin duck. It is the prettiest bird I have ever seen by far.

Mandarin Duck Portrait

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Wood Duck

In preparation for my upcoming travel, I rented a Canon 500 f4 lens to see what it would be like to lug that monster around. I took it to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and headed straight to the lagoon where I knew there would be some colorful wood ducks. I found it cumbersome to shoot with. Now I have been doing 3 – 4x / week weight training since August but there is no way in heck you can shoot this comfortably hand-held. Shooting on my standard ball-head was okay. I was kind of scared to loosen the ball for fear of smashing the lens against my mouth but I managed okay though I probably missed more photos than I got. The image stabilizer was really good though. I didn’t lose a single image due to camera shake no matter how sloppy the technique. Overall, I think I would have more fun shooting with the 400mm f5.6 because it would give me more mobility and also reduce the need for a chiropractor.

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American White Pelicans and Other Migratory Birds in Salton Sea with Mount San Jacinto in the Background, Riverside County, California

30% of the world’s remaining population of American White Pelican live off of the Salton Sea. It is not just fish that are impacted by the increasing salinity of the lake but an entire ecosystem is at risk.

Take for example a typical photo shoot. A “good” photographer can take all of the bad photos from that shoot and edit them into a “portfolio” of ten images and compare them to any ten photos from a “bad” photographer. They’d likely look similar in quality. No definitive vision, poor technique, horrible lighting, etc… The difference is that the better photographer will have also tried shooting enough different types of images to edit into a clear vision once the final edit is completed. He made bad images while in the quest for realizing a clear vision. The other photographer just merely took random photos.

How you edit and present your work creates the perception of who you are as a photographer. Look at the following two groups of examples I have posted here. The first group of photos represent bird habitats. The 2nd group of pictures are the birds that inhabit those habitats. If I were to show the 1st group in a portfolio, then I might be perceived as a fine art photographer. If I show the 2nd group, then I’d probably be considered a bird photographer. By having two distinct groups of images like this then I can market myself however I wish. The underlying message is that a photographers’ vision is most easily viewed and understood when grouped together in coherent collections. It could be a single collection or many collections, the important part is to have them organized according to your goals.

Photo: Southern California Bird Habitats

Picture: Pacific Flyway Waterfowl

If you feel your photography is lacking direction, then try this exercise. Find a clear theme or subject matter to edit into a portfolio. Even a mediocre vacation snapshot photographer can probably have their pictures edited into a somewhat presentable portfolio by someone with a good eye if they were passionate about what they shot. If you never strike out, then you aren’t swinging for the fences either.

See more of my Southern California coast pictures.

I still was vacillating between where to shoot next but knew that I wanted to photograph San Francisco. I decided that the San Francisco Zoo would be the best bet for overcast conditions. The reason why I wanted to go there was to see the new Grizzly Gulch exhibit. Most zoos still can’t quite seem to get away from using obvious fences, but this exhibit was nice nevertheless. There was a waterfall and several ponds for the two grizzly bears. I wanted to get a bear portrait but it proved to be very difficult because the glass is angled in such a way that you cannot press the lens straight against the glass hence making it difficult to avoid reflections. The glass was extremely thick too so getting a sharp photo was a hit or miss endeavor. Feeling that getting a portrait was probably a futile effort, I tried to motion blur the grizzlies. It didn’t quite work out because they walked too slow. When I first got there though one of them was running around. Unfortunately I hadn’t thought of motion blurring the bear while it was running. Though I think I have some good bird photos, I’m a mediocre wildlife mammal photographer. That is a genre of nature photography that I’ll have to improve on in the future.

Upon not seeing much potential for improving upon my grizzly pictures, I looked at a few other exhibits then left the zoo to get lunch downtown. I contemplated whether or not I wanted to photograph the Yerba Buena Gardens since I was on New Montgomery Street getting lunch, but after seeing the prices at the SFMOMA parking garage, I decided to go to Alamo Square instead. Since it was the weekday I had a feeling that I wouldn’t have to parallel-park this time. I was right.

Free parking and no parallel parking is my idea of a pleasant destination. I ate lunch at Alamo Square, facing the “Postcard Row” Victorian homes. I’d seen a lot of postcards from that view but couldn’t quite figure out how to shoot it effectively. All I know is that what I managed to shoot at Postcard Row was not quite what I had envisioned before going there. I think what happened was that I was using my wide angle lens from a closer perspective than the postcards. I think most people use a medium zoom lens and go further up the hill so they can compress the distance of the Victorians to the downtown San Francisco skyline.

Picture: San Francisco Sightseeing Tour Bus at Postcard Row / Alamo Square, San Francisco, California

Regardless of the photography, the view is incredible at Alamo Square. It wasn’t quite as amazing as standing face to face with the Golden Gate Bridge, but it is definitely a classic view that is worth visiting at least once.

Right behind me was the cloud layer. It was already early afternoon so I decided that I was going to try getting some photos of the Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park. The clouds never really cleared up so I tried to get photos when there was just a bit of blue breaks in the sky. If the sun was out, I would have photographed the Japanese Garden as well in addition to the windmill. I ended up just walking around the windmill and sitting on the bench listening to some live music there before walking to the Cliff House. I was curious as to what they did to the Cliff House since I last lived up north. It was under re-construction when I last saw it. The new version doesn’t seem tourist friendly because all it is now is a façade for a fancy restaurant and a little postcard gift shop.

I decided that I wasn’t going to squander my last day in the Bay Area so I went back to the hotel for a break then went to the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve for sunset. It is almost always sunny in Silicon Valley so I knew I would for surely get a sunset there. It turned out to be a good idea because you could clearly see the thick San Francisco fog from the Baylands.

Picture: Canadian Geese, Palo Alto Baylands Preserve, California

After experiencing fog during four out of five days in San Francisco, that was enough for me. Originally I wanted to go further up north to the Redwood Coast but decided that was just too ambitious for one trip since I’d have to drive over 700 miles to get back home. Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox will have to wait until next year I guess.

The next blog post will feature me doing a classic drive down the Pacific Coast Highway.

See more of my San Francisco pictures.

I think issue #2 will take more time and more photo ops and more perusing these forums and thinking about what I find ‘gets it’ and trying to do the same. To me it’s like porn- I can;t define it, but I know it when I see it.

I need help with Issue 1- technical image quality. I am not sure that a workshop setting will be conducive to intense 1-on-1 image-by-image analysis, so either a day in the field 1 on 1 workshop, with 1/2 the time spent ‘debugging’ raw images.

What have you all done when you are in a TECHNICAL rut? Artistic ruts, well, rut means one thing to me, another thing to an elk. How have you debugged your failures?…

thanks for reading, and I am very interested in how other people have kept themselves advancing.”

Picture: Dove Carcass, The Prey of a Red-Tailed Hawk, Rockaway Beach, Pacifica, California (Compelling enough?)

This is a question that I saw this morning on a nature photography forum. I would have invited the photographer to read my blog but I didn’t want to come across like I was promoting myself so I’ll just write about it here. 

The problem I see is that the photographer has somehow mistaken un-compelling imagery for a lack of technique. What is all that talk about head turning and catchlight? That is nonsense. If he is talking in those terms, clearly he has a solid grasp on technique. I haven’t a clue myself how to do that. What that is, is basic bird guidebook 101 stock photography. The photos look pretty and give good ID details about the bird. That’s perfectly fine. But when the photographer starts to blame boring photos on a lack of technique that couldn’t be further from the truth. It is a lack of artistic vision. I’m not talking about being an artist, what I’m saying is that he doesn’t have an idea for what he wants out of his imagery. I’ll be blunt and just say it straight out. Most non-birders find the majority of “bird-on-a-stick” photos to be technically fine, but boring. No head turn or catchlight is going to change that. I believe that good bird-on-a-stick photography or whatever type of bird photography is dependent on whether or not you show the personality of your subject, show some environmental context and maybe a behavior or two if you are fortunate enough. Picture-perfect technique should be the last thing on your mind because elusive behaviors often come and go within a blink of an eye. I’d rather have an image that is rough around the edges but says something about the subject rather than worry about how saleable or postcard-worthy it will be. Once you define yourself as a photographer, the money and accolades will come. If you aspire to shoot run-of-the-mill type of photos then you might or might not make money (people do win lotteries occasionally) but one thing for sure, you’ll probably get to the point where you get discouraged with your photography and no one else would get excited about your work either.

Photo: Royal Tern Flying Out of Water Resembling a Rising Phoenix, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California

That might actually be a good thing. From there a photographer could go either of several directions. Go through the motions forever, take a step back and figure out why the pictures are boring then try something different, or you can hang up the camera in the closet to collect dust. I’ve always tried for the 2nd option. When I look back at my older work, I get angry with myself because I see wasted opportunities. That motivates me to attack that location or subject with a renewed vigor the next time around. Then I’ll be excited with the images for a few months until I’ve progressed then I’ll feel dejected about the previous batch of images. Then the same process repeats itself. Hopefully the cycle never stops.

See more of my bird pictures.

I had been wanting to go back to the La Jolla Cove for quite a while now to photograph a brown pelican headthrow. My last visit to La Jolla was probably a year and a half ago. I didn’t have much time that day though to shoot the Cove because I went there to have lunch w/ a friend of mine who attends UCSD. So yesterday I decided to test my luck.

I was lucky to have found a parking spot right in front of the cliff where the pelicans were. La Jolla is one of the most popular spots in San Diego so I was very fortunate to have gotten the (free on Sundays) parking spot.

I was able to get some frame-filling whole bird photos but 300mm isn’t enough for tight head portraits. I think a 400mm might be able to do a tight portrait of a head throw. If not, then stack on a 1.4x converter and you’re set. I doubt the converter is necessary though because you can tell by my photo that a head throw requires a lot of space in a frame to photograph sucessfully. Now I’m going to start saving for the 400mm.

I’ve been trying to find out on the internet why pelicans do the the head throw but I haven’t found anything yet. What I do know is that they aren’t all that easy to shoot. When they toss their head back it’s usually a really quick snapping motion and the bird might do the motion once or twice then it’s over. I read on another photographer’s site that any pelican with it’s eyes open is a candidate to do it. They spend most of their time cleaning their feathers and grooming so it’s very hard to time it right. Plus there are so many birds I think that you have just focus in on a small group of them and wait until it happens. Then be prepared to react in a split second. It can get overwhelming with the amount of pelicans on the cliffs.

The pelicans and other shorebirds are of a more colorful variety in the winter time I believe but as for reliable pelican photography opportunities in Southern California, there’s no place better than La Jolla. I have photographed pelicans at Bolsa Chica and in Malibu but they are hit or miss sightings in my experience.

Aside from the plentiful pelicans on the cliffs, La Jolla Cove is a marine wildlife photographer’s paradise. There are also sea lions everywhere, sea caves you can kayak into, and big surf waves in addition to a wealth of diving opportunities just off shore. It’s one of those places that is very difficult to not come away with at least a few good photos.

If you need a break from the action, then Tom Mangelsen’s Images of Nature photo gallery is up the street along with the Bartram nature photo gallery a few stores down.

See more of my San Diego pictures.

I had never seen anything like this before yesterday. Judging from the bald heads, I would say that these baby American Coot chicks were probably born yesterday or the day before. Man. I am getting really sleepy right now after lunch, but I have stuff to do so I can’t take a nap.

Added 5/21/07: On Friday, I forgot to mention that at least two of the baby wood duck chicks seem to be doing well. In fact, they have finally developed little feathers on the wings. They still can’t fly yet as far as I know. Come to think of it, I have never seen an adult wood duck fly either so I’ll have to research that one. A part of me wishes they would stay small and cute, (they still look cute but look less cute now than two weeks ago) and on the other hand I’m glad to see they are progressing. The mother duck wasn’t anywhere to be seen so I guess the two babies have been left to fend for themselves now that it is 3+ weeks later. I photographed another mother wood duck w/ five little chicks or the same one gave birth to more chicks? So I guess the other two chicks from the four remaining original group died in the past week and a half. Can you imagine what it would be like to give birth to nine babies and have seven of them die within the first month? Hopefully I can get back down there one morning this week to verify my observations.

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Yesterday, I saw this game called Snapshot Adventure: Secret of Bird Island, that is kind of similar to the Superman game but is actually a bird photography game complete with a field guide journal and simulated camera birding equipment. I downloaded the free 1 hour trial and played about 15 minutes of it. It can be addicting so I forewarn you. I learned something new about birding actually in those 15 minutes. I had never heard of a “Life List” which apparently is a species count that birders add to a categorized list each time they photograph or see a new bird. I’d seen such lists on some bird photography websites but didn’t realize that it was common practice to do so. I guess I need to redesign my Bird Photo gallery and start my own right now!

Here is a cardinal postcard that I took in Snapshot Adventure and emailed to myself thru the game:

The Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve is one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in the Southern California. Critical bird habitat such as the Back Bay has been eroding at a rapid pace over the past century and becoming increasingly polluted, particularly so in the past thirty years due to rampant urban development. The bay is a mixture of fresh and saltwater but the “fresh” water mainly consists of urban runoff from the local community. The foreground water flowing into the bay with the ducks is a reminder that we must be careful not to pour toxic chemicals down our drains and pesticides. There is life out there that depends on our used water.

Birds outlived their dinosaur predecessors and have been around for millions of years. They developed the ability to fly in order to avoid ground-based predators. Their ability to adapt to their surroundings has allowed them to thrive in almost every habitat on the planet. However, the interference of man can have a much quicker and dramatic impact on wildlife than their ability to adapt. The airplane-induced contrails in the sky is a double-reminder of the increasing competition that birds must endure in order to survive in today’s world. Even in the air, birds are not alone anymore.

I took this image on Saturday evening. To me it symbolizes the importance of strong environmental protection laws and how urgent it is to have cooperation in our society when it comes to respect for the environment. This is perhaps the saddest picture that I have ever taken. Only one can wonder how beautiful this planet was before the Industrial Revolution.

This photo will soon be added to the Environmental pictures on my website.

“I’ll stand by you. I won’t let nobody hurt you. I’ll stand by you…”

Photo: Female Mother Wood Duck and Baby Chicks Resting Near Pond, CSU Fullerton, California

A children’s book anybody?

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Picture: Baby Wood Duck Chick (Aix sponsa) With Earthworm in Mouth, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California

I spotted a family of wood ducks almost immediately after arriving, but some poorly-parented little girls kept scaring them back into the water by running after them and throwing bread at them. That was really frustrating to see. I wanted to throw those stupid little kids and their ignorant parents into the pond and see how they felt. Once they left, the baby wood ducks kept approaching me and looking for earthworms near my feet because they knew who I am apparently and wanted some publicity on the internet for their cause. So I laid my tripod on it’s side flat on the ground and took eye-level photos of these baby wood duck chicks within touching distance. The cutest moment I have ever seen in my life.

Photo: Female Mother Wood Duck Protecting Family of Chicks by Fighting Off Rival Mallard Duck, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California

While a thrill-seeking photographer such as myself posed no threat to the birds, other ducks were. Notice the baby wood duck chicks hiding behind the mother wood duck as a mallard approaches them. Might be a little hard to see in this little thumbnail but they are clearly visible in the original file. When I was photographing the ducks at the L.A. County Arboretum I couldn’t figure out why the ducks were so hostile and defensive to other birds. Well this photo below might offer an insight as to why that is.

Picture: Great Blue Heron Kills Baby Wood Duck Chick for Meal, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California

By the time I took the 2nd photo, the mother was protecting four wood duck chicks. My initial photos of the wood duck family when I arrived at the CSU Fullerton Arboretum consisted five or six chicks… This is a day in the life of a baby wood duck.

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Photo: Black-crowned Night Heron Immature (Nycticorax nycticorax) in Cypress Tree Stalking Fish in Lagoon at Los Angeles County Arboretum, Arcadia, California

I have always been a fan of the National Geographic style of wildlife photography and that is what I tried to incorporate into my photos with just enough mixed ambient light flash to stop action with a slight motion blur. What do you think of BirdsAsSavages.com for my new website? Wood ducks aren’t so cute when they are angry…

Picture: Aggressive Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) Chasing Another Duck, Los Angeles County Arboretum, Arcadia, California

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Picture: Indian Peafowl Blue Peacock (Pavo crisatus) Courting a Peahen, Los Angeles County Arboretum, California

The peacocks weren’t very active yesterday so I only spent about an hour with them then spent the rest of the time photographing the Mayberg Waterfall, Wood Ducks, lagoon and Queen Anne Cottage. I don’t know of anywhere else within a few miles of my home that offers this many photo opportunies for bird photography. In addition to the famous peacocks I saw many wood ducks, Snow Geese, Canada Goose, and a few Herons in the ponds and lagoon. The squirrels were making me a bit nervous however as they kept following me and standing next to me. Getting rabies is not something that I want.

Photo: Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Picture: Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos) Flapping Wings in Front of Lagoon and Queen Anne Cottage, Los Angeles County Arboretum, California

I must admit that I underestimated how difficult it is to get photos of wood ducks. They are constantly moving and since I prefer to photograph in diffused lighting conditions it made for a lot of blurry photos. As a result, I had to toss out some nice colorful sunset wood duck water reflection photos. I took some action photos of a wood duck flapping its wings wildly and being hostile toward other ducks but didn’t like how I composed the photos so I plan to photograph them again soon. I don’t mind messing up all my shots as long as I’m trying to photograph something in a different way than has already been done. If you aren’t trying for something unique with your own twist then why bother photographing? Striving for anything less is too easy.

I’d like to purchase a Canon 400mm f5.6 L lens in the future as my $150 Tamron 70-300 lens has so many chromatic aberration defects (purple and blue color fringing) on bright edges that I end up throwing out the majority of photos I take with it at 300mm. Hence the reason why I prefer to photograph birds in diffused lighting. Plus the AF is so slow that I have to manually focus my bird photos. One good thing about my cheap lens is that it’s sharp from 70mm to about 210mm at the f7.1 – f11 aperture range. The 400mm prime lens on the other hand has fast autofocus and is razor sharp from what I’ve seen of the reviews. Plus it’s only $1000. There’s no other good lens of that length on the market for that price. I wish it weren’t white color though. If I buy the lens down the road, I’ll probably put a camouflage cover on it.

Check out more of my bird pictures.