EM1 w/ ZD 150mm f2.0 - ISO 250, 1/800 @ f2.0, handheld from kayak
Double Vision by RRcoleJR Photography, on Flickr
The end of summer found me exploring a pretty large Bald Cypress swamp that I documented here - Southeast Texas Swamp Exploration
I had made four exploratory visits there and was planning my next trip to actually be about wildlife photography since I had found a few great locations. The photography trip there never happened because Hurricane Harvey decided to visit the Houston area and put a stop to all activity for almost 3 weeks.
It was 19 days after Harvey before Lake Houston was within it's banks and I had been dying to get out and shoot wildlife. Even though Lake Houston is only a 1/2 mile from my house, it's not a place that I really like to go to for wildlife photography. But it was the only place that was really accessible. The road going to the swamp I had been exploring was knocked out, so the park was closed...............as was every other wildlife refuge, state park or national forest. So I headed to good old Lake Houston because I just needed to get out after 19 days in the house.
I launched on Luce Bayou (which feeds into Lake Houston) and after a bit of paddling I rounded a bend and spotted this Great Blue Heron about 50 yards ahead. I was actually after a reflection shot for a photo challenge with the theme of reflections, so I was really excited when I came upon this scene. I should mention that the photo has to be taken during a specific time period, so you can't just use any old reflection photograph you happen to have (I have a surprisingly large number of reflection shots).
I instantly took a hard turn to port and paddled directly to the bank. The birds in this area are really shy/hard to get close to and I didn't want to spook this guy, so I went slow. The current was running about 1 mph, so I didn't have to paddle and I let it take me to this tree which I tied up to. Because I wanted to make sure I didn't spook him, I would only move when he wasn't looking and would grab onto a weed or tree every 5 to 10 feet just make sure I didn't approach to fast. I had the EC-20 on the lens and that was to much reach, so I switched to the EC-14. I didn't try any shots with the EC-20 because the shoreline was not strait and this was actually my first opportunity to clearly see and photograph him. I was at about the perfect distance to get the reflection but my ISO was getting to high, so I got some shots that were not bad before I tried to get closer. One thing I have learned in my years of wildlife photography is to take the shot even if it's not perfect before you try to get closer, because there is a good chance you will spook him and walk away with nothing. There was also some vegetation in the water the made it so the GBH had to be in the perfect spot to get all of him in the reflection. Since I was specifically after a reflection shot and I have 1,000's of photos of GBH's and because I wanted a lower ISO................I decided I had a reflection shot that would do decent in the challenge but I wanted to win............so lets chance it.
If I untied from the tree the current would take me right towards him and there was nothing between us to tie off to. The shoreline made a jog to port and there was a tree that I hoped would be the perfect distance for the Little Tuna without a TC (which would give me another stop lower ISO). So, I untied and waited for him to do something with his gaze not in my direction and when that happened.........................I pushed as hard as I could so that I would go towards the tree and not with the current towards the GBH. I easily made it to the tree, quickly tied off and removed the EC-14.
It was about an hour from the time I tied off on that first tree (which took me 30 minutes to get to from the time I had spotted him) until he started to sharpen his bill on that log. I didn't get any great shots from the first time, but a few minutes later he did it again and I was able to capture the images you see. This second time happen to correspond with the sun finally shinning over the top of the trees and giving me more light and a much lower ISO of 250. Some may ask why didn't I lower the shutter speed when I had the EC-14 on (or even without and before the sun broke) so I could shoot at a lower ISO. Well..............he was hunting and I wanted a good strike shot with the reflection and you need 1/800 minimum to freeze the head. I prefer 1/1000 because sometimes 1/800 doesn't perfectly freeze it and you get some blur. While a slower shutter speed may have frozen his beak sharping, I am glad I had enough shutter speed to freeze the action and it's a good demonstration as to why I try to always shoot even static birds at higher shutter speeds. All of his strikes were away from me, so no good strike shots. He also only caught two little minnows while I watched, so nothing cool there either. After getting this image he hung out for about 30 minutes before taking off. I got some amazing shots of him over the 1 1/2 hours I watched (took 541 total), but this was the cream of the crop.
The image at the start was the initial image that I edited and submitted to the challenge for which it placed 2nd. When going thru the other frames of him sharpening his beak I noticed something and have since edited two additional photographs. None of the three shown hear are the final edit, which I still need to do. There are a few distracting elements in the background I want to remove and just haven't found the time to do it. Once I do the final edit I plan on printing all three images very large for one wall of my office. Still working out sizes and have several rectangles made of painters tape on my wall to help visualize the size of the framed prints.
The first image above has about 200px cropped off the long side after taking it to a 16:9 aspect ratio (just needed to tighten it up a little, was at the perfect distance). The other two images have a bit more crop but that's because I tried to maintain the same framing (top to bottom) while also changing the aspect ratio. If you notice in the 2nd photograph I went with 3:2 aspect ratio because his neck is not stretched out as far as in the first photograph. The 3rd image I went with the native 4:3 because his head was really close to his body.
EM1 w/ ZD 150mm f2.0 - ISO 320, 1/800 @ f2.0, handheld from kayak
The Drink by RRcoleJR Photography, on Flickr
EM1 w/ ZD 150mm f2.0 - ISO 320, 1/800 @ f2.0, handheld from kayak
The Guzzle by RRcoleJR Photography, on Flickr
I am really happy with how the images turned out and can't wait to get them printed and on my wall. I also continue to be impressed with the images from the Little Tuna, especially when shot without any TC's. The lens truly is amazing and I will never sell it.
As always.........any and all comments/critiques are welcomed
Regards,
Phocal aka Ronnie
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Double Vision by RRcoleJR Photography, on Flickr
The end of summer found me exploring a pretty large Bald Cypress swamp that I documented here - Southeast Texas Swamp Exploration
I had made four exploratory visits there and was planning my next trip to actually be about wildlife photography since I had found a few great locations. The photography trip there never happened because Hurricane Harvey decided to visit the Houston area and put a stop to all activity for almost 3 weeks.
It was 19 days after Harvey before Lake Houston was within it's banks and I had been dying to get out and shoot wildlife. Even though Lake Houston is only a 1/2 mile from my house, it's not a place that I really like to go to for wildlife photography. But it was the only place that was really accessible. The road going to the swamp I had been exploring was knocked out, so the park was closed...............as was every other wildlife refuge, state park or national forest. So I headed to good old Lake Houston because I just needed to get out after 19 days in the house.
I launched on Luce Bayou (which feeds into Lake Houston) and after a bit of paddling I rounded a bend and spotted this Great Blue Heron about 50 yards ahead. I was actually after a reflection shot for a photo challenge with the theme of reflections, so I was really excited when I came upon this scene. I should mention that the photo has to be taken during a specific time period, so you can't just use any old reflection photograph you happen to have (I have a surprisingly large number of reflection shots).
I instantly took a hard turn to port and paddled directly to the bank. The birds in this area are really shy/hard to get close to and I didn't want to spook this guy, so I went slow. The current was running about 1 mph, so I didn't have to paddle and I let it take me to this tree which I tied up to. Because I wanted to make sure I didn't spook him, I would only move when he wasn't looking and would grab onto a weed or tree every 5 to 10 feet just make sure I didn't approach to fast. I had the EC-20 on the lens and that was to much reach, so I switched to the EC-14. I didn't try any shots with the EC-20 because the shoreline was not strait and this was actually my first opportunity to clearly see and photograph him. I was at about the perfect distance to get the reflection but my ISO was getting to high, so I got some shots that were not bad before I tried to get closer. One thing I have learned in my years of wildlife photography is to take the shot even if it's not perfect before you try to get closer, because there is a good chance you will spook him and walk away with nothing. There was also some vegetation in the water the made it so the GBH had to be in the perfect spot to get all of him in the reflection. Since I was specifically after a reflection shot and I have 1,000's of photos of GBH's and because I wanted a lower ISO................I decided I had a reflection shot that would do decent in the challenge but I wanted to win............so lets chance it.
If I untied from the tree the current would take me right towards him and there was nothing between us to tie off to. The shoreline made a jog to port and there was a tree that I hoped would be the perfect distance for the Little Tuna without a TC (which would give me another stop lower ISO). So, I untied and waited for him to do something with his gaze not in my direction and when that happened.........................I pushed as hard as I could so that I would go towards the tree and not with the current towards the GBH. I easily made it to the tree, quickly tied off and removed the EC-14.
It was about an hour from the time I tied off on that first tree (which took me 30 minutes to get to from the time I had spotted him) until he started to sharpen his bill on that log. I didn't get any great shots from the first time, but a few minutes later he did it again and I was able to capture the images you see. This second time happen to correspond with the sun finally shinning over the top of the trees and giving me more light and a much lower ISO of 250. Some may ask why didn't I lower the shutter speed when I had the EC-14 on (or even without and before the sun broke) so I could shoot at a lower ISO. Well..............he was hunting and I wanted a good strike shot with the reflection and you need 1/800 minimum to freeze the head. I prefer 1/1000 because sometimes 1/800 doesn't perfectly freeze it and you get some blur. While a slower shutter speed may have frozen his beak sharping, I am glad I had enough shutter speed to freeze the action and it's a good demonstration as to why I try to always shoot even static birds at higher shutter speeds. All of his strikes were away from me, so no good strike shots. He also only caught two little minnows while I watched, so nothing cool there either. After getting this image he hung out for about 30 minutes before taking off. I got some amazing shots of him over the 1 1/2 hours I watched (took 541 total), but this was the cream of the crop.
The image at the start was the initial image that I edited and submitted to the challenge for which it placed 2nd. When going thru the other frames of him sharpening his beak I noticed something and have since edited two additional photographs. None of the three shown hear are the final edit, which I still need to do. There are a few distracting elements in the background I want to remove and just haven't found the time to do it. Once I do the final edit I plan on printing all three images very large for one wall of my office. Still working out sizes and have several rectangles made of painters tape on my wall to help visualize the size of the framed prints.
The first image above has about 200px cropped off the long side after taking it to a 16:9 aspect ratio (just needed to tighten it up a little, was at the perfect distance). The other two images have a bit more crop but that's because I tried to maintain the same framing (top to bottom) while also changing the aspect ratio. If you notice in the 2nd photograph I went with 3:2 aspect ratio because his neck is not stretched out as far as in the first photograph. The 3rd image I went with the native 4:3 because his head was really close to his body.
EM1 w/ ZD 150mm f2.0 - ISO 320, 1/800 @ f2.0, handheld from kayak
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
The Drink by RRcoleJR Photography, on Flickr
EM1 w/ ZD 150mm f2.0 - ISO 320, 1/800 @ f2.0, handheld from kayak
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
The Guzzle by RRcoleJR Photography, on Flickr
I am really happy with how the images turned out and can't wait to get them printed and on my wall. I also continue to be impressed with the images from the Little Tuna, especially when shot without any TC's. The lens truly is amazing and I will never sell it.
As always.........any and all comments/critiques are welcomed
Regards,
Phocal aka Ronnie
