Sunday, August 24, 2014

Have Lens Will Travel

Well, after having my new Tamron 600mm lens since July, I think I've finally found some settings I can rely on for decent images. It's been quite a learning curve since it arrived. With my old 300mm lens I typically shot everything in auto-mode. I know, I know, but I've honestly never had a single photography class and don't understand that much about photography. The reason I got into it at all was simply to record which birds I'd seen and to learn new ones. But with my new lens I was inadvertently thrust into the world of photography more than I'd ever planned. Dunno why and I have no explanation for it but auto-mode was just not giving me the quality of images I was used to getting. And so I had to start experimenting quickly with other settings. Today it felt like everything was finally going right for me and was able to capture some images that years ago would have blew my mind to imagine that I had taken myself! My first good photo opportunity I really had to make myself. I'd spotted both a Green Heron AND a Great Blue Heron in very close proximity to each other in the little pond near Oliver Avenue on the east side. I couldn't get an unobstructed view without having to crash my way through some young willow trees. And almost instantly the GB Heron took off. But luckily the Green Heron stayed and tolerated me getting even closer where I had some great views of him. I ended up crouching down to avoid some branches which gave this photo a nice and low vantage point. Later on the south wood chip trail, I heard and then spotted a Northern Cardinal. It was a beautiful female with her crest up which is something I don't see closely very often. Though she was in a darker area and in some tangled branches I got a couple of nice shots without changing my camera settings. I really like how the dark green background contrasts against her. Near the parking lot on the south side I stopped at a spot where I've been seeing Hummingbirds once or twice. Sure enough one buzzed over the tiny, orange Touch-me-not flowers and then disappeared. I waited for a while and then just as I was about to give up, it came back but perched this time in the dead tree standing in the middle of the area. I really had to bend down and contort my body while holding my heavy lens in order to get an unobstructed view. I took numerous shots, anticipating it was only seconds from flying away again. But the bird continued sitting still for me for just long enough for me to find the right angle. I'm really happy with how this one turned out. This is a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird –the only species of Hummingbird that are common in Minnesota. As usual in the bird world it's the male who has the more colorful "ruby" throat for which they are named. Along my way I saw a handful of other good birds including Gray Catbirds, American Golfinch and a couple of American Redstarts too. I did spot something of interest today that was not a bird. Right on the edge of the paved trail near the west side baseball fields was a tiny little rodent. At first it wasn't moving and I thought maybe I was looking at some part of a plant that broke off or something. But as I got closer I realized it was indeed a Meadow Vole. I generally see more of these in the winter time when they scurry across the white snow. However I've also seen more of them during very wet periods too. I wonder if too much moisture drives them out of their burrows and hiding places. He was casually dining on what looked to be a willow leaf and did not appear to realize I was only feet from him. In fact I got so close that I darn near touched him. I considered feeling his fur but didn't want to completely freak him out. This one was small in comparison to others that I've seen, so maybe it was young as well. On the north side near the bridge over Shingle Creek I decided to turn left and follow the creek for a while. I am glad that I did because here in the big grassy field I spotted a pair of Wild Turkeys. The were actually headed my way and continued walking closer to me. I got distracted by something and turned my attention away from them for a bit. When I turned back around they were poking along the edge of the field very close to me. Turkey can be tough subjects because their heads are always moving differently from their bodies. But when they stand still it's a bit easier. I tried hard to catch a few shots with both of them together and this one was my favorite.

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