Wldlife of Edmonds, WA. 2014

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Terry O

Well-Known Member
Great follow up to my gull post, Bill! Love that crab fighting back scene :). And that 5diii really does an amazing job at those high ISOs! Young Dave is a fantastic spotter, wish I could have been with you.
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Great follow up to my gull post, Bill! Love that crab fighting back scene :). And that 5diii really does an amazing job at those high ISOs! Young Dave is a fantastic spotter, wish I could have been with you.

You know how that works. If you had been with us, we would not have spotted the owl. ;)
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Photographing barred owls presents somewhat of a quandary. Since the owls are nocturnal, my best shots are taken before sunset when they are still sleeping. While the lighting may be satisfactory, the photos all tend to look alike as a sleeping owl is a sleeping owl. :p

I prefer action shots, but barred owls are night hunters. My few shots of the owls in flight were taken with very high ISO settings and very low shutter speeds, which results in very poor photos. :(
 
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
A lone black scoter was in the Sound below Sunset Ave. on Wednesday (1/8).
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With the tidal gate shut, the only source of water for the marsh is rainfall and Shellbarger and Willow Creeks. The dry autumn and winter reduced the marsh to mudflats with the resident herons fleeing elsewhere to find food. The rain of the past two days has caused the water level to rise a little which brought back the herons.
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Terry O

Well-Known Member
Glad there was something to shoot, Bill. BTW, I missed another opportunity to capture a shot of the coyote in our pasture - that darned mode wheel got turned to Av (f16) - needless to say, the images came out a 'little' blurred! Its either spring for the $$ to get the lock installed or buy a 5Diii :)
 

BobH

Administrator
Staff member
that darned mode wheel got turned to Av (f16) - needless to say, the images came out a 'little' blurred! Its either spring for the $$ to get the lock installed or buy a 5Diii :)

Well, I'd say go for the 5Diii and be done with it. ;)

OK, there is a cheaper option. You're aware of a problem that occurs on a regular basis, get into the habit of checking for it. Take a few test shots. When looking through the viewfinder, take a quick peek at the shutter speed, ISO an aperture. That alone will tell you everything you need to know. Shooting at 1/15th of a second? Well, if you're shooting hand held, and photographing a fast moving coyote, it's probably not going to end well unless you're doing something special like panning.

There's not a photographer out there that hasn't blown a shot due to bad settings. Last weekend the first dozen or so of my eagle shots were over-exposed to the point the head feathers lost all detail. I "chimp" when shooting, not obsessively (at least in my opinion) but I do check and keep checking until I feel I'm getting the results I want. I quickly determined I was blowing out the details and adjusted accordingly.

You'll probably still blow shots no matter what you do. I know I still do. After going on the night shoot that Arline organized, my first shot the next day was ever so slightly over exposed. (a 10 second exposure in broad daylight will do that...) Ideally, you'll put the camera back to it's default settings at the end of the day. Good practice, but we all forget from time to time. That's why you should also check it when you pick it up. Oh, and if your camera has the option, set it so it will NOT let you take a photo without a memory card. On Nikon, you disable "demo" mode, or something along those lines. That will save you some grief as well.
 

Terry O

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the advice, Bob. All perfectly true. Unfortunately there are times when split seconds are involved to capture the shot - in this case running from the dining room to the office and back and taking the shot with zero time for anything but pushing the shutter....can't win them all and this case would have been super lucky to get it....but no cigar! :)
 

BobH

Administrator
Staff member
Terry, that happens. The "gotta shoot now" thing makes you rush. Last weekend, I watched about a dozen trumpeter swans fly directly over a group of photographers. I was stuck on the other side of the road. Two minutes earlier and I'd have had the chance for a great shot.
As you said, nobody gets them all!
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Terry, that happens. The "gotta shoot now" thing makes you rush. Last weekend, I watched about a dozen trumpeter swans fly directly over a group of photographers. I was stuck on the other side of the road. Two minutes earlier and I'd have had the chance for a great shot.
As you said, nobody gets them all!

Photographers have a lot in common with fishermen. We always talking about the ones that "got away." :D
 
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Terry O

Well-Known Member
The Ones that Got Away - but proof the coyote was there - next time, Bob :)

The first two shots could be considered ethereal, right Bill? 1/20s f16 ISO 1600 400mm hand held....Av mode
Taken in Woodway today (Thurs 1/9), but same zip code as Edmonds :)

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this last shot was taken on 1/3 - same place. He sure looks healthy...He moved through the fence before I could get a good shot.
1-3-2014 coyote in the arena_8089.JPG
 

Terry O

Well-Known Member
I'll keep watching, Bill - and I'll keep the camera on the dining room table with all the proper settings :). Who knows, I just might actually capture a view of the Sasquatch!
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
A dark and rainy Thursday (1/9) at the marsh.

A flock of robins has been hanging around the main (#2) viewing platform for a week. I caught one of them eating berries from the bush next to the official public parking spots.
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I wonder if the resident coyotes prompted two flocks of Canada geese to fly north and flee the otherwise comfortable/secure environs of the Unocal grounds.
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Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
I'll keep watching, Bill - and I'll keep the camera on the dining room table with all the proper settings :). Who knows, I just might actually capture a view of the Sasquatch!

You must be secretly leaving Puppy Chow out in order for the coyotes to keep showing up in your back 40 with such regularity. :rolleyes:
 

Terry O

Well-Known Member
Well, we don't let our cats out, Bill, that's for sure! Nice robin/cotoneasters shots! Today looks to be even wetter!
 

Terry O

Well-Known Member
My one and only reasonable keeper from today - gads, no light! Now, if I had that 5Diii I could have boosted up the ISO. This was shot at 1/320s f5.6 ISO 800 Canon 7D 400mm f5.6L Hand held. Not too sharp (motion blur), but hopefully one can tell its a female Belted Kingfisher :)

1-10-2014 fm kingfisher edmonds_8260.JPG
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Our recent rain, gloom & doom has not presented many good, local avian photo ops for me and Terry. :mad:

On a positive note, the rainfall raised the water level in the marsh high enough to attract the resident great blue herons. During his presentation at the (shameless plug) 2013 Puget Sound Bird Fest at Edmonds, Chris Anderson of the Washington State Dept. of Fish & Wildlife explained that our local great blue herons are members of the Olympic subspecies. They do not migrate in the winter, unlike the great blue heron subspecies found east of the Cascades.

Friday 1/10/14:
There are at least 12 herons in this photo.
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The textures and colors of the bare foliage of the winter marshscape is very interesting in its own right. I'll have to devout more time with my various camera/lens combos to capture surreal/artistic/etherial images of the marsh in winter.
 
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