The challenge of shooting out the car window.

There are several reasons for shooting out of the car window. One is that the location is a long distance and you can't walk it. Another is if the weather is iffy and it may rain or is very hot or a little chilly. Getting a flight shot from the car window is more than difficult but with good timing may be possible. I generally don't try too many flight shots from the car. When I find a good subject or location it is best to pull over and get out of the car. On this day I pulled up to a spot to pull over and noticed the Least Bittern. I got out very slowly and inched closer and closer to him. Usually the Least Bitterns are hidden and when you get close enough for a shot they fly off. This time he stayed put as I sat on the ground and fired off multiple shots. I was fortunate to catch the beak open with a tiny fish. My best shot so far of this elusive heron.

I discovered ticks inside the Porta-Potty! Fortunately none on me. I will be more careful about sitting on the ground from now on. But it would be worth a tick bite to get a great shot, I think.

Doing the Tai Chi walk.

Florida Birding and Photography Festival - 2017

The annual Florida Birding and Photo Festival is held each year in St. Augustine, Florida. The actual headquarters for the festival is in Ponte Vedra Beach at the GTM Research Reserve. I chose to take several of the indoor classes with a variety of photographers. I also participated in a hike one day and a ecotour by boat on another day. The hike was at the GTM preserve but was not led by a birder so we were on our own to find birds. Along the shore by the parking lot a few small shore birds were hanging out so they added to the bird count.

Every class was excellent and taught by experienced photographers.The first class was Fast Glass for Night Photography taught by Roman Kurywczak. We learned how to expose for star photography. That is not an easy subject to shoot in Florida but hope to try it some day out west. The second class that day was taught by Joe Brady on Enhancing Landscapes with Lightroom. Another great class.

My second day at the festival started on my own with sunrise at Marineland Beach. Since my boat trip started nearby it made sense to get there early. Sunrise was not spectacular due to the lack of clouds but was still fun. The boat trip was put on by Ripple Effects Eco Tours. We had five participants plus our guide. Dolphins were abundant but birds were scarce. We did see a variety of shore birds on some sand bars near the end of the tour. We saw red knots, black bellied plovers, sanderlings, whimbrels, short billed dowitcher, ruddy turnstones, grey kingbird, great egrets, great blue egret, osprey, brown pelicans and royal terns. It was a challenge to shoot from a moving boat that was constantly rotating around the subjects. My large straw hat blew off as the boat started up to return to the marina. Looks like a trip to the beach to get another one.

The last day was a six hour class on Wildlife Photography taught by Chas Glatzner. It was another excellent class about shooting in manual mode, adjusting exposure and shutter speeds. He had some great anecdotes about his travels and photographing wildlife and birds. He included information on lenses, when to shoot on tripods, when to shoot handheld and gear choices. Well worth the three hour drive over and back in the same day.

The Villages Polo Spring 2017

First trip of the season to the Polo Matches at the Villages. It seems to be more and more popular each season. I tried to isolate the action instead of shooting when the players were bunched up. Also, this was my first time shooting all in manual so I could control the shutter speed.

Consolation Match April 23, 2017

Spacecoast Birding Festival

This was my second year attending the Spacecoast Birding Festival in Titusville, Florida. Brevard County is a hot spot for birding with the highlight being Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. People come from all over the US and some foreign countries to attend the festival. They have expert guides for both birding and photography classes, workshops and field trips. I participated in several birding fieldtrips to some new places including Salt Lake. The highlight of the festival was the Gull Fly-In at Daytona Beach Shores where hundreds if not thousands of gulls hang out on the beach at sunset before spending the night on the ocean. There were several expert guides who could identify different species of gulls, including first and second year juveniles. This years festival included a variety of weather conditions  from warm and dry to wet and cold on the last day.

Birds are nesting in the spring in Florida. Some people think the nest locations should be secret but that's difficult when the nest is in a very visible public park. So I am posting the photos a good time after the babies have branched. No one that I know will disturb the wildlife on purpose. Most experienced wildlife photographers know that the farther from the nest the better angle you have. Shooting underneath will make everything distorted.

Practicing Flight Photography

Having a location that you can return to is great for learning. I had the chance to come back and try to get better flight shots with a few adjustments I learned from shooting side by side with other experienced photographers.

I have been fortunate to also photograph an eagles nest, another barred owl nest, a flickr nest and many nests at the Gatorland rookery.

Great Egret chicks at Gatorland

Mead Garden Owlet starting to branch

Great Horned Owlets nesting in an abadoned osprey nest.

Spruce Creek Park in New Symrna Beach

Piers and sunsets are my favorite subjects. Unfortunately most of the parks close right at or before sunset. After hearing a horror story about being locked in I was going to make sure to leave before that happened. I found the Spruce Creek park and pier to be very scenic. Fearing that there would be crowds of people on the pier was unfounded. I arrived early to scope out the best angles and get in some early shots of the pier with the beautiful afternoon light. The pier has a nice angle to it and can be shot while on the pier or at ground level with the marsh in the foreground. Next time I need to bring a red kayak! The sunrise didn't disappoint but it reached its peak as we drove out of the park and down Route one.

Twenty Four Hours on the Connecticut Shore

A birder I met on my last trip to Massachusetts recommended Hammonasset Beach for a great birding spot . Since I was going to visit my Dad in October anyway, I added an extra day to check out Connecticut shore spots. After a frustrating start with a rental car that had push button start I made it to Guilford and checked into the Comfort Inn. Mid afternoon I found my way to Hammonasset Beach State Park. To my delight, the rather steep entrance fees were suspended. I headed south to Meigs Point first. The weather was heavy overcast and drizzle. The beach has some elevation and rocks to add to the interest. I expected more shore birds but only found seagulls. Opposite the beach is a salt marsh and some hiking trails. The most birds I found were in the grass parking lot where the Canada Geese and a few kildeer were congregating. The park closed at 6:30 pm so I spent most of my time at the beach side.

 The following morning I was not hopeful for good weather but decided to drive towards the the State Park again and looking for a spot for sunrise. The State Park didn't open until 8 am but I found a small park off of Route 1 named East Wharf Beach Park. There was a small beach area and a rock pier. The sunrise was not spectacular but the clouds were interesting not as overcast as the day before.

Back at Hammonasset Beach State Park I waited for the gates to open and then headed back down to Meigs Point. There was lots to explore but I concentrated on the beach with the rocks and then the marsh areas. I took a short hike to look for birds and was lead to a barred owl sitting in the open by a friendly birder. Saw a few warblers, downey woodpeckers, cat birds and hundreds of barn swallows.

The red plant is glasswort that turns bright red in the fall.