Photo of the Week! Mountain Bluebird

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 w/TC14e II, ISO 800, f4, 1/400

While is was shooting a bull elk in Yellowstone National Park, these four Mountain Bluebirds landed on a fallen tree. All week I wanted an opportunity to photograph these little guys. I did see a number of them, however the eluded me all week. I only had time to fire off a quick burst before they flew off, I was very happy to add these birds to my list! 

Photo of the Week! Misty Swans

Nikon D90, Sigma 150-500mm @500mm, ISO 400, f8, 1/640

A couple of weeks ago I drove up to my favorite swan location in Minnesota to photography Trumpeter Swans. To my disappointment I didn't see a single swan. I have been to this location several times and on a bad day there would be hundreds, swimming, flying, and sleeping. 

I went home and did the next best thing, process old files. I literally have thousands of swan images from years past. I came across this photo and thought, "how the heck did I miss this?" After changing the exposure a bit I was done with it. After that I decided to upload it to 500px.com where is was my best received image to date.

Favorite Photo of 2011 by Chad Griggs

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AFS @ ISO 500, f/7.1, 1/2500

Oh it's that time of year again and this time the choice was fairly easy one. The Common Loon is Minnesota's official state bird and I always wanted to get a good photograph of one. Finding a Loon in Minnesota is not the issue. They can be found on most of Minnesota's 10,000+ lakes. The issue isn't even approaching them (for the most part). Loons in Minnesota are not nearly as skittish as many ducks such as the Ring-necked Duck. The tricky part is getting them in that perfect environment for the photo.

The light has to be at the correct angle to show details in their black feathers, but not too bright to over expose their white feathers. An ideal Loon photo for me also requires calm glassy water and of course a clean background. And if you add in some Loon behavior..? Oh my! This is the photo of the year, and I knew it right away!

More information about this photo

Behind the Image: Willet

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 w/TC14 @420mm, SB 800 flash,  f5.6, ISO 800, 1/2000

Ever since I picked up my new computer a week ago I have been flying through my photos. I have mentioned it before, but one of my favorite things to do is go back through older photos to see what I may have missed.

This photo is from my trip to Pensacola Beach Florida last April. I woke up before the rest of the crew I was with and hit the beach at Fort Pickens State Park. All along the beaches you can find various species of water birds. Throughout my week long stay I saw a number of Willet's but was unable to get close enough to photography one.

On my last morning of the trip I found a Willet that didn't seem to mind the presence of people. There was a couple of guys fishing nearby. I was lying on the beach waiting for the Willet to come to me, so it wouldn't scare off. After a few minutes, I was firing off shots while the Willet was fishing for shrimp. 
I was shooting for only 10 minutes before it flew away. That's pretty good since I usually only have a few seconds before a bird takes off on my.

The morning of this shoot it was cloudy and foggy. To help bring out the colors out in the bird I attached my Nikon SB 800 flash. Flash really helps in situations like this where you need just a little bit more light on your subject. Earlier in the week I was using the flash in bright light to fill in the shadows created by harsh light.

Check out previous blog post on fill flash!
Fill Flash for Bird Photography
or
Fill Flash pt. II

Photo of the Week! Sanderling

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/2500, +1/3ev

Since I haven't been out shooting much lately, I've been going through my old files to see if I had left something behind. This photo was from my trip to Pensacola Beach, FL last April. I did flag it as something I liked in Lightroom, but never got around to processing it until this last week. What I like about this photo is the inclusion of the other birds that are out of focus. Almost every other bird photo I have is a single bird in the frame. I thought I would change it up a bit with this one.

Photo of the Week! A Loon with Open Wings!

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AFS @ ISO 500, f/7.1, 1/2500

A symbol of Minnesota and one of the prettiest birds you'll see, graced me with this beautiful photo opportunity this weekend. This photograph was taken in north western Minnesota on a calm summer evening.

The hardest part of photographing loons has been find them when the environment was just right and the environment was just right last weekend. I'm talking about a nice low sun angle, calm water, a clean background not to mention a cooperative loon.

With all of the elements in place I slowly approached this loon from my fishing boat. I used my trolling motor which I operated by remote control. Once the boat was in position with the sun to my bad I fired away with my camera lens resting on the calm edge of the boat.

Now if that was the end I would have been excited with an amazing experience and photographs but that wasn't it. The loon suddenly leaned back and stretched his wings and I let loose another burst of shots. I knew immediately that the focus and exposure were dead on and I was ecstatic!

Photo of the Week! Gull Gone Fishin'

Nikon D90, Sigma 150-500 OS, ISO 320, f/8, 1/1600

With all of the fishing Derek have been doing ourselves lately, this only seemed fitting. This Ring-billed Gull doesn't need a pole, lures or hooks though.

Photo of the Week! Grey Jay

Nikon D90, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, ISO 1000, f3.2, 1/1600

After a warm 4th of July weekend, I thought I would post a photo with a little snow in it. This was taken last winter in northern Minnesota on a very cold and windy day. I have found that I'm much more apt to sit out in cold weather than I am in warm weather. I'd rather be a little cold than sweaty and covered in mosquito's!

Photo of the Day! Tern

Nikon D90, Sigma 150-500mm OS, ISO 250, f8, 1/1000

The last couple of years Chad and I have gone out on his boat to photograph Yellow-headed Blackbirds. We would take a break and head to a rock point where gulls and turns would hang out. Check out our old blog post on Photographer Insurance. This photo came just before Chad's dip into the lake!

Photo of the Day! Sanderling

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 w/TC14e II, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/25000, +1/3ev, SB800 for fill

Once again, I wen back through my photos from Pensacola, FL. I was up walking the beach early in the morning when the temps weren't too hot yet. As I was walking along the beach, I would spot a group of Sanderings chasing the waves back into the gulf. I sat down and just waited for them to get into shooting range. The trick was to get my shots before someone else came walking towards me and scare them off.

Photo of the Day! Grasshopper Sparrow

Nikon D90, Sigma 150-500mm OS, ISO 400, f6.3, 1/2500

Last summer, I was in Chad's neck of the woods looking for Indigo Buntings. Let's just say they weren't as cooperative as I had hoped. However, the I found a Grasshopper Sparrow that was willing to play along . He didn't sit still very long, but it was long enough.

Photo of the Day! Momma Goose

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 w/TC14e II, ISO 500, f7.1, 1/250, +1/3ev

Momma goose took time for herself while the young ones were busy feeding. This goose sat in the same spot for almost 30 minutes while the youngsters were walking and laying in the grass nearby. It was hot late in the day when I was out shooting and the geese seemed relaxed and enjoying the warm weather.

Photo of the Day! Female Ring-necked Duck!

Nikon D90, Nikkor 500mm AFS @ f/5.6, 1/1000

The male ring-necked ducks may get most of the attention for the beautiful colors but just like the female wood duck, she has her beauty.

Photo of the Day! Loon!

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AFS, SB-600 fill flash @ ISO 800, f/6 1/640.

This was from yesterday. Derek and I spent the day fishing, but of course, I had to bring my camera. Although I spent very little time photographing we were greeted at our fishing hole by this guy. He was not afraid of the boat at all so I just had to fire a few off.

Photo of the Day! Common Loon!

Nikon D90, Nikkor 300mm f/4 AFS + TC 14E II @ f/7.1, ISO 720, 1/1000

Finally, open water, warm weather and to prove it, the common loon has returned to Minnesota! Summer here we come!

Photo of the Day! Tree Swallow

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 wTC14e II, ISO 500, f6.3, 1/1600, SB800

This was from a couple of weeks ago while shooting Eastern Bluebirds. The bluebirds would have to defend their nest from constant harassment from the Tree Swallows. I like this picture because it makes the story of the tree swallow "attacking" the bluebird nest better with the angry look in his eyes.

Photo of the Day! Female Wood Duck pt. II

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 w/TC14e II, ISO 640, f6.3, 1/1000

Here is the second image from last week's wood duck adventure. I was lucky enough to have a wood duck pair to swim past me to get this shot. I hope to get to that spot again soon to see if I can photography the male.

Photo of the Day! Killdeer

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, ISO 400, f5, 1/1600, +1/3ev, SB800

I took this photo just a few minutes after I took the "Baby Goose" photo that I shared yesterday. There is a resident Killdeer pair in a field close to home that is accessible by vehicle. I'm interested in following them as they nest for the spring and summer months. As I was watching the pair a Coopers Hawk swooped at them halfheartedly.

Photo of the Day! Tree Swallow!

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AFS @ ISO 320, f/5.6, 1/800

This was from this week while photographing bluebirds. The tree swallows made it a point to harass the bluebirds and their nest boxes whenever possible. The bluebirds were vigilante though and fearlessly chanced them away each time. This tree swallow was much more relaxed soaking up some sun.

Photo of the Day! Field Sparrow

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 TC-14e II, ISO 500, f6.3, 1/2000, +1/3ev, SB800 for fill

This is from last weeks shoot with Chad at Hyland Park, MN. Chad and I were there looking for eastern bluebirds when this little field sparrow was chirping below the bird box. I quickly fired off a few shots while he was on the perch.