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!

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Photo of the Week! Loon Part 2!

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

This is the next photo in the loon series that began last week. I like this photo because of the head and beak angel and the clean background. It also shows some great behavior from the loon. It's also noteworthy that this is one of the very few wildlife photographs that I have where you can't see the eyes.

Photo of the Day! Gosling

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 w/TC14e II, ISO 400, f8, 1/500, +1/3ev

Last night after them temp cooled off a bit, I grabbed my camera and headed over to the area were I had previously photographed the goslings. I was exactly 4 weeks ago I first came across this family. To my surprise they had the same number of little ones running around and feeding. I will keep me eye on this family so I can watch their feathers develop and eventually leave that location.

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! Gray Jay

Nikon D90, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, ISO 640, f5.6, 1/320

This photo was taken in northern Minnesota early last winter. This was one of the few photos I have used my Nikkor 300mm without the TC14 attach. The Gray Jays have little fear of people allowing to use shorter focal lengths.

Photo of the Day! Trumpeter Swan!

Nikon D90, Nikkor 300mm f/2.8, TC-14E II @ 420mm, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/1600

At the break of dawn this trumpeter swan heads out to forage. The Swans, as well as many other species, are in the midst of migration. This means we can enjoy the resident birds as well as the passerby's through spring.

Photo of the Day! Mallard

Nikon D90, Sigma 150-500mm OS, f8, ISO 400, 1/1250

I took this image last spring at my favorite duck pond. I was hoping to go there this few, due to flooding I'll have to wait a few weeks.

Photo of the Day! White-tail Deer!

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AFS @ ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/800

This white-tail was from our shoot last weekend. We had some very cooperative deer, some even inquisitive. The snow is melting and spring is coming. It will be interesting if we can continue to locate the deer and watch them loose their more dull beige fur in favor of their brighter summer reddish color. Maybe we can even find some fawns to photograph!

Photo of the Day! White-tail Deer



Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AFS @ ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1250, EV +1

Here is another doe from this week. There was a large group together and I got to see some fun interaction. They moved off into the woods not long after I arrived so I'll have to head back to capture some of those interaction shots another time.