photoartflightCommon Terns At Brigantine
Posted on May 24, 2022
I usually do not photograph some of the smaller birds I see at Wildlife Refuges. Usually they are far off in the distance or are very skittish and fly off. On this trip to the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR these Common Terns were more cooperative. All images here were taken with a Canon 400mm DO lens with a 2X Teleconverter on a Canon 1DmkIV. The last image in the series was actually a panorama shot as it was flying right at me and I wanted to get the right wingtip in also. So I quickly shot a series of images hoping to get the right wingtip in also for my final pano image.
Panoramas From Plainsboro Preserve
Posted on May 5, 2022
We went to the Plainsboro Preserve a few days ago to get a nice walk and to see if there were some interesting views of McCormack Lake or the Wooded Areas along the trail before the leaves come out and hide the views from the White Trail. I was traveling light with just my Olympus OM-D E-Mk1 with a Panasonic 14-140mm lens to photograph some handheld multi-image panoramas (assembled in Photoshop). Most of the panoramas were taken @ 14mm. The Featured Image is a 9 image panorama @ 14mm. This Post is mainly panorama views with Lake McCormack through the trees bordering Lake McCormack.
Snow Geese 30 Image Panorama From Brigantine
Posted on January 3, 2021
We decided at the spur of the moment to take a trip in state to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Brigantine Division. We thought that concentrating on just driving & photographing on the Wildlife Drive we would not be close to any others visiting there. We were surprised how many people were there, but it was fun to get out and photograph again. It was a Great Day and was fun to take your mind off Covid-19. The cloud formations were Great in the am and there were quite a few birds to photograph. I was mainly looking for large flocks of Snow Geese to photograph. Usually they are in multiple groups in the water scattered along the Drive and flying around the Refuge. But on this day they were mainly only in 2 very large groups quite far out along the Drive and not flying through the Refuge. Except 1 or 2 that flew by far out in the distance. So on the one large group I decided to shoot a panorama that turned out to be 30 images shot with a Tamron 150-600mm @ 600mm on a Canon 1D mkIV, handheld. I wished I had used the Canon R instead for finer detail, but I was using that with a Wide zoom lens.
Snowy Egret Early AM
Posted on December 27, 2020
These images are from a previous trip years ago to J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel, Florida. It is one of our favorite places to visit when we are in Florida. We were walking early in the morning on the Indigo Trail which is off the Wildlife Drive. Usually there are quite a few Egrets & Herons there feeding in the am. The problem photographing in the early am there is it quite dark being in the shade from all the trees & vegetation above. After I took the featured image, I wanted to include the Snowy Egret’s reflection in the water. So I shot 2 vertical images to combine in Photoshop for a long vertical Panorama to include the reflection.
400mm DO Lens with 1.4X Teleconverter, 1D mkIV, Blended in Photoshop
Great Blue Heron Panorama
Posted on November 28, 2020
A three horizontal image panorama of a Great Blue Heron. There times when I am out walking at a Wildlife Refuge when I come upon a photo subject that is too close for the lens I am carrying. In this instance I was walking along the Wildlife Drive near the entrance and saw this Great Blue Heron standing in the water. I was too close for the lens I had with me so I shot three overlapping horizontal images to combine for a vertical panorama. It seems rare when you are too close to get the whole bird in. Usually you do not have enough focal length for what you see and want photograph. If you can shoot a series of images quickly before the bird moves you can make some interesting panorama images. The Featured Image is 3 horizontal images taken with a 300mm lens on a Canon 7D. Assembled & blended in Photoshop. I usually always photograph from the head down for the series or the head then to side for however many images you need.
49 Cormorant Panorama From BRIGANTine
Posted on November 11, 2020
I was cleaning up backup Hard Drives and I found this panorama of Cormorants. This was taken last June at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, NJ. I was using a Tamron 150-600mm lens @ 600mm with a Sigma 2X teleconverter for a focal length of 1200mm. The Panorama is made with 9 horizontal images, aligned & blended in Photoshop. Even with the Sigma 2X teleconverter I was using autofocus with the Canon R. For some reason the Canon R does not see the Sigma 2X Teleconverter and still thinks the lens with the teleconverter is a f/6.3 aperture. Even the Adobe Camera Raw info data states it is f/6.2 (not even the f/6.3) lens.
Mating Dragonflies
Posted on September 21, 2020
Over a week ago we went to Davidsons Mill Pond Park to see if we could find some dragonflies to photograph before the end of Dragonfly season here. I was surprised to see so many Slaty Skimmers along with a variety of others still here. As I was setting up on the back area of the first small pond these two flew in and landed right in front of me. I was surprised since it was so late in the season. Also they were in the “wheel” position for mating. After my first few shots I moved in a little closer to photograph a 2 image pano for a more square image. The featured image is a single shot. The image below are 2 images, stacked for the final closeup image. I was using a 300mm lens with a 1.4X teleconverter. I was on the edge of the pond so could not get any closer.
Rain Drops On Evergreen Branch
Posted on August 5, 2020
After the a rain storm I noticed raindrops on evergreen branches above our sidewalk. I shot a few versions, then decided to shoot a panorama showing the new growth and the raindrops underneath. A 5 image panorama, shot with a Canon 7D with 300mm f/4 lens. It seems like Photoshop does better aligning the images in closeup panos with a longer lens, plus I get softer & cleaner backgrounds this way.
Cormorants In Early Morning Sunrise
Posted on June 15, 2020
I was going through & cleaning up some backup hard drives. I found these images of Cormorants that were taken at a local small Wildlife Area where we used to live. The featured image is a 2 shot panorama of a Cormorant taking flight in the early morning sunrise. Images taken with a Sigma 300-800mm lens @ 800mm.
Green Darner Dragonfly Laying Eggs In Small Pond
Posted on May 29, 2020
I was photographing this female Green Darner dragonfly that was busy laying eggs in a small pond. It spent a large amount of time doing this so I had plenty of time to photograph the activity. It covered a very large area in this fairly small pond. The featured image is a 2 image panorama to get the reflection of the Darner in the image also. The Darner seemed to be spreading the eggs in a very wide area around the small pond. I was using a Canon 400mm DO lens & some images were shot with an extension tube to focus this close on the female Darner dragonfly when it came too close for my minimum focus distance.
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