Wildlife Photography across the Water: Opportunity Photography

Monday, 28 March 2011

Opportunity Photography

Sometimes you have to work hard for your shots and sometimes it all just happens quickly and easily and sometimes opportunities come your way and you can either take the chance or not, Today i was driving in a very nice community just looking at what houses in our area are for sale and a general drive around in cold overcast conditions, We went into a small cul de sac and as i turned the car around a pileated woodpecker flew in front of the car and landed on a tree stump and within a minute another landed with it-a pair? they dug around the stump and took no notice of the car getting in a better position, We stayed for 10 minutes before leaving them to it, It was only 3 or 4 miles to my house so i dropped my wife off and grabbed my D3s and 600 with 1.4x and headed back, I didnt expect them to be there but when i arrived there was one still in the area, I grabbed my beanbag and placed the camera on the bag, I took a test shot-uppped the ISO to 1600 and adjusted the exposure then slowly moved into position, It wasnt very photogenic and shortly after i had 2 shots in the bag the bird flew into a nearby tree, I watched it for a few minutes and then it dropped behind me on to another half dead tree, I slowly moved the car around and then started to get some images, The bird wasnt fazed at all and went on both sides of the tree trunk digging around for food, after 10 minutes it climbed up the tree and started to call, I could hear its mate and soon she flew over and they both flew off, the pileated woodpecker is a very large bird-very attractive and great to have in my area, I would love to find the nest and really would love to get them in my garden, It was a totally unexpected shoot but very welcome on a horrible day

Dave

1 comment:

Bobbster28 March 2011 at 23:24
Stunning looking bird, great find.
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.