Wildlife Photography across the Water: killdeer

Friday, 11 December 2009

Strange weather in Raleigh

Its been a strange week weather wise, The start of the week was cold followed by a warm and very wet period mid week and strong winds, Now at the end of the week the temperatures have plummeted and today i popped down to the local lake to find the shallows iced over, The Kingfisher was still around but kept distant and although he tried a few times i never saw him catch anything, He tried various perches as well but maybe the water is still abit murky for him, I spent a very nice hour shooting a Killdeer which looks like a European Plover on stilts, They are normally very shy and difficult to get near but today he approached me and at some points was within a few feet from me, he took no notice of the flash which helped in the dull conditions so i filled a 4 gb card, He was too interested in getting some food and spent most of the time doing there soft shoe shuffle in the shallows, Animals and birds change their habits in the colder months and food seems more important than self preservation and shy animals can be very approachable, One thing i did realise this morning is that i need some better cold weather boots, Its amazing how chilly your extremities can get when hanging around for long periods of time, So i will get a pair of Sorrel boots before things get too bad,The mallards were still at it as before and i watched a nuthatch going in and out of a tree hole which has been noted for the future, The lake has a population of Muscovy ducks as well as various hybrids so there is normally something having a clean and flap of the wings to keep you busy, The Muscovy ducks are very dark on the body and very light around the head and under the wings making exposure difficult and easy to get wrong, I took a test shot before the bird reared up and flapped its wings, I was shooting at ISO 800 at the time and didn't want to under expose too much as this give me a grainy image when processing

Dave

Monday, 31 August 2009

Its good to talk

Moving to a new area is difficult enough but a new country is a whole new ball game and finding good areas for wildlife can take some time especially local areas, This has been a bit of a dilemma for me the past year, North Carolina is very different to the places i have lived before, The wildlife around the coast is very good and accessible as is the mountains but they are not on my doorstep, Luckily for me i had a mail a couple of weeks ago from a local Photographer Called Juan a Pons, Now i have seen Juan posting on Naturescapes forum and knew he was local to me but i hadn't made contact , Juan offered to meet and do a shoot together on a large local lake that i had visited many times over the last year,

The difference at this time of year is that the water level is very low due to 3 months of very hot weather, This means certain parts are not accessible to boats and jet skis and the wildlife and bird life in particular congregate in these quiet areas, We met early Saturday and had a chat in the car whilst we waited for a shower to pass over then made our way around to the birds, The ground was very boggy and 200 feet before we got to the birds we hit the deck and crawled on our stomachs getting very muddy in the process but it was worth it, There were plenty of birds around although not that close to us and we waited until some flew in and fed, Plenty of heron and Egrets but we were after waders and ended the morning with some very nice Killdeer and Semipalmated Plover, It was quite a slow morning photography wise but quality rather than quantity was the order of the day and i was very pleased with my results, We both had skimmers with wimberley gimbal heads with flash attachments/flashguns and better beamers, As soon as the light improved i swapped my D3 for the D300 for the 'extra reach' along with the 600F4 and 1.4x, Where we were positioned is normally lake but now was very lush vibrant coloured grass making for a nice background, So a big thank you to Juan and hope it wont be long before we shoot together again, You can see Juans work as his website here

Dave

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.