An Eye To The Sky

You wander around faced with an abundance of wonderful subjects, good access, and unusual wildlife so taking pretty pictures happens as long as you've got a modicum of focus and some basic skills.  However, making a good image with something to say is another thing entirely.  Finding the moment in the passing minutes is often like dipping your cup into a rushing river to find one particular drop of water.  Sometimes it happens because you are watching intently and with great purpose, sometimes it happens by accident.  

I took probably 15 images of this White-Naped Crane at the Seattle Zoo but there was one, this one, that seemed to have something to say.  His neck arches gracefully against the blurred green background, light and shadow play agains the curve of his neck, his eye seems to be searching for something lost, something that he once knew.  It's really all about patience, capturing this moment meant waiting beside the  crane exhibit until this bird showed me who he was.

-Russell Berg

www.seeingberg.com

Screech

These beautiful peacocks in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, let me get very close. Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at f/5.6 1/160 ISO 400

The colour of the bird hits me first, it is a blue so blue that it beggars description.  There is an almost incandescent, glowing quality to the blue and it changes colour ever so slightly as the feathers shift, then settle in the sun.  The bird is a riot of outrageous colours and flamboyant form.

I was wandering around Beacon Hill Park and I heard the screech of what I thought was a peacock.  I followed the sound and saw a couple of them sitting in trees beyond a fenced enclosure.  I tried to get a few shots from that distance but nothing was coming out very nicely.  I heard another screech and it was off in a different direction.  As I wondered towards the sound I saw one wandering around on the grass.  I moved in very slowly and began to snap away.  It was fairly early on a Sunday morning so there weren't alot of people around and the peacock seemed very tame.  It let me get quite close.  I was so focused on this bird so much that I didn't even notice the second peacock until it walked right past me within inches of brushing against me.  I spent about 20 minutes photographing the 3 or 4 birds that gathered around me.  It was very cool.  I was using a long lens 300mm so even though the aperture is only f/5.6 the background is thrown out of focus and I was able to get a nice clean background that doesn't distract from the wonderful feathers.

This peacock's stare was so inquisitive. Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at f/5.6 1/250 ISO 400

Twins

Black Oyster Catchers in the sun on Vancouver Island Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 at f9, 1/250, ISO 200On a fine morning in the middle of May last year my daughter and I went out in our kayaks to do a little exploring around Departure Bay.  We were out interested to see if there were any seals out sunning themselves on the rocks as paddled by one of the small islands in the middle of the bay.  I was watching for birds and seals to photograph as we paddled out with my dry bag open between my knees I had my telephoto lens on the 7D ready to yank out and fire away if we saw something.  I place my cameras lens down into my bag in such a way that when I reach in to grab them I am holding on to the grip and it comes up to my eye ready to fire.  I have missed too many shots while I was fumbling for my gear.  This did require some careful paddling to prevent the water from dripping into my open bags but it wasn’t too difficult.  When I move out into open water or I am paddling for speed I close up the dry bag which holds my whole camera bag.  Anyway as I looked up two Black Oyster Catchers walked up over the rise.  The Island sloped up from the water so I was below them and I think this adds to the visual interest of the frame.  I snapped off a few pictures and then the one bird moved behind the other and I knew I had the image I wanted.

-Russell Berg

A Hitch In The Neck

I follow herons around Newcastle Island from time to time and this time it paid off. EOS 7D, EF 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 at 280mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO 500

I live in, Nanaimo, BC on Vancouver Island so I have ready access to the ocean.  There is an island about 2 km out into Departure Bay called Newcastle Island and I paddled across to it in my kayak. I spent the morning following Great Blue Heron around the island ant this one in particular was very comfortable with me hanging around, photographing it and watching.  I spent probably 30 minutes watching this one and taking pictures.  I noticed him, her? I don’t know, make a particular motion with his neck just before he stabbed his beak into the water in an attempt to get food.  I was ready the next time the motion came and I hammered down the motor drive.  8 fps provides coverage for a lot of action and this was the best one of the group.  The photo is not quite as sharp as I would like it to be but the action was so remarkable that I had to share it.

-Russell Berg