Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day. I have been blessed to know and see some of the best Mother’s in my life. My Mom left us way too early and was/is such an incredible influence in my life. I look back on all of the life lessons she taught and how she formed so many of the interests I have to this day. I am married to probably the most incredible Mother ever. She is probably the photo in the dictionary by the word Mother! She puts everything aside to take care of the kids, now adults, and often forgets to take care of herself in the process. I think that is my job. Then my step Mom who has been an incredible influence on how I faced becoming a step Dad. She has always treated all of us like her own, and trust me, that isn’s easy with my family. Beyond that, seeing my sister, my nieces, my Mother in Law, and how they have met the challenges of the title of Mother is inspiring to me. I just want to say thank you for all you guys have done and do. Happy Mother’s Day.

Osprey and Cypress Tree

Osprey and Cypress tree.

I loved the whole look and feel of the trip we did to see and photograph the Osprey on Blue Cypress Lake. Seeing the birds on the nest they built and lined with Spanish Moss was really cool. I probably didn’t get the quality of images I wanted but just seeing it was incredible and it made me want to return next year. I often plan my trips and workshops a few years in advance, and this will be one that will require planning a year ahead as the guide stays extremely busy. For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm Di III VXD VC lens, at 500mm (750mm used in APS-C mode), on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/2500th of a second, ISO 2500, handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #TamronImageMaster #tamron150500 #BearWoodsPhotography #osprey #bluecypresslake #floridasbirdingandphotofest

Baby Spoonbill

Baby Spoonbill.

Spoonbills are interesting enough as adults to look at, then seeing one of the chicks, they are even more interesting. Cute tiny little spoonbill, pink fuzzy little thing, I can see a stuffed animal for kids fashioned after one of these guys. For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm Di III VXD lens, at 381mm, on a Nikon Z8, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 2800, handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #TamronImageMaster #tamron150500 #BearWoodsPhotography #roseatespoonbill #alligatorfarm #staugustine #floridasbirdingandphotofest #gnpa_pix

Hangry

Hangry.

If you could find a picture dictionary, and then look up the word “hangry”, and I bet you would see something like this photo! These chicks are ready to eat! It won’t be too much longer that they will get the wings strengthened up and fly away. It is definitely a noisy time at the nest. For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm Di III VXD lens, at 500mm, on a Nikon Z8, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 1250, handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #TamronImageMaster #tamron150500 #BearWoodsPhotography #greategret #alligatorfarm #staugustine #floridasbirdingandphotofest #gnpa_pix

Playing with the vintage stuff

Playing with the vintage stuff.

I have always loved to do macro photography. I remember when I first got into the photography business I didn’t have money to travel much, so I spent a lot of time in the yard photographing bugs and flowers. I still like doing it as macro photography will improve all other types of nature photography as it requires added attention to detail. A couple of years ago I bought some Peony plants in Alaska and we planted them in containers here in the yard. This year they have an incredible number of buds and blooms. I decided to dig out the vintage Tamron SP 180mm Macro lens and capture a few images yesterday. I don’t use it often since the newer Tamron zoom lenses all focus so close it isn’t as convenient to carry around, but it is still fun to play with. For this image I used the Tamron SP 180mm Macro lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Mode, f16, 1/640th of a second shutter speed, ISO 400, Leofoto tripod and head. #withmytamron #tamronamericas #tamroncreates #tamronmacro #tamron180mmmacro #TamronImageMaster #tamroncreativecollaborative #BearWoodsPhotography #bearwoodswildlifesanctuary #peony #gnpa_pix #leofototripod #oldschoolphotography

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill.

Such an incredibly colorful and beautiful bird, well for the most part. Birds fascinate me as how they adapt, or evolve, to take advantage of a specialized food source. The spoonbill sweeps its bill left and right in very shallow water looking for shrimp, crabs or fish or insects. When I went to the Galapagos almost 20 years ago, I got to see that adaptation first hand with the finches on the islands how they evolved for their food source. Check out the book Beak of the Finch for some great information on the finches there. I used my Tamron 150-500mm Di III VXD lens, at 304mm, on a Nikon Z8, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 1400, handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #TamronImageMaster #tamron150500 #BearWoodsPhotography #roseatespoonbill #alligatorfarm #staugustine #floridasbirdingandphotofest #gnpa_pix

Why do I take the time?

Why do I take the time?

I very rarely ever just walk up and take a picture of something. It does happen, and often with a cell phone. I think when I see something that is worth sharing with people, I try to identify what it is that caught my eye, then try to compose an image to invite a viewer into the frame. This process is what I refer to as designing an image, or simply put, composition. Obviously the light on this image is enough to get your attention, but visually arranging things inside the frame help to carry you to the end. The strong vertical line of clouds on the left is where I want people to end their visual journey so I use the light and boats on the right to take you over to the left and to the eventual line of clouds and the boats in the middle of the line. The posts in the foreground could be problematic, so I had to make sure I was at a height that you could navigate around them, notice the slight space on top of the one closest to the front. If you would like to learn more about this process and live in Salt Lake City, I will be at pictureline inc. for PhotoX on May 17-18 doing a presentation on the 17th, then leading a photowalk on the 18th. Here is a link for more information: https://www.pictureline.com/pages/photox
For this image I used my Tamron 17-28mm Di III RXD lens, at 17mm, on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Mode, f11, shutter speed of 1/2 second, ISO 50, tripod. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #TamronImageMaster #tamron1728 #BearWoodsPhotography #picturelineinc #photox #composition #design

Getting the good stuff!

Getting the good stuff.

It sounds pretty gross to us, but that regurgitated fish has all the nutrients a young Great Egret needs to survive and grow. The chicks are at one of the cutest stages, to me, where they have that punk hairdo and only a slight bobblehead action. At this stage they are much more aware of their surroundings too. For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm Di III VXD lens, at 370mm, on a Nikon Z8, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, ISO 2800, handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #TamronImageMaster #tamron150500 #BearWoodsPhotography #greategret #alligatorfarm #staugustine #floridasbirdingandphotofest #gnpa_pix

Hi Mom, feed me!

Hi Mom, feed me.

Pandemonium begins when one of the adults land in the nest with hungry youngsters waiting. The noise is first, then comes the constant lunging out to grab the adult’s beak hoping to get some, well, regurgitated fish. I’m amazed there aren’t constant reports of birds being empaled while trying to feed their young. It is interesting to watch and you see dominance struggles with the young. I used my Tamron 150-500mm Di III VXD lens, at 443mm, on a Nikon Z8, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, ISO 1100, handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #TamronImageMaster #tamron150500 #BearWoodsPhotography #greategret #alligatorfarm #staugustine #floridasbirdingandphotofest #gnpa_pix

Riding on the Beach

Riding on the beach.

One of my favorite sessions that I do at the Florida’s Birding and Photo Fest is Horses on the Beach. We had it cut a little short this year due to rain, but everyone was able to go back the next morning, if they could make it, to join the group that morning. I was on my way back to Bear Woods, but I hope to see how it went for them. We still were able to get some nice images, even with the light rain, and it was perfect to convert them to hi key Black and White. For this image I used my Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 lens on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f2.8, shutter speed of 1/15th of a second, ISO 250, Handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #TamronImageMaster #tamron70180g2 #BearWoodsPhotography #staugustine #butlerbeach #bakerbarn #horsesonthebeach