Looking Back at 2019 part 2

Looking Back at 2019 part 2.

 

This was one of my favorites of not only 2019, but possibly ever for me. We were at the Kelly Warm Springs in January and there were about 12 Trumpeter Swans taking advantage of the warm water. They had been preening when one looked up just long enough for a couple frames. In post processing I added a little more steam using the Dehaze slider in Lightroom, but moving it to the left, therefore adding haze.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 100, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, Sirui tripod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #SiruiUSA, #BirdNirdvana, #BearWoodsPhotography, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops

Juvenile Bald Eagle, Good News, Bad News…

Juvenile Bald Eagle, Good news, bad news.

 

Sometimes images come with a “good news, bad news” disclaimer, and this is one of them. The good news is this Eagle perched across from the boat docks from our workshop group one morning this past weekend. It was waiting and wanting to fly in to feed on a deer carcass someone had dumped. Every time it would approach it got mobbed by a bunch of Grackles and Gulls. I am guessing from the location they dumped it, they were hoping for a gator to get it. No, this wasn’t in Bear Woods, it was in Apalachicola. So what could be the bad news? Well the day before 2 folks with us left a few minutes after us and captured images of a beautiful mature Bald Eagle sitting on the dock feeding…

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 450, shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, handheld, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #ShimodaExplore, #Apalachicola, #BearWoodsPhotography

Buddy, Arctic Fox, captive animal

Buddy, Arctic Fox Kit, captive animal.

 

I think of all the animals we photographed at Triple D Wildlife, Buddy the Arctic Fox was one of my top 3 favorites. It wasn’t solely based on the photography, but instead the opportunity to watch him as he explored the area. Curious but cautious would sum up the way he moved around the rocky outcropping. He could totally care less about the group of us that were photographing him, we just sat still, never posing a threat to him, just being a part of the landscape. Doing so allowed us to really just enjoy watching him and to capture some great images as well.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z6 camera, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 800, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack. #WithMyTamron #Tamron #TamronUSA #TamronLensesUSA #TamronImageMaster #Tamron150600g2 #ShimodaExplore40L #ShimodaDesign #TripleDWildlife #BearWoodsPhotography

Look at those paws!

Look at those paws!

 

If you’ve ever wondered how a Canada Lynx is able to navigate so easily in the deep snows…look no further than the large paws. Their survival often depends on the ability to chase prey over snow and in order to do that the paws act like snowshoes. Of all the sessions we did at Triple D Wildlife, the lighting was probably the best during our session with Simba, the Canada Lynx (captive animal).

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z6, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 800, shutters speed of 1/500th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron #Tamron #TamronUSA #TamronLensesUSA #TamronImageMaster #Tamron150600g2 #ShimodaExplore40L #ShimodaDesign #TripleDWildlife #BearWoodsPhotography

Heading South for the Winter

Heading South for the Winter.

 

Without a doubt the bird with the most voracious appetite is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I can always tell when they are here in spring as well as fall as to the amount of food that I have to replace in the feeder. It almost doubles when they are passing through. I go from a large plastic cup, I think it is a Burger King cup, to a Maxwell House plastic can full each day. I would estimate they are consuming about 2 to 3 pounds of Black Oil Sunflower seed each day! It is great to look out though and see 10-15 of these beautiful visitors on and around the feeder area. I know they will be leaving soon, and it will be about 5 or 6 months until I see them again, but it is great while it lasts.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1400, shutter speed of 1/125th of a second, Sirui P424S monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron #Tamron #TamronUSA #TamronLensesUSA #TamronImageMaster #Tamron150600g2 #SiruiUSA #BearWoodsWildlifeSanctuary #BirdNirdvana #BirdPhotography #BearWoodsPhotography

Rusty, Cross Fox, captive animal

Rusty, Cross Fox, captive animal.

 

One would think with a name like “cross” that the fox is a result of cross breeding maybe a red fox with a silver fox, but in reality it is a red fox with partial melanism. Simply put it has a gene that gives it dark areas, and depending how much melanism is present the fox can have small patches all the way to completely black with some silver and white. Any way you look at it, they are beautiful! This is Rusty at Triple D Wildlife and he was not only beautiful, but very entertaining. He loved perching on rocks and logs, which for photographers was perfect. I can’t repeat enough how beautiful and how well cared for the wildlife was at Triple D Wildlife and we look forward to working with them next August.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z6, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1600, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, Sirui P326 monopod, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron #Tamron #TamronUSA #TamronLensesUSA #TamronImageMaster #Tamron150600g2 #SiruiUSA #ShimodaExplore40L #ShimodaDesign #TripleDWildlife #BearWoodsPhotography

Simba, Canada Lynx, captive animal

Simba, Canada Lynx, captive animal.

 

I have always been fascinated by wild cats like the Canada Lynx. They move with such stealth through the woods and snow. We get Bobcats up here in Bear Woods, but we rarely hear them, we only see them when they are being mobbed and harassed by the crows. Simba is the Canada Lynx at Triple D Wildlfe and was fascinating to watch as he would move quietly and methodically around the large enclosure, then like a flash of lightning leap and pounce on one of the toys they were using to play with him. Photographing him as he moved in and out of shadow was perfect to reflect how they would stalk their prey in the wild.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z6, Manual Exposure mode, f5.6, ISO 1250, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #ShimodaExplore, #ShimodaDesign, #TripleDWildlife, #BearWoodsPhotography