On A Date

This pair of Blue Winged Teal look like they are heading out for a night on the town.  



315mm, 1/500 sec, f/6.3



This was taken at Green KayWetlands in Florida.   The only access to the wetlands is via an elevated boardwalk, which means you are constantly looking down on the birds in the water.   Taking photos from this angle produces an unnatural perspective, like this photo of a Pied-Billed Grebe

351mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6

When shooting wildlife you want to get down to their level if possible.  To get the Blue Winged Teal shot I got down low shooting between the slats in the boardwalk rail.   This gave the photo a more natural and interesting perspective.  If I could I would have gotten even lower, but my angle was limited.  

More photos from the wetlands are available in the Florida gallery.

Great Egrets Are....

I'm making my way through the 1,200 photos from the Florida wetlands earlier this week.  I'm now down to 300, which means the other 900 weren't worth the bits on the disk.   I'm not through yet, but I've made good progress.

I thought I would follow up the last post with some more photos of Great Egrets.   As you can see, in addition to being beautiful creatures, Great Egrets are

Shy

Graceful

Hard Working

Stealthy



Coordinated






We were blessed with beautiful mornings with magnificent birds.  What a great opportunity to enjoy creation.   I hope you enjoy these photos.  Be sure to click on the images for a larger view.




More photos from the wetlands are available in the Florida gallery.

Just Back From West Palm Beach and The Wakodahatchee Wetlands

We spent a few days visiting family in West Palm Beach this week.  I got out shooting three mornings while there - once to Green Cay Wetlands in Boyton Beach and twice to Wakadahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach.  These are both great places to photograph birds in a natural habitat.   Green Cay is a nicer facility with a 1.5 mile elevated boardwalk and a Nature Center but Wakadahatchee is by far the best place for photographing the birds.   I've been three years in a row now and highly recommend both. 

I took over 1,200 images the three mornings and now have to process through those to narrow down to the few keepers.   It will take several days to get through but I'll eventually post them in my online gallery.  For now, here's one of a Great Egret at Wakadahatchee. This bird was in breeding plumage wtih delicate ornamental feathers on it's back and the green skin around it's eyes.

Great Egret at Wakadahatchee Wetlands

1/400 sec, f/5.6, 250mm

Click the photo for a larger version.

More photos from the wetlands are availale in the Florida Gallery.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands December 2009

Seems like when ever we're on vacation, June and I will get up at completely unreasonable times to drive somewhere to take pictures at sunrise. Why would we do such crazy things on vacation? I do it because the golden hour just before and after sunrise is the best time for outdoor photography. The light is low making long interesting shadows. The light is also softer and has a warmer color. As long as the weather cooperates, it's the best time of the day to take photographs outside. I guess June gets up this early on vacation because she loves me :)

While visiting family in West Palm Beach, we got up early one morning to go to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, which is a great place to photograph birds. Wakodahatchee means "Created Waters" in Siminole Indian. The wetlands were created by pumping treated waste water into the wetlands. The birds naturally migrate and nest in the wetlands. We saw Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Anhingas, Cooper's Hawks, Egrets, and many other birds. There were even a few gators lurking around. They have built a system of boardwalks that allow you to walk among the wetlands to get close up views of the wildlife.

My photos from this trip are available http://www.thesiggins.com/Earth-Sea-and-Sky-1/Florida/13630510_8hY5W#994658109_agyMd

More information about the wetlands is available at http://www.pbcgov.com/waterutilities/wakodahatchee/