Normally I am not a big fan of blurred images. However this image struck me as an interesting blur. I enjoy this image as a blur, in part, because the background is almost completely black. We were photographing on this day in the rain, with overcast skies. You can also see a few drops of water coming off the feet of the bird which again is a cool effect on a dark background. I think if the background were blue or green, the blur effect would not be as pleasing and the pink of the bird would not stand out as well. If you are interested in creating “pleasing blurs”, Art Morris at Birds As Art and Denise Ippolito at A Creative Adventure have some really fantastic workshops and tutorials on doing so.
Roseate Spoonbill Preening
In the image above, I really like the color of the Roseate Spoonbill against the dark black water. This is actually how I saw the image, I did not intentionally “colorize” the image. That is a technique some photographers use but not one I employ on my wildlife images.
Images captured by D700, 200-400 VRI w/TCe 1.7 II on Lexar UDMA digital film
I know some of you might have thought the title was referring to the frozen vegetable brand but I meant an app that I am currently using on my iPhone. The app is called BirdsEye. As an emerging birder, I found this app to be worth every penny (yes, I paid the $19.99 for the full version). One of the things that makes this app so cool is that it is powered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology ebird system. According to the ebird website, they utilize over 1 million bird sightings a month in compiling their data.
So you might be asking, how does BirdsEye help birders? Its pretty simple. BirdsEye makes this database available to us in an easy to navigate and use interface. There are 6 main features you can access thorough the main menu (In version 1.3, the current version).
1) Find Nearby Birds
2) Notable and Rare Bird Sightings
3) Locate a Bird
4) View Birding Hotspots
5) Select Birding Location
6) Update Life List
So far I have mostly used menu items 1, 2 and 4. The app uses the iPhones location detecting capabilities (if you turn them on) to pinpoint your location and find bird sightings collected through ebird in your vicinity. It does this all very quickly. I am actually shocked at how efficient the database access is on a 3G network.
I also love the ability to build a life list with all the species you have seen in person. What I haven’t decided is whether I will use the life list to be my portable photographic species list for birds.
There are 2 recommendations I would make to better the apps performance. First, when you select the directions portion of the mapping section, you proceed out of BirdsEye completely without any ability to re-enter the app without hitting the iPhone home key and reselecting the BirdsEye App. I find this annoying.
Second and most important to me, I would like the ability to see bird sightings closest to my location sorted by how recently they were seen. Lets face it, I see 2 basic ways to use this app, and one of them is to know the most recent sightings in and around your current location. The application does sort by species and then shows when the last time that species was seen so I assume the change I am requesting is not a big deal. The other way to use this app is to search for certain birds and have it show their sightings.
All in all, this app in combination with iBird Pro, makes for a really powerful mobile birding reference tool. I highly recommend it.
Recently I visited Sherwood Island State Park. The Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) maintains a listing of all bird sightings reported by members. The lists are emailed daily with an archive maintained on the site. If you have a chance to check the site out, I highly recommend it. It really is a great system.
One recent report had sightings of Short Eared Owls in the field behind the model airplane field so I ventured there to see what I could find.
Killdeer at Sunset
When I arrived at the park, I realized I made a rookie mistake. I didn’t check the tide tables. Unfortunately, it was low tied, and any shore birds were well outside the distance of my 600mm f/4.
Killdeer Pulling on Worm
So I headed over to the model airplane field and walked along the creek and around the bird feeders. There was a lot of bird activity. Unfortunately not great photo opportunities but some great birds none the less. There were two Osprey building a nest on a platform in the creek, the first Osprey I have seen in CT this year. There were a pair of Boat Tail Grackle in the trees hiding among the branches as well as Starlings and many Red Winged Blackbirds. Unfortunately none of them made for good images. The one exception was a few Killdeer that were feeding in this field.
Killdeer Sunset Profile
Have a great weekend!
Images captured by D3x, 600 VRII w/TCe 1.4II on Lexar UDMA digital film
A mating pair of house finches are making our yard their own this spring.
Male and Female House Finches
The pair above made their way to our feeders and water supply over the last week and they seem like they are staying for the long haul.
Male House Finch
The awesome sunset light that we had on Saturday really brought out the beautiful colors in this male (sorry girls).
Mating House Finch Pair at Bird Bath
I have been playing around with where to put the bird bath, opting for just in front of a big Spruce tree most of the smaller birds like to hide in. It seems to have worked pretty well. Now I have to get rid of those squirrels……
Images captured by D3x, 600 VRII w/TCe 1.4II on Lexar UDMA digital film
So my bags were backed and I was ready to go……No I am not practicing for a John Denver tribute. I was getting ready to load the car and make my way to the airport when the phone rang. Dont you hate when the phone rings when you are leaving for a trip?
African Lion Napping on the Road
So needless to say, my trip to Florida and my very first Photoshop World was scratched. A lot of planning went into selecting locations to photograph, times of day to be there, speaking to locals to get info so when such a trip is canceled it is disappointing on many fronts. Instead I’m back to tending business and family this week. I plan to photograph some new locations in and around Connecticut this week. Since I will not have new Florida images to share with you, I will work hard to pull something out of my hat. 😉
I have a trip to Florida coming up. Florida has a special place in my heart, it is a place I hope to explore more thoroughly in the coming years. Its rich in wildlife and easily explored.
One of my favorite birds to photograph are laughing gulls. Florida is the laughing gull capital of the east coast 🙂
Laughing Gull Preen at SunriseLaughing Gull GlideLaughing Gull Checking Out a Fisherman
I have a host of new places to explore and new bird species I would like to photograph. It will be a challenge given the migration has started so I will be in between some bird movement but I look forward to sharing with you what I learn.
Have a great weekend!
Images captured with D3x and 70-200 VR I on Lexar Digital Film
Ok, I’m coming clean and telling you up front this post is going to be a rant! If you are looking for images of wildlife, come back Wednesday as I have a new visitor in my backyard I plan on sharing with you all.
I think the creative world received some very good and much needed news last week. That news was that the NY Times would be charging for their content including online distribution, not just home delivery of the paper and ink version of their newspaper (NY Times Letter to Their Readers). Why is it good news? From the perspective of someone who has had a long business career and a very short creative career, I could never understand why the publishing world allowed their franchises to melt over the last few years. It seems to me that publishers took a defeatist attitude when people wanted to read their publications via electric means and not in the print form. Instead of adapting and giving the customer what they wanted, they acted as if their customers were not there anymore.
I for one believe this is great news for the creative industry. I have no doubt that the demand for content is continuing to rise. Unfortunately because of uncertainty and/or indecision on electronic distribution of content revenue models, the readers of the publications and those that created content for said publications suffered. Readers suffered by having less options delivered the way they wanted and content creators were payed far less and in many instances fired from their jobs, all while the publishers themselves suffered from weakening financial profiles.
While I could never understand why the publishers allowed their content to be given away for free, I am glad that the NY TIMES is taking a first step in reversing this ridiculous trend. If you are in love with the ad soaked internet pages that provide content then you might not care about the NY Times announcement. But if you, like me are tired of popups and ads all over the place, then you will support the NY Times and other content delivery services to ensure we have top quality publications in the future. As I stated before, the demand for content is not going down, it is going up. What is changing is the way consumers want to expose themselves to this content. Give the consumer what they want, how they want it and stop giving away your content! 😉
The weather is starting to get better here in the northeast. Friday temps should hit 60 ℃!
These Tufted Titmouse pictures made me think of Spring. I hope you enjoy them.
Tufted Titmouse on PerchTufted Titmouse Checking Out Feeder
I will be heading down to Orlando soon for Photoshop World 2011. I plan on going early and taking advantage of the time to do some bird photography. While I have visited several locations on the west coast of FLorida, I have not visited many locations on the east coast.
Brown Pelican on Pier
In doing some research, I think I have narrowed down my potential locations to 3 areas. 1) Viera Wetlands, 2) Merritt Island NWR and 3) St. Augustine Alligator Farm. Which of these locations do my Florida friends and readers recommend? If not these are there other recommendations you have? If so email me or comment below.
