Larry Ditto Nature Photography

There are a lot of photographers who prefer cloudy days over sunny ones for their photography.  For me, it’s just the opposite.  I prefer shooting the first and last hour of the day when the light is warm.  Certainly, this winter in south Texas has been testing my patience; it has been downright gloomy since October.   Consecutive sunny days have been even more scarce. 

I just keep an eye on the forecast and the weather radar.  The photography equipment is ready to go.  When I see that a  break in the clouds is coming, I’m out of here.  That said, it has been a good winter in spite of the clouds.  In recent days, I have made a couple of trips out to local ranches and one whirlwind safari to central Texas.  The sun came out for an hour or two each time, and I was able to get some shooting done. 

Maybe by the time Spring arrives, we will get some “springy” weather and have sunlight to help with the bird migration photo tour.  When we do the hummingbird workshop, we will welcome the clouds.

Here are a few of this winter’s photos taken during little breaks in the weather.  Like the TV commercial suggests, “you have to be ready when the moment is right”. 

 *** You can click on a photo and it will open in a larger format and offer a much sharper view.    Click on the upper right area of a photo and you can then click straight through all the photos for easy viewing.

Flight shots of small birds like this black-crested titmouse are possible, but it takes some luck and preparation.

Wing motion was frozen when I shot this at 1/4000 second, 5.6f and ISO 640 with the Canon 1D Mark III, 100-400 mm lens (at 400 mm) from a bean bag at ground level.  I recommend using a tripod for stability, but mine was occupied with another camera and lens.

Green Jay landing

The Verdin is a desert brush country bird that we see occasionally at water holes in south Texas.

 

The great horned owls are looking for mates right now. This hooter let me get within 50 yards for a photograph.

 

A great horned owl in the brush country at sunset. For this shot, the thin clouds added a welcomed splash of color to the background.

 

The sunset owl photo happened because I’m taller than the average photographer.  I had to stretch to shoot over the brush between the bird and me.  For this one, I used the Canon 50D camera, 500 mm IS lens and 1.4 X teleconverter and shot at +1/3 from the apeture priority setting suggested by the camera.

This feeding Lincoln's sparrow stayed close to brushy cover and kept to the shadows when possible. I shot this at ground level from a pit blind at the www.santaclara.com ranch.

 

I see lots of northern cardinals at Santa Clara Ranch, so it's the unusual pose I'm looking for to make an interesting shot.

 

I don't like prickly pear cactus in the background (too waxy/shiny) of my photos. What I do like is moving a few pads close enough to the waterhole that an occasional bird will perch on it. In this case, the orange-crowned warbler found the large spines were just right for his tiny feet.

 I headed for the Texas hill country last weekend and got a break in the clouds for an afternoon and morning wood duck photography.    During the shoot, a cooperative red-shouldered decided to take his morning sun while I fired away from wet spot in the nearby grass.  Here are some of the photos from that magic spot.

 

Wood duck flushing from golden water before sunrise.

 

This wood duck was poised to soak up some rays at sunrise. I guess you have to arrive early to get the best spots, because I shot this almost a half hour before the sun popped up.

 

By watching the bird's body language, a photographer can often capture ducks flushing from the lake.

 

Male wood ducks in a spot of light just before sunset.

 

Red-shouldered Hawk sunning on a tree branch in Texas hill country

 

While I was watching this red-shouldered hawk, it dived to the edge of the lake, caught something and returned to his perch to feed.

 

There are still some vacancies for the spring migration photo tour at South Padre Island in April.  If you like to shoot colorful birds at close range, check out the photo tour schedule on my web site.  I’ll have some sample shots in the next newsletter.  Meanwhile, make like a squirrel and get your tail outside for some nature photography.

Fox Squirrel watching for the next newsletter.

 

Larry

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 11:09 am and is filed under Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.