In mid-August, I’ll be headed back to west Texas for one last instructional photography tour. Then a new season begins and it will be time to develop a new schedule for 2017-2018. That west Texas trip will begin in the Christmas Mountains and then we will move a few miles over to the Davis Mountains. It is all a part of the Davis Mountains Hummingbird Celebration. This might be a great opportunity to photograph several species of hummers right here in Texas. Check my website Photo Tour Schedule for details. If you are interested, send me an email and I’ll get you registered and provide the details. The photo tour will accommodate eight people and only three slots are left.
Here are some photos from the recent trip to the Christmas Mountains Oasis for Lucifer Hummingbirds and other species. Note that some of the images are provided by the participants.
Remember to click on an image to enlarge and sharpen it for better viewing.
Noel Ice’s male Lucifer Hummingbird headed to the camera.Kimberly Smith’s Christmas Mountains panorama.
Kim captured a Bell’s Vireo eating an insect.Kimberly’s Blue Grosbeak near the hummingbird feeders at Christmas Mountains Oasis.Natural light on a male Lucifer Hummingbird by Kimberly Smith.Gene Forsythe captured an Ash-throated Flycatcher in flight.Male Lucifer under the lights by Gene Forsythe.Forsythe captured some interesting lighting on the throat of this Lucifer Hummingbird male.
The following images are mine. After the fact, I realized I’d missed a lot of good shooting while tending the hummingbird flash setup, but the group got some good diversity in their images.
All of my photos were done with the Canon 1D Mark II, 500 mm Canon Lens, Gitzo 1348 tripod and Wimberly head.
Here are 3 varied bunting images I really liked from my collection:
Male Varied Bunting foraging.Varied Bunting male in creosote bushCurious male Varied Bunting.Rain at sunset, Christmas Mountains, Texas.Moonrise over Christmas Mountains as vulture passes.Throat colors on a male Lucifer Hummingbird.Male Lucifer Hummingbird at Indian Paintbrush.Lucifer Hummingbird in flight.Scaled Quail on rocks, Christmas Mountains, Texas.Why some people call them “blue” quail.Bell’s Vireo in catclaw bushBell’s Vireo singing.Elf Owl at night near the Terlingua Ranch Lodge.Elf Owl on perch.
There were many more birds I couldn’t show here, but you should be getting the idea that the Christmas Mountains Oasis is pretty special. Thanks to all the participating photographers for sharing your images.
Well, you got to see some of the photo tour participants’ photos from out visit to the Block Creek Natural Area. If you didn’t get enough, here are a few of mine.
Don’t forget to click on an image to enlarge and sharpen it for better viewing.
Eastern Bluebird, male perchedEastern Bluebird landingLesser Goldfinch pairLate afternoon at a hummingbird feeder, Block Creek NABlock Creek Photo Tour group focused on owls.Vermilion Flycatcher male on rail fence.Sphinyx Moth feeding at thistle bloom.Ladder-backed Woodpecker, male on mesquite.Painted Bunting male on mullein stalk.Big Gobbler too close for the 500 mm, but I like the crop anyway.Eastern Screech Owl: how about those peepers?Bewick’s Wren on fence post.Harris’s Hawk landing, Canon 7d Mark II and 70-200 mm lens
…and last but not least, my favorite shot of this batch is the great horned owl and red barn.
Great Horned Owl and barn. Canon 7d Mark II and 70-200 mm 2.8 lens, hand held
Soon, I’ll be sharing shots from the Transition Ranch Photo Tour.
Three weeks after the FeatherFest trip, I was at the Block Creek Natural Area with five photographers to “focus” on several species. As you will see, they seemed most impressed by the wild turkeys, hawks and hummingbirds.
All the following shots were made by the group and I think it’s an impressive collection.
Remember, if you click on an image, it will enlarge and sharpen for better viewing.
Three images by Barbara Pickthall:
Black-chinned Hummingbird feeding at thistle flower.Male Eastern Bluebird flying to nest box.Strutting Wild Turkey gobblers.
Two images by Larry Urquhart:
Male Black-chinned Hummingbird feeding.
Black-chinned Hummingbirds feeding at Prickly Pear Cactus blooms.
Four photos by Jack Emsoff:
Wild Turkey gobbler strutting.Getting the red-tailed hawk closeup.Harris’s Hawk landing.Black-chinned Hummingbirds feeding at Prickly Pear Cactus blooms.
Two photos by Tom Pickthall:
Painted Bunting male foraging.Wild Turkey gobbler in wildflowers.
Kimberly Smith, our fifth photographer, wasn’t able to submit images for this newsletter, but some of her shots will be featured in a future newsletter on the Christmas Mountains Lucifer Hummingbird Photo Tour.
Way to go photographers. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos.
Galveston’s FeatherFest was almost two months ago. How did I get this far behind? The short version of a long story is this…I booked too many trips and took on too many photo projects this spring. It was fun but grueling. Anyway, here we are with plenty of time to look back and enjoy some of the images captured along the way.
During the first week of April, I led a photo trip on Kevin Sims’ boat at Rockport to photograph colonial nesting birds along the coast. That was followed by two days with groups at High Island and Galveston Bay. The weather was fantastic and we had a ball.
Here are some of my favorite shots from those outings: When you click on an image it will enlarge and sharpen for better viewing.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck stretching wings at Paradise Pond.
After photographing along the islands of Aransas Bay in the morning, we headed south to Port Aransas for the afternoon at Paradise Pond and the Birding Center.
Green Heron walking a dead willow branch in Port Aransas.Red-winged Blackbird flying from cattail perch at the Port Aransas Birding Center.Great Egret displaying at nest, Aransas Bay, Texas.
Recommendation: when you are photographing at a nesting colony, set the big lens aside and go with a more flexible zoom lens (100-400 mm is ideal for me). In doing so, fewer wings are clipped on the flight shots and you have more room in the frame for bird behavior or multiple birds at once.
Great Egret landing.
Large birds look best in flight when they are banking into a turn. We got lots of photo opportunities working from Kevin’s boat as birds returned to the island with nest material and to feed young.
Roseate Spoonbill with nest material.Great Blue Heron in flight at first light.Great Egrets courtship display at High Island.
The rookery at High Island offered many nice shots of roseate spoonbills and various egrets engaged in mating and nest building.
Brown Pelican adults in flight.
Bird photography on Galveston Bay (also from Kevin’s boat) during FeatherFest, was superb. We enjoyed an afternoon with brown pelicans, spoonbills, terns, skimmers and more.
Royal Tern carrying fish.
Roseate Spoonbill landing on oyster bar with laughing gulls, spring.
Late in the day, we couldn’t quit “shooting” passing black skimmers.
Black Skimmer after sunset on Galveston Bay.Black Skimmer in flight at sunset.Black Skimmer after sunset.
Then, as the light faded, I just had to get one more slow shutter speed shot of these pelicans.
Brown Pelican trio in blurred flight after sunset at 1/160 second.
There is no place for bird photography like the Texas coast in April.
The Big Bend National Park area was as beautiful in late March as ever. Five photographers and I spent three busy days traveling about the vastness that is Big Bend. Most of our photography was done at sunrise, sunset and after dark in iconic locations like Santa Elena Canyon, Boquillas Rim, Rio Grande Village, The Window at Chisos Mountains, Terlingua cemetery and the Rio Grande in Big Bend Ranch State Park. Unlike recent years, we saw only a handful of wildflowers and blooming yucca, but there was plenty to photograph.
I still want to go back and kayak or float the river gorge, but I got plenty of exercise hiking to Balanced Rock and scaling down a rock slide in the Rio Grande canyon at Big Bend Ranch State Park. The journey from south Texas to the park takes a FULL day, but the reward is great. For those of us living in the city, the west Texas night skies are reward enough for the effort. Come along with me on a brief photo trip to the Big Bend.
Click on a photo to enlarge and sharpen it for viewing.
Black Hawk in Cottonwood, Big Bend National Park.
A beautiful pair of black hawks are nesting in a cottonwood at Rio Grande Village in Big Bend National Park. After many visits over the years, I was finally able to see and photograph them from the road. The nesting area is closed to visitors. Canon 7D mark II, 100-400 mm lens, hand held.
Chisos Mountains and Rio Grande at Big Bend Natl. Park, Texas.
That same afternoon, we journeyed on to the campgrounds at the east end of the village and climbed the hill for a view of the sun setting behind the Chisos Mountains in the west and the glowing pinks of Boquillas rim to the east.
Boquillas rim at sunset, Big Bend National Park.Pebbles in the Rio Grande surrounded by 1500′ walls of rock. Mexico on left, Texas on right in Big Bend National Park.
The walls stay the same but the river is ever changing. I’d like to return in summer and catch the sun setting down the canyon at Santa Elena.
Photographing the Rio Grande near Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
After leaving the canyon shortly after dawn, we stopped downstream to look back at the big picture…miles of cliffs towering above the river. I used HDR toning on this image to jazz up the look of it.
Verbina and Chisos Basin, Big Bend NP.
Evening in the Chisos Basin provides many angles and subjects. These verbinas were about the only cluster of wildflower I spotted that week.
Oak and sotol in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park at sunset.
I like to work on foreground subjects near the Window near Big Bend NP Lodge and Restaurant.
Sotol in “The Window” of Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park at sunset.
The photo group got many nice images of The Window with clouds at sunset.
Sunset on Casa Grande with piñyon pines.
Sunrise on the Rio Grande canyon east of Presidio, Texas in Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Looking west, Presidio, Texas is upriver and out of sight by a few miles from this point in the canyon. A well timed sunset visit would make me very happy. I’ll have to plan for that one on the next trip.
Ocotillo and prickly pear catch the first light in this canyon.Canoeing the Rio Grande at Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas.
Just downstream toward Lajitas, there is a take out for these canoes and a really cool roadside park with tepees shading the picnic tables.
Ocotillo in bloom near Tepee Roadside Park on the Rio Grande, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas, hwy. 170 to Presidio.Robert Halbrook chasing Gambel’s quail through binoculars just after the birds flushed to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande from Big Bend State Park, Texas.Robert Halbrooks, Dr. Pat Faubian, Sherry Halbrook, and Mike Faubian on the Rio Grande in Big Bend State Park, Texas.
This is the first group I’ve had with so many naturalist/birders. Everyone had to get in on the act of seeing Gambel’s quail drinking at the Rio Grande.
Balanced Rock at sunrise, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
We walked and climbed to Balanced Rock in the Grapevine Hills at Big Bend National Park one morning. I could see His glory in every direction.
Looking south from Balanced Rock in the Grapevine Hills at Big Bend National Park, sunrise.Terlingua historic cemetery, Terlingua, TexasTerlingua historic cemetery, Terlingua, Texas
Subtle differences in the amount of light painted onto these sepulchers make a huge difference in where the eye is drawn. In the latter, I see the stars first. A warm and slightly weak flashlight was used for both.
Ocotillo with blooms after sunset at Study Butte, Texas.
In spite of some stormy weather at the start of our week, this Big Bend IPT was one of the best I can remember.
Jumping from January into March, I found myself back at Laguna Seca Photo Ranch. These trips sandwiched many days of working on photo files and shooting magazine assignments. Winter just slipped by while I was housebound.
Anyway, the following shots reflect a day of wonderful photography, mostly from the regular blinds. I kept only one photo from the raptor blind shoot in the morning. About mid-afternoon, a batch of wild turkeys began coming and going from the pond at my afternoon blind. The flock included several large gobblers who were strutting and gobbling for about two hours.
Crested Caracara juvenile in flight.
I really like the curled primary feathers on the landing bird.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker landing on prickly pear.Northern Cardinal, male, bathing, s. Texas.Orange-crowned Warbler bathing.Strutting turkey gobbler.Strutting wild turkey gobbler and reflection.Wild turkey gobblers on the alert.Wild turkey gobbling.
It takes some skill to work a box call and then grab the camera to capture the gobbler’s reply. In this case, I handed the call to another photographer and asked him to give it one squawk. I was ready.
These turkeys were a total surprise for me. It’s the first time I’ve seen gobblers at Laguna Seca Ranch, but hopefully not the last.
It’s been so long since I put together a newsletter, I almost forgot my password. But, here we are, so lets review. Way back in January, I spent a day at Laguna Seca Photo Ranch and got some nice shots early. We were hoping the white-tailed hawks would make an appearance; that didn’t happen. A plethora of caracaras came to the bait, so we had fun while that lasted.
Black Vulture landing as crested caracara flies away.Crested Caracara coming in for a landing at photo blind.juvenile Crested Caracara grooming adult.Caracara display.Crested Caracara displaying.Juvenile crested caracara landing.
This young bird is coming back for more even though it obviously got a crop full on an earlier visit.
Crested Caracara turning in flight.Crested Caracara and black vultures on deer carcass, s. Texas.Eastern Meadowlark in grassland, s. Texas.Heavily cropped image of adult white-tailed hawk that never came close to the photo blind.
Most of these flight shots were done with the Canon 100-400 lens while the ground shots were made with the 500 mm lens.
Here are 17 reasons you should get ready to pack your bags and head out past Uvalde to Transition Ranch with me this spring. The food is great, the rooms are nice (they come with a pool and hot tub), the country is beautiful and…
Woodhouse’s Scrub JayPainted Bunting maleBlue GrosbeakBlue-grey GnatcatcherCactus Wren at photo blindGulf Fritillary by creekHooded Oriole maleLazuli Bunting maleNorthern Bobwhite, henorchard oriole, maleScott’s Oriole maleSummer Tanager femaleVermilion Flycatcher male in front of our afternoon blind at Transition Ranch.Yellow-breasted Chat perched over pond at photo blind.
This is only a handful of the species we photographed. The ranch also has golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos as well as many other species we photographed that aren’t shown here.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up today by contacting me at lditto@larryditto.com. We have 2 spots available.
There isn’t much time left to sign up for the Lucifer Hummingbird Instructional Photo Tour at the Christmas Mountains Oasis, Texas. The dates are May 8-10 and two slots are available. Our small group will photograph these incredibly beautiful hummers at a multi-flash setup and with natural light. You will also see scaled quail, various songbirds and other hummingbird species, too.
We will have it all to ourselves for three days. Check out the trip description on this website and contact me at: lditto@larryditto.com to register. Click on the photos below for a view of the birds. When you click on an image, it will open in a larger, sharper format for best viewing.
Two spaces are available for photographers who want to join me on the Big Bend National Park Instructional Photo Tour from March 29-31. We will photograph landscapes, wildflowers, stars and some wildlife. If you are interested, check this website for more details at the Photo Tour section and contact me by email: lditto@larryditto.com to register.
Here are some images to give you a look at the variety of sights we will photograph. If you click on a photo, it will enlarge and sharpen for better viewing.
Big Bend sunrise
Big Bend wildflowers
Terlingua Cemetery west of Big Bend NP
Santa Elena Canyon through an adobe dwelling window.
Moon setting in the Chisos Mountains “Window”, Big Bend National Park
