Posted by Jeremy Cram on September 18, 2007 at 6:24 PM
In the archives again....
I was going through all the wildlife shots the first two years I was into photography and came across this one. I use to spend a huge amount of time out at the Ridgefield wildlife refuge and have accumulated an enormous amount of files....thousands and thousands of shots literally. It's kinda neat to go through them and see what there is, since post processing techniques for me have changed and improve than when I first started. Thanks for looking.:)
20D,400mm,f8,1/1000,iso400
Posted by David Schoen on September 18, 2007 at 6:39 PM
nice bittern in the habitat shot! you did well not to oversaturate the bird (which is what I do because I like the bittern colors). The eye is sharp! When is the best time for Ridgefield? I live a few miles from Nisqually and go there often but it appears you can get closer at Ridgefield.
I think is a great shot. I love the reflection and its position in the frame. Very cool.
Posted by Jack Graham on September 19, 2007 at 1:01 AM
Jeremy,
I bet you don't have too may great bittern shots like this! They are one elusive bird, but once you get on one they are really photograph able... the hard part is getting them to cooperate ( what bird isn't?). This is a really wonderful image in many ways. Really nice job!
JG
Posted by John Lehmkuhl on September 19, 2007 at 1:04 AM
Very nice but I wish that the twin wasn't swimming in the water.... oh wait, that's a reflection !! Wow, what a sweet reflection and shot.... great light on the bird, too.
Posted by Jeremy Cram on September 19, 2007 at 1:11 AM
Thanks guys. Yeah, bitterns are a pretty hard bird to find, but once you get one just keep you eye on it. Their ability to blend in is really amazing. I saw one one time and had him in my sights for quite awhile. I turn to photograph a flying bird, turned back and couldn't find him for like ten minutes....he only moved a few feet.
David- Ridgefield is really amazing. I usually go on the auto tour, it's a 4 ish mile loop through the wetlands and yea you can get really close. In Dec. they usually mow down brush on the back stretch, and then it get interesting. If the vole are running thick that year, you can see 30-40 birds of prey dive bombing left and right. In Marchish the eagles come through following the geese and that is really awesome too. I've seen eagles carrying off some pretty big geese, and dive bombing the ducks. Then there are the coyotes....those guys are hard to get though, gotta have a real good eye and a very long lens.
Jeremy, that is one awesome shot of a hard to see/find bird! I'm impressed.
Thanks for the info about Ridgefield. Sounds like a fun place to go.
Posted by Rick Lundh on September 19, 2007 at 10:53 AM
Good light! I have never had much luck shooting birds. I tried some while in Florida back in June...but they all pretty much turned out like crap. It's a lot harder to do than one might think if they've never done it.
Posted by Eric Hahl on September 19, 2007 at 2:49 PM
Thats a really nice shot bud!
Posted by Erik Lundh on September 19, 2007 at 6:28 PM
I would have to say you have a winner. I like the warm lighting.
Posted by Sean Watson on September 20, 2007 at 4:15 AM
Those guys really do blend in. It's a real treat when you find one. Nice job! I might be tempted to shave a little off the left and bottom. I like the brightness of this and how sharp the eye is. That's a real charateristic posture, isn't it.
David -- All 3 time's I've been to Ridgefield, it's been closed except for car traffic. Because cars act as blinds, it does seem like the birds are more tolerant. But then you're working in your car that can be a downside compared to Nisqually. We generally take a loop with one of us the back seat and the driving and then swap and take another loop. I understand in the summer there are some trails you can go on. There are different species down there too; I've seen egret and sandhill cranes there but not at Nisqually. There seem to be more heron down there too. There seem to be a lot of nutria at Ridgefield which translates to more raptors (hawks, kestrels). I think the fishing's probably better at Nisqually so you're more likely to see eagles there (though Jeremy's bit about eagles chasing geese sounds pretty amazing). It also seems like Nisqually has a larger variety of waterfoul (though I may have just not been there at the right time).
Sean
Posted by Kris Kennedy on September 26, 2007 at 11:05 PM
Hi Jeremy, I love the picture and I have some suggestions.
Drop the picture into Photoshop. Go to image/adjustments/color balance and set the sliders to -34, +3, +12 (from top to bottom). Then go to brightness/contrast and set the brightness slider to -15 or maybe a little lower.
Discussion
11 repliesI was going through all the wildlife shots the first two years I was into photography and came across this one. I use to spend a huge amount of time out at the Ridgefield wildlife refuge and have accumulated an enormous amount of files....thousands and thousands of shots literally. It's kinda neat to go through them and see what there is, since post processing techniques for me have changed and improve than when I first started. Thanks for looking.:)
20D,400mm,f8,1/1000,iso400
I bet you don't have too may great bittern shots like this! They are one elusive bird, but once you get on one they are really photograph able... the hard part is getting them to cooperate ( what bird isn't?). This is a really wonderful image in many ways. Really nice job!
JG
David- Ridgefield is really amazing. I usually go on the auto tour, it's a 4 ish mile loop through the wetlands and yea you can get really close. In Dec. they usually mow down brush on the back stretch, and then it get interesting. If the vole are running thick that year, you can see 30-40 birds of prey dive bombing left and right. In Marchish the eagles come through following the geese and that is really awesome too. I've seen eagles carrying off some pretty big geese, and dive bombing the ducks. Then there are the coyotes....those guys are hard to get though, gotta have a real good eye and a very long lens.
Thanks for the info about Ridgefield. Sounds like a fun place to go.
David -- All 3 time's I've been to Ridgefield, it's been closed except for car traffic. Because cars act as blinds, it does seem like the birds are more tolerant. But then you're working in your car that can be a downside compared to Nisqually. We generally take a loop with one of us the back seat and the driving and then swap and take another loop. I understand in the summer there are some trails you can go on. There are different species down there too; I've seen egret and sandhill cranes there but not at Nisqually. There seem to be more heron down there too. There seem to be a lot of nutria at Ridgefield which translates to more raptors (hawks, kestrels). I think the fishing's probably better at Nisqually so you're more likely to see eagles there (though Jeremy's bit about eagles chasing geese sounds pretty amazing). It also seems like Nisqually has a larger variety of waterfoul (though I may have just not been there at the right time).
Sean
Drop the picture into Photoshop. Go to image/adjustments/color balance and set the sliders to -34, +3, +12 (from top to bottom). Then go to brightness/contrast and set the brightness slider to -15 or maybe a little lower.
Let me know what you think.
By the way, I think I know that bittern. LOL
Kris