Sunday, March 27, 2011

Magnificent Frigatebirds - Belize

While leisurely cruising around Caye Caulker in a golf cart in search of cold beer, I stumbled across a couple of local fisherman cleaning their fish on a dock. They were tossing the fish guts out, which attracted a group of Magnificent Frigatebirds to within point-blank range. This was the best opportunity I'd ever had to shoot frigatebirds and my photo mojo kicked in like wildfire! Aside from a quick trip back to the hotel to get more gear and memory cards, I shot the frigatebirds continuosly until all the fish were cleaned and the birds soared off. When there's a good photo opportunity before me, I stick with it as long as it lasts (thankfully, there was plenty of cold beer to be found afterwards)!

With the blazingly fast motor drive on the Canon 1D mark IV, I blasted about 1200 photos of the frigatebirds in an hour or so. This was a great test of the new lenses that Sigma had sent me.... and I was impressed with the AF capabilities. The only problem now is that I have so many photos to edit!

Photo 1 (above): Magnificent Frigatebird in flight, Caye Caulker, Belize
Canon 1D mark IV, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens; 580EX II flash at +1 1/3
Exposure: ISO 400, 1/400s @ f/6.3




Photo 2 (above): Magnificent Frigatebird in flight, Caye Caulker, Belize
Canon 1D mark IV, Sigma 70-200mm f.2.8 lens, 580EX II flash at +2/3
Exposure: ISO 400, 1/2000s @ f/5.6

Photo 3 (above): Fisherman clean their catch on Caye Caulker, Belize.
Canon 1D mark IV, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, Singh-Ray LB polarizer




















9 comments:

  1. Preciosas fotos amigo saludos

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  2. LOVE that top photo! I love the translucence of a bird's feathers

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  3. If I saw Frigatebirds THAT close I would probably cry...with joy that is!

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  4. Thanks for the comments! Marianne, they were so close you probably could have grabbed one!

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  5. Anonymous11:24 AM

    Great shots of unusual subjects (at least for us)! Did you stay on the mainland? One day (sooner rather than later) we'll get to Belize. Hubby wants to dive there and I've tried to research where the best spots are for photography there - figured I might be too limited on a caye.
    Looking forward to seeing more of your shots, Kim

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  6. Belize is a country full of culture and traditions, besides having the best scenery and the most stunning beaches that characterize it as a place of rest and tourism. It is certainly a wonderful place to enjoy vacations.

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  7. Hi Kim, I spent the first part of the trip in the San Ignacio area of western Belize. Tons of things to do and photograph in that area! Last few days were chilling out on the Caye!

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  8. Stunning and very talented scope of works.

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