Bird season approaches!

Great weather and cooperative birds have been keeping me busy lately, hence the lack of blog posts! With spring fast approaching, I've been shifting to photographing birds. April and May are a marathon of songbird photography for me.... starting in Texas and following the migration north to Ontario.

Songbird photography is tricky.... the birds are small and rarely sit still. Capturing sharp, well-framed photos requires being fast and efficient with a long lens. I get rusty at this over the winter and have to tune up my technique each spring, which is what I've been up to lately. I've been using my new 50D body and have found it to be excellent for bird photography. I'm most impressed with the incredibly quick and accurate autofocus, as well as the fast frame rate. It blows away my 1DsIII body for shooting birds. A downside is the 50D files have more noise (digital grain) than 1DsIII files, especially in low light. This doesn't surprise me, the 50D is way less expensive and has a smaller sensor. Nevertheless, the files are still pretty good - very publishable - and I expect to use this body for the majority of my songbird photography this spring.

Here are a few recent bird photos.

Photo 1: White Pelican landing - Salton Sea, California
EOS 50D; 500/4IS & 1.4X teleconvertor
Exposure: 1/1600 @ f/5.6; ISO 250


Photo 2: Pyrrhuloxia on cactus - Tucson, Arizona
EOS 50D; 500/4IS & 1.4X teleconvertor
Exposure: 1/1000 @ f/5.6; ISO 200; fill flash at -1 2/3


Photo 3: Black-throated Gray Warbler - Madera Canyon, Arizona
EOS 50D; 500/4IS & 1.4X teleconvertor; 580EX II flash & Better Beamer
Exposure: 1/60 @ f/5.6; ISO 250; fill flash at -1 2/3


Photo 4: Townsend's Warbler - Cave Creek, Arizona
EOS 50D; 500/4IS & 1.4X teleconvertor
Exposure: 1/160 @ f/5.6; ISO 400


Photo 5: Yellow-eyed Junco - Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona
EOS 50D; 500/4IS & 1.4X teleconvertor; 580EX II flash & Better Beamer
Exposure: 1/60 @ f/5.6; ISO 400; fill flash at -2

Small dog, big truck

Every now and then I stumble across a funny scene that warrants stopping for a quick photo. Here's one I shot the other day near the Salton Sea in California. I think the dog is a Chihuahua??

500/4IS & EOS 50D; handheld from my vehicle

Coastal Old-Growth Forest

This week marks 5 months that I've been on the road. Time flies! With spring fast approaching, the intensity of the trip - and shooting - is increasing. The last couple of days in particular have been exhausting, with far too much driving. I just returned to southern Cali to drop off some camera gear for service at Canon. It was hard to leave northern Calironia and Oregon, my time up there was far too short. Photographing in the coastal old-growth redwood forests of northern Cali was a dream for me..... few places have left me in such awe. The mornings I spent wandering those forests were spiritual experiences.

I'm way behind in editing and processing all the photos, but I wanted to make a quick blog post with some photos I sent to my family. It's difficult to convey the immense size of trees in the redwood forests, so I jumped into many of the photos for scale.

Will post some more photos when I get caught up on sleep and work!

All photos taken with EOS 1DsIII; 17-40mm or 24-70mm lenses and Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer

Pacific Coast

The last few days I've been on the Pacific Coast in northern California and Oregon. The weather has been pretty wild - rain and high winds. Photographing shoreline scenes has been a challenge because of the blowing salt spray (it's all over my gear). The winds have been so strong, there were a few times I thought my camera/tripod was going to blow over!

Although I haven't been able to photograph much due to the weather, I've enjoyed exploring this area for my first time. This is an incredibly scenic stretch of coast with rocky outcrops, lighthouses and quaint seaside towns each with myriad restaurants that claim to serve 'world-famous' clam chowder.

For the next few days, I'll continue shooting seascapes (assuming the weather improves). And I'm especially looking forward to exploring some of the stands of huge, coastal old-growth trees.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the coast this week, all taken in northern California just before the bad weather rolled in.

Photo 1: Rugged coastal scenery in northern California.
EOS 1DsIII; 70-200/2.8; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 3 stop soft edge ND grad
Exposure: ISO 200; 1/25 second at f/16


Photo 2: Pacific sunset near Redwood National Park
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8; Singh-Ray LB colorcombo polarizer & 3 stop hard edge ND grad
Exposure: ISO 320; 5 seconds at f/16

Photo 2: Pacific sunset near Redwood National Park
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8; Singh-Ray LB colorcombo polarizer & 3 stop hard edge ND grad
Exposure: ISO 400; 25 seconds at f/16

The Alabama Hills

Prior to crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains, I stopped in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California. This is a very scenic area for landscape photography, with sculpted rock formations backed by the snow-capped Sierras. Many films, including classic westerns, have been filmed here.

Below are a few of the images from my brief time in the hills. Since the sky was clear, the opportunity to make truly dramatic sphotos was limited. So I used my timer to jump into some of the photos to add an element of perspective. This also shows my family and friends that I'm still alive and well.

I'm sitting in a laundromat on the north coast of Cali and the light conditions are terrible in here for processing the photos on my laptop, so I hope these look ok!

Photo 1) The cliche sunrise photo of Mobius Arch framing the Sierras.
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; cable release & mirror lock-up
Exposure: 1/30s @ f/18; ISO 200


Photo 2) Me framed by Mobius Arch at sunset (horizontal)
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; cable release & mirror lock-up
Exposure: 1/10s @ f/22; ISO 200


Photo 3) Me framed by Mobius Arch at sunset (vertical)
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; cable release & mirror lock-up
Exposure: 1/30s @ f/22; ISO 200


Photo 4) Afterglow at Mobius Arch
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB colorcombo polarizer; 2-stop hard edge ND grad; cable release & mirror lock-up
Exposure: 1.3s @ f/22; ISO 200


Photo 5) Moonlit camping in the Alabama Hills
Yes, that's where I camped (I was in the van during the long exposure)!
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens
Exposure: 477 seconds @ f/11; ISO 200

The Racetrack - at last

You may recall from an earlier post my failed attempt to get to the 'Racetrack' in Death Valley because the rear shocks on my van exploded on the rough road. I've been plotting my return ever since and finally gave it a shot this week. I had been well advised about the rugged condition of the road, infamous for causing flat tires and other various mechanical issues. Rumour is the cost of a tow back from the Racetrack can run you upwards of a couple grand.

I approached the drive with trepidation and figured the key was to go slowly.... very slowly (which is not an easy thing for me to do). I even resorted to using reverse psychology on myself with a personal challenge: how slowly could I possibly drive and still get there? And so I began the trip, with the new U2 album loaded on my iPod, to help take my mind off how painfully slow I was moving. This was going to be a long 43km (27 mile) drive.

I've driven famously shitty "roads" in central and south America, but the road to the Racetrack is easily the king of washboards (see photo below). The objective of these evil ripples it to make your drive as punishingly uncomfortable as possible and to destroy your car. I tackled them by virtually idling along at about 2okm/hr. At one point during the drive, I was passed by a desert tortoise walking backwards.

After 2.5 hours I was elated to arrive at the Racetrack playa with the legendary windblown rocks. The plan was simple: shoot for the evening, camp out overnight and photograph again in the morning before driving back out.

The sky was perfectly clear for both evening and morning, which made for a tough shoot. The mountains that surround the playa cause abrupt sunrises and sunsets, so the rocks quickly transition from light to shadow. A few clouds would have been ideal to create dramatic light and skies, but the photo gods were not with me. Below are a few of the resulting photos. And yes, I'm going to have to go back there again when there are clouds in the forecast!

Photo 1: Washboard road to the Racetrack

Photo 2: Sunset on the Racetrack
EOS 1DsIII; 17-40/4 lens; Singh-Ray LB Warming polarizer & 2 stop soft edge ND grad
Exposure: ISO 200; 1/8 second at f/22; mirror lock-up & cable release

Photo 3: Sunset on the Racetrack
EOS 1DsIII; 17-40/4 lens; Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad
Exposure: ISO 200; 0.6 seconds at f/14; mirror lock-up & cable release

Photo 4: Sunrise on the Racetrack

EOS 1DsIII; 17-40/4 lens; Singh-Ray LB Warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad Exposure: ISO 200; 1/15 second at f/18; mirror lock-up & cable release

Death Valley landscapes

The past couple of days in Death Valley have been great! I've been shooting my favorite type of images... wide-angle landscapes with cool foregrounds. Death Valley is an outstanding place to to make these kinds of images. I've been photographing with with my friend Walt Anderson and his wife Carol. Walt is the inventor of the Better Beamer flash extender. Everyone who uses flash with a long lens should have one of these (no, Walt did not bribe me with beer to say that!).

These two photos were taken with an EOS 1DsIII and the 17-40mm lens. If I had to be stuck with one type of lens for the rest of my life, it would definitely be a wide-angle... they are so much fun to shoot!

Photo 1: Sunrise at Salt Creek
Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo polarizer & 3 stop hard edge ND grad
Exposure: 1.6 seconds at f/20; ISO 200; mirror lock-up and cable release


Photo 2: Sunset over Badwater Basin (lowest spot in the US)
Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad
Exposure: 2.5 seconds at f/20; ISO 200; mirror lock-up and cable release

Death Valley

I've spent the last few days exploring Death Valley with a visiting friend. The light hasn't been very cooperative, but my friend was wearing red, so this made for some natural photo ops! I'm heading back to Death Valley to spend some time shooting desert wildflowers, which are just starting to bloom. And I'm crossing my fingers that the 'Racetrack' playa dries out (it rained recently) so I can once again attempt to make it there!

All below photo taken with EOS 1DsIII.

Photo 1: Mesquite Flat Dunes near Stovepipe Wells
17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad; mirror lock-up & cable release; Exposure: 0.6 seconds at f/18; ISO 200

Photo 2: Mesquite Flat Dunes near Stovepipe Wells

17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB Colocombo polarizer & 3 stop hard edge ND grad; mirror lock-up & cable release; Exposure: 4 seconds at f/20; ISO 200

Photo 3: Mesquite Flat Dunes near Stovepipe Wells

17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad; mirror lock-up & cable release; Exposure: 1.3 seconds at f/22; ISO 200

Photo 4: Desert Gold wildflowers

17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; cable release; Exposure: 1/80 second at f/10; ISO 200

Elephant Seal & Star Trails

Hi all, here's a very quick post because I'm in Death Valley with very limited internet access.

There are two approaches I usually take in photography: 1) cowboy style "yeehaw, there's something cool to photograph" and 2) planned images. The two below photos are the result of planning.

Photo 1) After about a week photographing elephant seals, I came up with the idea for this photo. The hardest part was finding a location where I could get down low with the seals, and of course doing it safely (the bull seals weight thousands of pounds)! EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray warming polarizer and 3 stop hard-edge ND grad; 580 EXII flash


Photo 2: I scouted this location to shoot star trails in the Jumbo Rocks campground in Joshua Tree National Park a couple of nights ago. During the day I planned the composition and figured out the focusing distance. When I went back to make the shot at night, it was easy to set up the gear and trip the shutter before going back to my van for a glass of wine! [As a side note, Jumbo Rocks is one of the best campgrounds I've ever been to.]
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; 1 hour exposure at f/5; foreground rocks subtly light-painted with a dim flashlight; Canon multi-function remote shutter release

Wildflower Workshop - June 6-7

Just a heads up that I've posted details for my Orchid & Wildflower photography workshop on the Bruce Peninsula in early June. This is one of the premier wildflower locations in Canada, especially for orchids. The tour is timed to coincide with the blooming peak of Yellow Lady Slippers and a handful of other specialities.

Check out the link: http://www.ethanmeleg.com/tour-BPwildflowers-2009.htm

If you're interested in joining, be sure to sign up soon.... it's booking quickly!

Point Lobos State Reserve

It finally stopped raining after several very wet days here on the coast. It wasn't a pleasant drizzle that you can keep shooting in and end up with rich, moody photos. It was windy, with driving rain... impossible to keep the front of my lens dry. So I drank coffee, read and edited photos to wait out the weather.

With great weather conditions back, I spent yesterday at Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel. My photo targets at Point Lobos were harbor seals and seascapes, both of which were obliging.

Photo 1: Harbor Seal

EOS 1DsIII; 500IS + 1.4x TC; 580EX flash + Better Beamer (for fill flash); Singh-Ray LB polarizer (drop in). There was no way to move to the other side of the backlit seal, so this was a classic situation for use of fill flash. Without it there was basically no shot.

Photo 2: Weston Beach sunset

EOS 1DsIII; 17-40mm; Singh-Ray Colorcombo polarizer & stacked 2 & 3 stop hard edge ND grads (4x6" size, handheld in front of the lens); mirror lock up & cable release; ISo 200; 5s @ f16

This beach is named after pioneer photographer, Edward Weston.

Photo 3: Kelp stems at sunset - Weston Beach (horizontal)

EOS 1DsIII; 17-40mm; Singh-Ray Colorcombo polarizer & stacked 2 & 3 stop hard edge ND grads (4x6" size, handheld in front of the lens); mirror lock up & cable release; ISo 400; 25s @ f18

Photo 4: Kelp stems at sunset - Weston Beach (vertical)

Whenever possible, I shoot both horizontal and vertical compositions to have variety for publishing. I think the vertical is a stronger image. What do you think?

Elephant Seals

The California coast is outstanding for marine wildlife! Although I've only been here for a few days, it's been a blast photographing elephant seals. These are charismatic animals which are highly entertaining to watch. At this time of year, the bulls basically spend their days loafing on the beach, fighting with rival males and mating with their harem. What a life!

Photo 1: Bull elephant seal charges a rival
EOS 1DsIII; 500mm IS; 1/800s@ f5; ISO 400; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer (drop in)


Photo 2: Elephant Seal cub
EOS 1DsIII; 500mm IS + 1.4x; 1/80s@ f5.6; ISO 400; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer (drop in)


Photo 3: Bull elephant seal with wounds from rival battle
EOS 1DsIII; 500/4 IS; 1/8s @ f4; ISO 800; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer (drop in)

Photo 4: Bull elephant seal rears at dusk
EOS 1DsIII; 70-200mm/2.8 IS 1/60s@ f2.8; ISO 800; Singh-Ray LB colorcombo

Quest for the Lewis' Woodpecker

Of the species of birds that I have always wanted to see, Lewis’ Woodpecker has been at the top of the list. I’m not sure what it is about this bird, but it has captivated my interest for decades.

I’ve been following the bird reports hoping to find a Lewis’ location that meshed with my travel plans. Thankfully, several had recently been sighted in the San Bernardino Mountains at Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area. I added it to my itinerary.

When I arrived at the park a few days ago it was closed due to heavy snowfall. I opted to camp nearby, hoping that that the conditions would improve and the park would reopen. Thankfully the next morning was sunny and warm, which melted the icy park roads. I was waiting at the gates when the ranger opened the park mid morning.

I searched for a long time in the area where the birds had allegedly been hanging out, but to no avail. Finally, as I was walking back to the van - ready to pack it in and head to the coast - I made one last scan. In the distance there was a lone bird sitting high up on a dead tree. Could it be? Elated, I had found my life (first ever) Lewis’ Woodpecker.

Now that I was on to them, I quickly found two additional Lewis'. After enjoying satisfying views, I rigged up my camera gear with lots of magnification to try for some photos. It was very difficult to get close to them with an unobstructed view, but I kept working until I had a few reasonably clean shots.

That evening, when I went to download the memory card to see my precious photos, they were all gone! There had been a problem with the card or camera and it appeared that all the files were either lost or corrupted. My heart sunk! After a frantic email to Lexar for technical support, they promptly sent me the recovery software. The photo gods must be on my side, because it worked!

Although these aren't prize winners, I'm just plain excited to have any photos of Lewis' Woodpecker!

EOS 50D; 500/4 + 1.4x TC

Naturescapes Award & Popular Photo magazine

Hi all, just a bit of flagrant self promotion here...

1) My photo of the Subway in Zion National Park has just been selected for honorable mention among the Images of the Year on http://www.naturescapes.net/ . Check out the slideshow on the main page.... mine is image #8.

2) There's a brief editorial feature on me on page 11 in the latest (March) issue of Popular Photograph magazine. The magazine is widely available in bookstores and newstands.

cheers!
Ethan

Snow, Rain and Great Light

Here's a photo of heavy snowfall in Joshua Tree. I'm not a big cold weather/snow fan (it's why I've escaped from Canada for the winter), but even I was taken by the beauty of snow in the desert.



After leaving Joshua Tree en route to the San Bernardino Mountains, I got a call notifying me that someone had been attempting to fraudulantly use my credit card. What a pain to deal with! After many calls and wracking my brain to figure out where I would be so that a new card could be couriered (not an easy thing when you're travelling like a photo nomad) I finally got it all worked out. At this point I was a bit cranky, but kept focussing on the goal of seeing my life Lewis' Woodpecker. So you can imagine my mood when I arrived at the park where the woodpecker had been seen, only to find the park closed indefinitely due to heavy snowfall. I found a nearby campsite to chill out for the night.

The campground was pretty darn nice and there wasn't another person there - I had it entirely to myself. There were electical hookups to run a heater (it was going well below freezing) and showers. You can't imagine how much of a luxury a hot shower is when you're living on the road. Things were looking up.

And here's the view from my campsite.... not bad, eh!


I quickly forgot all of the hassles of the day at dusk, when the passing storm front resulted in this incredible light. The sky was purple!

EOS 1DsIII; 24-70; Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo filter & 3 stop soft edge ND grad


EOS 1DsIII; 24-70; Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo filter & 3 stop soft edge ND grad


As for my attempt to find the Lewis' Woodpecker...... did I end up seeing it? I'll save that story for the next post. Check back soon.

Joshua Tree National Park

Hi all, I've been in Joshua Tree National Park the last couple days. This is a superb park for landscape photography.... the combination of interesting boulder piles and gnarly joshua trees is awesome. The weather has been very tough to photograph in..... extremely windy and cold with bouts of overcast skies. Nevertheless I've worked hard to get a few good images.
And for all my friends back up north, envious that I am in a warmer climate, it's been cold here the past couple days. I froze my butt off camping the last two nights and woke up to heavy snowfall this morning (will post a photo of the snow later)! Tonight I'm staying in a park with electical hookups so I can run my heater.

I'm now en route to try to see (and hopefully photograph) a Lewis' Woodpecker in the San Bernardino Mountains. This is a bird I've been wanting to find for a long time.

A quick post-script.... it's snowing like mad! The park where the woodpecker was seen is closed due to the weather.... damn! Crossing my fingers that it opens back up tomorrow.

Photo 1: Me and the van in Joshua Tree.


Photo 2: Backlit Teddy Bear Cholla
This species of cactus is evil..... they almost jump at you. And once you've gotten stuck, it's a pain to get the spines out.... I still have several stuck in my hand from when I shot this photo.
1DSIII; 17-40; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad


Photo 3: Jumbo Rocks campground at dusk
1DSIII; 17-40; Singh-Ray Gold-n-Blue polarizer
The sky was fairly blah, but I salvaged the photo with the Gold-n-Blue polarizer.


Photo 4: Moonglare through Joshua Tree
I shot this well after sunset will the nearly full moon rising.
1DSIII; 17-40; Singh-Ray 2 stop hard edge ND grad
Light-painted the foreground plants slightly with a flashlight.

Back in the southwest: Short-tailed Hawk & Saguaro

I'm back in the south and enjoying fantastically warm weather. I don't miss the snow and cold of Ontario at all! Today I joined up with some bird photographer friends and we spent the day chasing birds around Tucson. In the afternoon we photographed a very rare species for the southwest.... a Short-tailed Hawk. This particularly interesting individual has tan coloration.

Let me tell you a quick story about my relationship with Short-tailed Hawks. About 15 years when I had just finished university, I took my first big birding/photography road trip from Ontario down to Florida and across to Texas and Arizona. Prior to the departing I had decided that I would get a tattoo of my 500th life bird species, which I would inevitably see during the trip. This occurred in Florida and it was a close call between Red-whiskered Bulbul (an exotic songbird) and Short-tailed Hawk. Thankfully a careful recount confirmed it was the hawk, lest I would be stuck today with a wimpy Bulbul tatooed on my arm.

By the way, I bought a 50D body last week for backup and this is the first photo I've posted with it. Will share more thoughts about this camera soon after I've had a chance to put it thought the paces.

Photo 1: Short-tailed Hawk, Tucson
50D + 500/4IS; handheld; manual exposure

For those of you who are tired of seeing bird photos on this blog, here's a cactusscape that I shot tonight on the way to the campground. I love Saguaros - they're my favorite plant.

Photo 2: Saguaro Cactus, Tucson
EOS 1DsIII; 14-40 lens