Clovis' 2025 images

[clovishound]

Here are some from Magnolia this morning.


This is a string of a little blue heron landing.

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[Hatchdog]

Isn’t it interesting that birds who look so majestic in flight seem awkward when captured in a still? Sure is great detail, especially the feathers on the top of the head.

[CT_Shooter]

Beautiful work. Great color. Sharp focus, stop action, blurred backgrounds. I especially like the composition and form of the bird's (backlit) extended wings in DSC_3024. Very nice. Thanks.

[clovishound]

Beautiful work. Great color. Sharp focus, stop action, blurred backgrounds. I especially like the composition and form of the bird's (backlit) extended wings in DSC_3024. Very nice. Thanks.

I appreciate the comments. I was actually on my way back to the car and stopped and talked with another photographer on the boardwalk. I happened to notice the (misidentified in my original post) tri colored heron flying across the the pond, looking like it was going to land. I had my camera set for something between static birds and birds in flight and no time to think about bumping up the shutter speed. I was a little surprised to get a sharp image at 1/2000 sec. The new Z8 did a good job of locking on to focus and tracking the bird as it landed. With my old camera, focus on moving birds was hit or miss, mostly miss. I leave my subject detection on "birds" when I'm out and about, unless I have something else in mind for the location.

The subject detection tracking on this camera has settings for people, animals, birds, cars and airplanes. For the first three, it is supposed to lock onto an eye, if visible. It's not 100%, but has done a very good job with critters so far.

[clovishound]

Here's one I overlooked from a couple weeks ago. Edited it tonight. I kind of like the low key aspect. Sometimes I don't recognize an image as being worth editing when I first go through them. Sometimes I go back through the unedited pile and pick out one or two that just didn't speak to me on the first perusal. This is one of those. I'm glad I took a second look at this one.

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[CT_Shooter]

I'm glad I took a second look at this one.

Me, too.

This is one strikingly beautiful image; perfectly framed, and full of color, depth, and contrast. Outstanding. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[clovishound]

I had real problems with the whites in the birds. I gave it a stop less exposure to keep from blowing out the highlights, and I succeeded at that, but they needed a good bit of editing to bring up the shadows and tamp down the highlights in the birds, without bringing up the dark shadows behind them. I believe the dark background is what makes this image.

To put this in context, they had just finished mating, and were a little testy. I don't think the female was too happy at the moment. I won't post the pictures I got a minute or two prior.

[CT_Shooter]

To put this in context, they had just finished mating, and were a little testy. I don't think the female was too happy at the moment. I won't post the pictures I got a minute or two prior.

I just noticed the larger bird (male?) has a RED eye that doesn't seem to be from a flash. I wonder if it happened during their "engagement".

[Hatchdog]

This picture looks almost eerie with the white birds against the dark background. So surreal it looks almost like a painting. Well done!

[clovishound]

The Pup and I went to Beidler Forest this morning. Had a few cooperative birds, and one really unhappy crawfish.

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[Hatchdog]

Great timing on the crawfish shot and the last pic with the reflection and the slightly out of focus background is great.

[clovishound]

Well, the new camera is fast. I've been leaving it in 20 frames per second mode to avoid missing anything, despite having a lot more files to go through. I actually got him flipping his head up to reposition the crawfish several times. This was the best looking of the bunch.

If I don't mind a somewhat lower quality image, and lots and lots of images, I can put this beast into 120 frames per second mode. That just blows my mind. I doubt I will ever try it. The card in the faster slot gets hot enough with just normal shooting. I have found, though, that some action is so fast that even 20 fps doesn't give me the full spectrum of activity to choose from. I can switch to JPG and choose 30 fps. The next level over that is the 120 fps.

Here he is in the act of getting that crawfish.

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[CT_Shooter]

Amazing camera performance. I'm so glad you own one!!!

[clovishound]

Amazing camera performance. I'm so glad you own one!!!

So am I.

I would really like to get something like a 600mm prime lens. However, I feel like I've already spent too much on my equipment. The fast ones (f/4) are insane, as in over $15,000. I can get a slower model (F/6.3) for just under $5,000.

So, for now I'll just stick with my old 200-500 F/5.6. It has a reputation for being very sharp for a relatively inexpensive long tele. Probably the biggest difference I would notice in one of the newer, more expensive lenses is a modest boost in autofocus performance.

Unfortunately, wildlife photography is a hobby that you have to pay if you want to play. Still, it's cheaper than a boat. As a big plus, it is something my daughter and I can do together, and that is priceless.

[BrokenolMarine]

Beautiful shots as always. It's always nice to see someone use a great piece of gear well. I agree, your wildlife shots are amazing.

[clovishound]

Made it down to Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal SC with the Carolina Nature Photographer's Association yesterday. Harsh lighting, but lots of activity. The Pup and I had a good time, as well as the rest of the group.

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[CT_Shooter]

I'm guessing about what the birds are in the photos, but I love what I think is a Stork in flight and an Egret with her chicks and a Heron with her eggs. Very, very nice.

[clovishound]

I'm not an ornithologist, but I believe they, in order, are:
Snowy egret
American white ibis
Wood stork
Snowy egret
Tricolored heron

The wood storks look to me like pterodactyls with feathers.

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[CT_Shooter]

The wood storks look to me like pterodactyls with feathers.

They're ancient animals that probably still look like they would have about 50 million years ago. They fascinate me.

I'm a daily viewer of a WebCam mounted on the nest of parenting Eagles named Jackie and Shadow. Three of their eggs hatched about six weeks ago, but only two survived a late winter storm. They grow quickly; over night it seems; and the eaglets are getting pretty big. I enjoy checking in on them every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE

[markiver54]

I always enjoy your wonderful pictures Clovis. As always, thank you for sharing.