SEARCHING IMPRESSIONS OF LIFE: nature

It's in my blood.
Since I was given my first camera, when I was a little kid, I have always been fascinated by capturing in a shot what my eyes were seeing around me. The beauty of nature or the smile of a friend, an event or an emotion... Precious pearls to be framed in a photo. Whether freezing a movement or moving the stillness, looking at normality through a different angle or portraying the exceptional, I can choose different perspectives, I can catch reality. I think this passion is in my blood, I inherited it from my Grandpa and then from my Dad, and it has always had a great influence in my life. Come and follow me in my journey searching impressions of life.

Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

Sunday, April 15, 2018

The Eggs Hatched!

With great joy we experienced the hatching of all 4 eggs! It happened when it was very dark, so it was difficult to see, and the mother was kind in the way, nonetheless we are happy we have now four little blackbirds.

They are blind, with enormous eyes but still closed, and practically without any plumes. They can't really hold their heads up, but just for a few seconds when they get food from their Mom. She brings worms and larvae and she's very careful in perfectly cleaning the nest. The little ones' droppings are immediately collected – sometimes as they come out of the little bodies – and... eaten... yes, I know, kind of disgusting for us, but not in nature. Also, she's sure all the parasites are immediately taken care of.

Well, this is exciting! Enjoy a couple of extracts from the webcam!

Check also these other posts relating to the past and current blackbird visits
http://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.it/2018/04/blackbird-nesting.html
http://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.it/2015/04/sad-news.html
http://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.it/2015/04/happy-easter.html

Sunday, April 16, 2017

The King

The Kingfisher, a blue rocket that dives at incredible speed and precision to catch the fish. This beautiful bird is not rare but being able to see it fishing is not that easy, especially considering its speed. I have seen this bird diving from the top of a big tree, 15 meters high, into a small pond and still catch the fish, of course all in a flash.

Taking pictures of the Kingfisher is great: the shape and colors of this bird make it a perfect subject for a nature photographer. However, even if a portrait shot is already a great picture – considering the beauty of this bird – taking a shot in flight is the ultimate goal of every photographer. And considering the speed of the Kingfisher, that is no easy task. So... of course I tried to do that.

Because of how fast it is, the camera must be set on a very fast shutter time – to be sure to freeze the bird's flight 1/3500-1/4000 sec is recommended – and it must be pre-focused on the spot where we think (or hope) the bird will dive. Autofocus would be really tough and all the water drops would anyway fool the lens view and make the camera focus off the real subject. The fast shutter time often prevents the photographer from being able to use a small aperture and depth of field is critical, especially when using a telephoto.

Here are my first results in this attempt of taking a good photo of the Kingfisher either diving or emerging from the water with the catch. The light was not that much, and to try and have a good depth of field I had to raise the ISO quite a bit. I even risked lowering the speed to a value, still pretty fast, but not completely safe. However, the fact that I took the bird while exiting the water, allowed for shots with no motion blur because the bird was slowed down by the fish and by the effort of flying out of the water.

They are not perfect, but I am pretty satisfied at the moment. And of course I will try again, looking for the perfect shot... wish me luck!

350mm f/8.0 1/1250sec ISO6400 -0.33

350mm f/8.0 1/1250sec ISO16000 -0.33

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Flower Show Magic – part 2

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

I had totally forgot to post the second part of the pics taken at the flower show in October... :(
Here they are, enjoy!

400mm f/5.6 1/250sec ISO250

85mm f/2.8 1/160sec ISO200

33mm f/5.0 1/100sec ISO800

135mm f/5.0 1/250sec ISO250

85mm f/5.0 1/160sec ISO400

85mm f/4.0 1/250sec ISO200 and macro tube

85mm f/5.0 1/250sec ISO200 and macro tube

85mm f/2.8 1/4000sec ISO200 and macro tube

85mm f/5.0 1/80sec ISO200

85mm f/2.8 1/1600sec ISO200 and macro tube

Sunday, July 31, 2016

On the Black Grouse Lek - part 2

Three months... yes, three months! I can't believe I left so much time pass between part one and part two of this post! What a shame... :(

24mm f/5.0 1/100sec ISO800 +3.33

Anyway, I am going to show you now probably the most interesting part of the courtship, the actual fights.

While the mating display I told you about in the previous part continues for most of the time, once in a while a more serious action takes place, especially when females come to visit the lek.

560mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO800 +1.33

560mm f/5.6 1/500sec ISO3200 +0.67

400mm f/6.3 1/640sec ISO6400 +0.67

The confrontations go from just facing each other without really "attacking", to jumping towards the adversary trying to find an opening.

400mm f/5.6 1/1600sec ISO1250 +1.33

And then... ATTACK!

400mm f/5.6 1/640sec ISO640 +0.67

400mm f/5.0 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

400mm f/6.3 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

Everything is very fast and it's quite difficult to clearly see what's happening in those few seconds. Only when I look at the pictures, later, after coming back home, I can see the drama of the action, the fierce look and the strength the birds put in the fight. Feathers fly in the air and for a short but very intense time, the two birds fight in the air, almost as if they were dancing.

400mm f/6.3 1/1000sec ISO2000 +1

400mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO800 +1.33

400mm f/5.0 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

Shots have been taken throughout a period of four days, in different weather, as you can see from the colors and the light conditions.

400mm f/7.1 1/800sec ISO2500 +0.67

400mm f/5.6 1/800sec ISO2500 +0.67

And then, suddenly, everybody fly away... a small bird of prey arrived in the distance... better be far, you never know. It was almost time, anyway, for the birds to stop their mating activity for the day.

722mm f/8.0 1/320sec ISO6400 -0.67

The four days spent photographing these beautiful birds have been an awesome experience that I hope to repeat one day. If you enjoyed the shots, you might enjoy also the story I published on MAPTIA:

https://maptia.com/frazgu64/stories/fight-dance

Monday, March 28, 2016

Dinner with the Long-billed Curlew

Browsing through some of my folders, I found some photos taken a couple of years ago at the Bolsa Chica Wetland Preserve, in California.

That day, I went to the wetlands around sunset, hoping to take some good shots of the many birds that can be found there. Sunset is a beautiful moment because of the light, the colors and it looks like many birds fish at that time of the day.

During my previous visit, I only had a quick glimpse of the Long-billed curlew, and that was certainly one of the birds that I was hoping to see. And this time I was lucky enough to spend quite some time with this one bird.

560mm f/6.3 1/1250sec ISO640

560mm f/6.3 1/1600sec ISO640

560mm f/6.3 1/3200sec ISO1000 +0.33

560mm f/6.3 1/1250sec ISO640

560mm f/8.0 1/1600sec ISO800 +0.33

I had the opportunity to see it looking for food and capturing some crabs. The bird uses the very long and curved bill to probe the muddy ground close to the water to find crabs and small invertebrates. He also captures grasshoppers and other insects.

It was incredible to see the curlew turning its neck 180 degrees while trying to extract a crab from the mud, adjusting the proper curved side of the long bill to the situation: It really looked like a contortionist.

560mm f/6.3 1/1250sec ISO1000 +0.33

560mm f/8.0 1/800sec ISO800 +0.33

Here a funny shot when the crab realizes that it's been discovered... It looks like it's saying: "Don't think it's going to be easy, man! I am not going down without a fight!" It's almost like having two knights fighting in a duel... who is going to win?

560mm f/7.1 1/1000sec ISO640

But nothing could be easier for the long-billed curlew. Even though the crab is not a very small one, the long bill is a formidable weapon that the bird uses with incredible expertise.

560mm f/7.1 1/1000sec ISO640

With a one-two move, the crab is made harmless. And after capturing it, there was certainly the need of washing the food before eating it! I was surprised to see the bird going to the water and letting the crab fall into it, just to immediately capture it again to wash all the mud off of it. The curlew was incredibly skilled in "handling" the crab with the bill, making it jump in mid-air to get it again in the correct position.