| SEPTEMBER 2008 NEWSLETTER |
Angie and I spent 2 weeks in the Southeastern part of Arizona last February getting
some rest and relaxation and doing some birdwatching and photography. Needless
to say it's a spectacular area for both.
One place that we spent some time photographing at was the Pond at Elephant Head
in Amado, AZ south of Tucson. The owner Bill Forbes has a feeding station there
complete with blinds, perches to do setups and a waterhole. Bill created the
Phototrap, a great device for taking photographs at night. If anyone would like to
visit his website it is www.phototrap.com . I was able to get some images that I was
thrilled about there. There were dozens, maybe hundreds of Gambel's Quail that
were easy to photograph. Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxias were two of the more colorful
species evident while we were there.
some rest and relaxation and doing some birdwatching and photography. Needless
to say it's a spectacular area for both.
One place that we spent some time photographing at was the Pond at Elephant Head
in Amado, AZ south of Tucson. The owner Bill Forbes has a feeding station there
complete with blinds, perches to do setups and a waterhole. Bill created the
Phototrap, a great device for taking photographs at night. If anyone would like to
visit his website it is www.phototrap.com . I was able to get some images that I was
thrilled about there. There were dozens, maybe hundreds of Gambel's Quail that
were easy to photograph. Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxias were two of the more colorful
species evident while we were there.
GAMBEL'S QUAIL photographed at the Pond at Elephant Head, February 2008.
Canon Mk3 500F4+1.4TC 1/500 F8 iso 640, evaulative metering at -0.3.
The next place that I wanted to talk about is Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area. This
area is kind of a mini Bosque del Apache located in SE Arizona. This winter over
20,000 Sandhill Cranes wintered there spending the evenings at the Wildlife Area
and dispersing into farm fields during the day. Add in some Snow Geese and quite
a few raptors and owls and you have a recipe for a great day of birding and
photography.
Canon Mk3 500F4+1.4TC 1/500 F8 iso 640, evaulative metering at -0.3.
The next place that I wanted to talk about is Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area. This
area is kind of a mini Bosque del Apache located in SE Arizona. This winter over
20,000 Sandhill Cranes wintered there spending the evenings at the Wildlife Area
and dispersing into farm fields during the day. Add in some Snow Geese and quite
a few raptors and owls and you have a recipe for a great day of birding and
photography.
SANDHILL CRANES AND SNOW GEESE photographed at Whitewater Draw Wildlife
Area. Canon Mk3 500F4 1/160 F45 (yes, that's F45, not 4.5) iso 800, evaluative metering
-0.3. In this image I used as wide a depth of field as possible to try and show the typical
scene at Whitewater Draw and to get as many cranes and geese as possible in focus.
Area. Canon Mk3 500F4 1/160 F45 (yes, that's F45, not 4.5) iso 800, evaluative metering
-0.3. In this image I used as wide a depth of field as possible to try and show the typical
scene at Whitewater Draw and to get as many cranes and geese as possible in focus.
SANDHILL CRANES photographed at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, February 2008.
Canon Mk3 500F4 1/3200 F10 iso 500, evaulative metering -0.3, A1 Servo, Handheld.
Canon Mk3 500F4 1/3200 F10 iso 500, evaulative metering -0.3, A1 Servo, Handheld.
COOPER'S HAWK, juvenile, photographed at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area,
February 2008. Canon Mk3 500F4+1.4TC 1/500 F7.1 iso 800, evaluative metering
-0.3. A1 Servo, handheld. Cropped from horizontal. I was really happy to get this
image of a relatively tame Cooper's Hawk out in the open at last light.
February 2008. Canon Mk3 500F4+1.4TC 1/500 F7.1 iso 800, evaluative metering
-0.3. A1 Servo, handheld. Cropped from horizontal. I was really happy to get this
image of a relatively tame Cooper's Hawk out in the open at last light.
My favorite place to photograph and watch birds in SE Arizona has to be the Cave
Creek area near Portal, Arizona. I really have the feeling of getting away from it all
when I'm there and the birds are spectacular. My favorite place to stay there is
Cave Creek Ranch, www.cavecreekranch.com . The managers Tony Godfrey and
Shela DeLong are very helpful and knowledgeable and the grounds include many
feeders which attract a variety of specialty birds including Magnificent and
Blue-throated Hummingbirds. Tony is a bird photographer, his website is
www.artfullbirds.com. His ambitious goal is to photograph a bird from every
genus in the world, his website is very informative. The lodge is a little ways out
of the small town of Portal, on Cave Creek.
Creek area near Portal, Arizona. I really have the feeling of getting away from it all
when I'm there and the birds are spectacular. My favorite place to stay there is
Cave Creek Ranch, www.cavecreekranch.com . The managers Tony Godfrey and
Shela DeLong are very helpful and knowledgeable and the grounds include many
feeders which attract a variety of specialty birds including Magnificent and
Blue-throated Hummingbirds. Tony is a bird photographer, his website is
www.artfullbirds.com. His ambitious goal is to photograph a bird from every
genus in the world, his website is very informative. The lodge is a little ways out
of the small town of Portal, on Cave Creek.
ROADRUNNER photographed at Cave Creek Ranch, February 2008. Canon Mk3 500F4+2X
1/1250 F13, iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, Handheld. When photographing a bird at close
range and shooting just the head and shoulders, I usually stop down about 2 stops from wide
open to get as much detail as I can in sharp focus. This roadrunner was amazingly tame,
following me around the fields of the lodge for a bit.
1/1250 F13, iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, Handheld. When photographing a bird at close
range and shooting just the head and shoulders, I usually stop down about 2 stops from wide
open to get as much detail as I can in sharp focus. This roadrunner was amazingly tame,
following me around the fields of the lodge for a bit.
BRIDLED TITMOUSE photographed at Cave Creek Ranch, February 2008. Canon
Mk3 500F4 + 1.4TC 1/800 F9 iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, 580EX fill flash at -3.0. I
was really happy to get some nice images of this species at Cave Creek. I found a
nice weathered perch lying on the ground and attached it to an unused tripod head.
Then I attached a small tray with sunflower seed to the top of the tripod. Tony
Godfrey came by and suggested we add some peanut butter to the side of the perch.
The setup attracted titmice and juncos resulting in some images I liked. The sun was
at my back here and still quite bright so I used a little fill flash to fill in the shadows
some. Because I was quite close to the bird and the sun was at my back I used a -3.0
flash exposure compensation.
Mk3 500F4 + 1.4TC 1/800 F9 iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, 580EX fill flash at -3.0. I
was really happy to get some nice images of this species at Cave Creek. I found a
nice weathered perch lying on the ground and attached it to an unused tripod head.
Then I attached a small tray with sunflower seed to the top of the tripod. Tony
Godfrey came by and suggested we add some peanut butter to the side of the perch.
The setup attracted titmice and juncos resulting in some images I liked. The sun was
at my back here and still quite bright so I used a little fill flash to fill in the shadows
some. Because I was quite close to the bird and the sun was at my back I used a -3.0
flash exposure compensation.
We still have room on each of our trips this fall and winter:
Ecuador, November 8-17, 2008
Ecuador, December 6-14, 2008
Thailand, January 4-18, 2009
Please contact me at nchappell@trogontours.net if you have any interest in one of
these tours.
Ecuador, November 8-17, 2008
Ecuador, December 6-14, 2008
Thailand, January 4-18, 2009
Please contact me at nchappell@trogontours.net if you have any interest in one of
these tours.
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