Capturing the essence of birds

I try to provide a gateway into the very essence of bird behavior. This involves a great deal of patience and an unstated amount of trust between myself and my subjects. I try to convey emotion in my birds by catching unique facial expressions and poses. Whether it is laying in mud, on a beach or wading through icy salt marsh water I will do whatever it takes to get the shot I have envisioned. I also respect my birds and believe in practicing proper etiquette and not unduly stressing the birds.

This can be very demanding on gear and the Tamron 150-600 G2 is designedto put up with the elements. I found AF to be fast and accurate. I also found the rendering to be very pleasing with a good transition from the subject to the background. The addition of the flex zoom lock is a welcome addition and the VC was top notch for stabilizing the lens since I only shoot handhold.

I often shoot prime lenses, but having the ability to zoom out with my hawks was paramount to achieving the image I wanted. It also allowed me to frame the images and really smooth out the backgrounds to keep the focus on the subject.

Flight of the Juvenile Little Blue Heron

I imaged this juvenile in early November on an overcast day. Overcast days can be very good for photographing bright white birds as it helps to keep the whites in check. I always try to compliment the bird with a background that is fitting for the environment.

Murmuration of Starlings

Photographing a flock of birds can create a visually pleasing mixture of colors and textures. These Starlings form what is called a murmuration and I had to wait until they landed in a place with a pleasing background to capture this image.

Red Tail Hawk over the marsh

I had so many images to choose from this series, but I look for one like this where the wings are up and you get tosee the whole bird in flight. The background really complimented the colors of the Hawk and really makes youfocus on him.

Power

What strikes me with this image is how much power there is in a Hawk's wings as they fly through the air. This Hawk had just lifted off from deep in the phragamites and the G2 grabbed focus very quickly and really captured the essence of flight.

Descent

This shot was all about patience and positioning. I have observed this hawk hunting for well over a year and I watch his movements to get myself in position to catchthe descent down on the prey. I always try to get a good background for where he may potentially go.

Liftoff

Using the wind, I positioned myself in front of the hawk where I knew he would be lifting off. Conventional bird photography says wings up or wings down. I actually like to catch the wings in mid flap to really show how large the wing span is.

Focus

I try to go beyond just a catch-light in the bird’seye;I try to show the very emotion in the bird's eye. At times it can be hard to catchup in the bird, but I always try to keep the foreground and background in the frame interesting.

Locked on

The hawk had landed on a perfect perch with a background of fall foliage. In this image he was locked on to a critter that I could not see. I was able to compose this image in the viewfinder and balance the elements in harmony.

On a mission

The hawk actually caught two rodents while I was photographing him. This was over many hours as I do not believe in baiting any of my subjects. I firmly believe that wild animals should remain wild and that photographers should not intervene with nature.

Incoming

I generally avoid blue skies backgrounds unless I catch something captivating.This shot is all about the eye contact with hawk as he was flying directlyat me.