Since early May a bunch of young Spoonbills started to venture out of the nests at Alafia Banks. At the biggest rookery in the state of Florida, Alafia Banks, you may now admire the new generation of Spoonbills. They are almost all white, with a hint of pink on their wings and their heads are full of feathers. Needless to say, there are very few spots where one might observe such a display of youngs.
Young juvenile Spoonbill landing – Alafia Banks, Florida
ISO 250 | f/5.6 | 1/5000 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review), the Canon EOS 5D mark III on tripod with Gimbal Head.
The photograph above was created early this month. Creating images of very young Spoonbills does not happen every day, even less capturing action! The one above was landing on a sand bar. Recognizing some key bird behaviors is often what is going to allow you to get the shot. A good way to create landings is to work on a small group, while keeping an eagle eye for possible new comers. Imagine this, you are focusing on your subject with your eye in the view finder, you relax a bit a before you know it there is a new bird in the group, which you barely noticed arriving. This often happened to me in my early days. Take a few shots and take your eye off the viewfinder to take a quick look at your surroundings: it goes a LONG way towards spotting new comers!
Young juvenile Spoonbill preening – Alafia Banks, Florida
ISO 1600 | f/16 | 1/400 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) coupled with the 1.4x III, the Canon EOS 5D mark III on tripod with Gimbal Head.
In the photograph above the young Spoonbill is preening its newly grown feathers. Believe it or not, good portraits are actually quite tricky. Understanding head angle and composition is key! Also, it is a very good idea to decrease you shutter opening by increasing the f/, especially when working with a long lens. This will allow you to capture as much detail as possible while keeping a very pleasing background. This is one of those times that I urgently remind my students of the 4 angles of success before pressing the shutter.
Young juvenile Spoonbills looking for food – Alafia Banks, Florida
ISO 250 | f/7.1 | 1/3200 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review) coupled with the 1.4x III, the Canon EOS 5D mark III on tripod with Gimbal Head.
What is better than one young Spoonbills? …. TWO!!! Lately, I have been forcing myself to look wider and try to include more creations of multiple subjects interacting together. The difficulty is then multiplied! All of a sudden, both subjects should be sharp, with good head angles and so on. We live to learn!
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Steven