Since we start the Florida Spoonbills tour at least 15 min before sunrise, we have a chance at creating pleasing blurs when the colors are right. It is a prime opportunity to bring out your artistic fiber into bird photography. See in this blog post a few examples from the February Spoonbill workshop.
Roseate Spoonbill and Brown Pelican pleasing blur – Tampa Bay Spoonbill Rookery, Florida
ISO 1000 | f/6.3 | 1/25 sec. | Tv mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II at 400mm and the Canon EOS 1DX mark II.
It really pays off to wake up early if you want to have a chance to capture pre sunrise orange and pink colors! For pleasing blurs, I will typically shoot in shutter speed priority mode (Tv for Canon) or manual mode between a shutter speed of 1/15 to 1/30 of a second. Many bird photographers rediscover their artistic instincts after trying this 🙂
Roseate Spoonbill motion blur – Tampa Bay Spoonbill Rookery, Florida
ISO 400 | f/5.6 | 1/25 sec. | Tv mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II at 400mm and the Canon EOS 1DX mark II.
The advantage of shooting with shutter speed priority over sheer manual mode is that you may quickly move from shooting against the sun light to shooting against the mangrove trees in the shade. In the photograph above, I strived to create a motion blur of the bird in the sky while having some of the trees underneath to bolster the motion effect.
Double crested Cormorants artistic blur – Tampa Bay Spoonbill Rookery, Florida
ISO 200 | f/5.6 | 1/25 sec. | Tv mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II at 400mm and the Canon EOS 1DX mark II.
This last artistic blur was actually created first during the first morning of the last February Spoonbill tour. A good way to capture bright colors is to pan with birds in motion on the sides of the sun.
Testimonial from the February 2019 Spoonbill Tour
The Spoonbill tour was a fantastic trip on so many levels and for anyone interested, I would HIGHLY recommend reaching out to Steven for more info. In addition to the trip being an all around good time, I am elated to be able to support Steven and his family and I would encourage others to do the same. Steven is one of those people that I am thrilled to have encountered in this lifetime! Thanks for the great time and your gracious hospitality Steven! I cannot wait for the next trip! — Michael F.
Florida Spoonbills Photography Tour – $1,290
March 30th-31st 2019 / limit 6 people – Full
April 27th-28th 2019 / limit 6 people – 1 opening
2 working lunches and 3 boat rides to the absolute best rookery to photograph spoonbills with breeding colors. $250 deposit. Send me an email at steven@stevenbirdphotography.com
Florida Ospreys Photography Tour – $1,490
March 28th-29th 2020 / limit 4 people – 3 openings
3 boat rides on a pristine cypress trees lake and 2 working lunch sessions with lunch included. $300 deposit. Send me an email at steven@stevenbirdphotography.com
Larry Brophy