images – Florida Bird Photography Tours & Fine Art

Water splashes and yawns

One of the aspect of wildlife photography I like the most is to be able to capture wild animals displaying their natural behavior in a relaxed environment. Thanks to a long lens, disturbance is minimal and animals are quite at ease. This allows for the creation of stunning behavioral moments. I can think of a couple of instances from my last Polar Bear trip that were quite memorable.

Polar Bear yawning- Hudson Bay area, Canada.
ISO 640 | 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 a gimbal head over tripod.

This bear looks quite fierce if you ask me… However, he is simply yawning in the middle of his afternoon stroll. Nothing to be worried about! Yet, it is such a pleasure to witness those simple moments.

Polar Bear splashing water to dry up – Hudson Bay area, Canada.
ISO 1600 | f/5.6 | 1/800 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 extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III on a gimbal head over tripod.

It was a very rainy afternoon with a dark overcast. Note the high ISO I used in order to be able to capture any possible action. That male bear was soaked and seemed to put himself in position to do something… but what? He started to shake from nose to tail in an attempt to splash out the water out of his dense coat. The result is a ballet of water droplets while my subject seems to be smiling to the sky. What a nice action capture.

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Steven

Wildlife Photography Workshops & Tours – Spoonbills & Shorebirds

The Spoonbill & Shorebird wildlife photography workshop was announced a couple of months back. In order to give it a fair presentation, you may watch the quick video below. This wildlife photography tour is a superb combination of two fantastic wildlife hotspots: Alafia Banks and Fort Desoto Park. Those of you who have been following the Bird & Wildlife Photography blog know that I have created killer photographs from those two spots. Do you want to learn my secrets?

Alafia Banks is the very best spot to photograph Spoonbills in flight with breeding colors! And the rookery is only accessible by boat, which makes this wildlife photography workshop very cost effective. Now if you are after shorebirds, there are few places like Fort Desoto…

Roseate Spoonbill in flight - Alafia Banks workshop

Roseate Spoonbill in flight – Alafia Banks, Florida.
ISO 500 | 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 extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III on a gimbal head over tripod. Have a look at the equipment I typically carry with me.

Botswana and the Victoria Falls instructional photography workshop / $9,800 / limit 6 people / Sep 2014:

Have you ever dreamed of a superb African safari? Here it is…

Spoonbills and shorebirds instructional photography workshop / $980 / limit 5 people / Mar 2014:

As described in this post!

Support our blog by following our links for your purchases. It comes at no extra cost to you and it helps keeping this photography blog lively!

Steven

Purple Gallinules at Circle B Bar!

After having heard about a great wildlife spot named Circle B Bar for a while, I decided to wet my toes and go check it out. Located in Lakeland, Florida, that land was a cattle ranch that the Polk county bought out. After proper planting of local plants, the place morphed into a very attractive marsh system that scores of birds call home today. In fact, this is the best marsh habitat I have visited in the area.

Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus) - Circle B Bar photo tour

Purple Gallinule – Circle B Bar, Lakeland, Florida.
ISO 1000 | f/5.6 | 1/2500 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 extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III on a gimbal head over tripod.

One of the species that is fairly easy to observe and not very common at other wildlife hotspots is the Purple Gallinule. Though it is fairly easy to see them, it is quite difficult to create a photograph with a non-distracting background as the bird loves to stay in the marsh plants. But with some patience and some Photoshop expertise, here we are. This is one of the instances where one needs to remember what I call the triangle for success: good head angle, good sun angle, clean background.

Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus) - Circle B Bar

Purple Gallinule – Circle B Bar, Lakeland, Florida.
ISO 2000 | f/5.6 | 1/1250 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 extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III on a gimbal head over tripod.

Another photograph from the same day at Circle B Bar.

Support our blog by following our links for your purchases. It comes at no extra cost to you and it helps keeping this photography blog lively!

Steven