The Pup and I renewed our annual membership to Magnolia and yesterday made our first photography outing there this year. Thought I'd post a few since they didn't really fit any other threads I have going.
Wasn't my best outing from a results standpoint. Too early in the year for insects to be out in any numbers, so I had to dust off my bird photography skills. I'm a little rusty.
I spent a long time squatting down looking through the viewfinder waiting for this guy to swoop down and pick up some lunch. As soon as I got distracted by a wading bird, he made his move. Only got one shot in the air, and it wasn't anything to write home about.
Here he is eating his well earned catch.
A decent picture of an egret, hunting, but nothing special.
These turtles are either very brave, or very stupid.
And finally, my attempt at something artsy.
A little unplanned upgrade this morning. Site is working ok it seems.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
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clovishound
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Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
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There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Another outing today. Cloud cover was a mixed blessing for light quality, mostly good news, but there wasn't the expected activity at rookery.
The big issue was there didn't seem to be the constant ferrying of food to the little ones. The little guy in the nest was pretty insistent, but all mom could do was cover him from the chilly wind, and make small adjustments to the nest.
This little blue heron spent a lot of time fishing near the berm, and didn't seem too worried about the crazy photographers trying to shoot him.
This is my favorite one, so far. I've got lots more to edit. I normally mark a handful of the "edit me first" images after a quick preview of all shots I take in a session. This was the best of those. Of course, sometimes one of the less impressive on first glance turn out to be one of the best after some editing. Anyway, I'm trying to shoot more available light macro shots, when it is appropriate. This one had a "mood" with available light, that disappeared when using flash.
The big issue was there didn't seem to be the constant ferrying of food to the little ones. The little guy in the nest was pretty insistent, but all mom could do was cover him from the chilly wind, and make small adjustments to the nest.
This little blue heron spent a lot of time fishing near the berm, and didn't seem too worried about the crazy photographers trying to shoot him.
This is my favorite one, so far. I've got lots more to edit. I normally mark a handful of the "edit me first" images after a quick preview of all shots I take in a session. This was the best of those. Of course, sometimes one of the less impressive on first glance turn out to be one of the best after some editing. Anyway, I'm trying to shoot more available light macro shots, when it is appropriate. This one had a "mood" with available light, that disappeared when using flash.
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There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
"Missed it by THAT much!"
I was at Magnolia this morning and there was a nice moon still visible. I had set up and was experimenting with some different autofocus settings for Birds In Flight. I heard a flock of geese coming and tried quickly setting up an image I had in mind. I put the moon in frame and in no time the geese were coming through the frame. I fired off a handful of images, and excitedly looked to see what I had.
The camera had locked focus on the moon, and the geese were, well, fuzzy. If my camera had been in my normal Bird In Flight autofocus settings, I probably would have gotten the shot.
I did get one shot with the flock in focus, but there were some branches in the way. I decided to try my hand at pasting the moon from one image onto the one with the in focus geese. I also replaced the sky to get rid of the branches. One of the geese has an unnatural look due to being directly behind a largish branch. I cleaned it up as best I could, given my limited skill with Photoshop. This was simply an exercise in seeing what the envisioned shot might have looked somewhat like, if everything had gone right.
I did grab a couple shots of the two eagles that were hanging around. Not the greatest, but it was good to see these magnificent birds doing well.
I was at Magnolia this morning and there was a nice moon still visible. I had set up and was experimenting with some different autofocus settings for Birds In Flight. I heard a flock of geese coming and tried quickly setting up an image I had in mind. I put the moon in frame and in no time the geese were coming through the frame. I fired off a handful of images, and excitedly looked to see what I had.
The camera had locked focus on the moon, and the geese were, well, fuzzy. If my camera had been in my normal Bird In Flight autofocus settings, I probably would have gotten the shot.
I did get one shot with the flock in focus, but there were some branches in the way. I decided to try my hand at pasting the moon from one image onto the one with the in focus geese. I also replaced the sky to get rid of the branches. One of the geese has an unnatural look due to being directly behind a largish branch. I cleaned it up as best I could, given my limited skill with Photoshop. This was simply an exercise in seeing what the envisioned shot might have looked somewhat like, if everything had gone right.
I did grab a couple shots of the two eagles that were hanging around. Not the greatest, but it was good to see these magnificent birds doing well.
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There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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North Country Gal
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Sorry for posting just a bit late, but, hey, I'd write home about any pf those photos. Some are downright spectacular. Love that Red-shouldered hawk. They are pretty rare up here in the north woods of Wisconsin, but can be found in limited numbers in the central Wisconsin hardwood forests. No Little Blue heron up here, though I have one of those on my life list when I lived in Nebraska, though it is still a very rare bird there.
Anyway, keep the photos coming. I really appreciate them, partly because I know how tough it is to get good bird shots and partly because they are just plain beautiful.
Anyway, keep the photos coming. I really appreciate them, partly because I know how tough it is to get good bird shots and partly because they are just plain beautiful.
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Thanks. I do appreciate the comments I get here. Ego fuels a lot of photographers. I wouldn't know about that, though. 
Here are a couple more from today, including another little blue heron. They are not uncommon around here.
Here are a couple snowy egrets. I really like the early morning light. I don't like getting up at 5:00 to take advantage of it, though.
There were a pair of cardinals feeding on the edge of the swamp. They let me get reasonably close, but they are rather small birds, so I couldn't fill the frame as much as I would have liked. Light was rather dim, so I had to shoot at a rather high ISO, so they were noisy. Topaz fixed that, but resolution suffers at high ISOs.
Here are a couple more from today, including another little blue heron. They are not uncommon around here.
Here are a couple snowy egrets. I really like the early morning light. I don't like getting up at 5:00 to take advantage of it, though.
There were a pair of cardinals feeding on the edge of the swamp. They let me get reasonably close, but they are rather small birds, so I couldn't fill the frame as much as I would have liked. Light was rather dim, so I had to shoot at a rather high ISO, so they were noisy. Topaz fixed that, but resolution suffers at high ISOs.
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There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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North Country Gal
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Love the patchwork of colors! Really shows Mother Nature at her best. That Cardinal and Blue heron are magnificent.
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
I figured out a way to make the geese image into something a lot closer to what I should have gotten. Full disclosure, I placed the geese exactly where I wanted them, vs where they would have naturally been in relation to the moon. I also moved one of the geese to fill the gap created by the goose that was partially obscured by a branch. I really need to learn how to use Photoshop for more than just a few things, although I don't think I want to go down the rabbit hole of wholesale merging images, replacing major elements etc.
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Last edited by clovishound on Sat Mar 30, 2024 4:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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North Country Gal
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Photoshop is your friend! You did a nice job on this one.
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
I use Lightroom to edit all my images worth editing, and lots that aren't worth editing. Photoshop comes as a package deal with Lightroom these days, so I have it. I use it for operations that Lightroom won't do, like focus stacking. For some reason, I find myself intimidated by Photoshop. I have gotten very comfortable with Lightroom, but many of the tools in PS just aren't very intuitive IMO.North Country Gal wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2024 11:51 amPhotoshop is your friend! You did a nice job on this one.
There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Had a good morning at Magnolia today.
The gators were out in force.
This begs the question "why did the gator cross the road?".
GBH let me get rather close.
The insects are returning.
And they're MAD!
The gators were out in force.
This begs the question "why did the gator cross the road?".
GBH let me get rather close.
The insects are returning.
And they're MAD!
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There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
“ This begs the question "why did the gator cross the road?"
Obviously to get to the park bench!
That insect does indeed look angry.
Obviously to get to the park bench!
That insect does indeed look angry.
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
As long as it's not to get to the photographer on the other side, I'm good.
I don't really worry much about the gators at the swamp. They are pretty comfortable around people, which is a bad thing. They don't, however, seem to be interested in us as food, which is a good thing. There certainly are a lot of them in a fairly small area.
Just for a little background, these are the "slave cabins" on the other side of the swamp garden.
Here are some of the early crop of GBHs waiting for mom or dad to show up with some breakfast. One of the photographers said that earlier this week she got a shot of them feeding the little ones in this nest a baby gator. That would have made a great image.
Here's a little blue heron quietly watching for fish. He was more intent on his meal than the idiot with the camera less than a dozen feet away. While most of the inhabitants of the swamp won't let you get as close as I would like, they are used to people, and some individuals are rather tolerant of me getting close. Most do require you to learn the smooth and stealthy approach. One quick movement and most are gone. One advantage of my mirrorless camera is the ability to put it in "silent mode". No mechanical shutter in this mode, and it mutes the focus lock beep so that shooting is virtually noise free.
And another insect shot. I believe this is a signal fly. Keep in mind I am not an entomologist, and I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
I don't really worry much about the gators at the swamp. They are pretty comfortable around people, which is a bad thing. They don't, however, seem to be interested in us as food, which is a good thing. There certainly are a lot of them in a fairly small area.
Just for a little background, these are the "slave cabins" on the other side of the swamp garden.
Here are some of the early crop of GBHs waiting for mom or dad to show up with some breakfast. One of the photographers said that earlier this week she got a shot of them feeding the little ones in this nest a baby gator. That would have made a great image.
Here's a little blue heron quietly watching for fish. He was more intent on his meal than the idiot with the camera less than a dozen feet away. While most of the inhabitants of the swamp won't let you get as close as I would like, they are used to people, and some individuals are rather tolerant of me getting close. Most do require you to learn the smooth and stealthy approach. One quick movement and most are gone. One advantage of my mirrorless camera is the ability to put it in "silent mode". No mechanical shutter in this mode, and it mutes the focus lock beep so that shooting is virtually noise free.
And another insect shot. I believe this is a signal fly. Keep in mind I am not an entomologist, and I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
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There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
More gators today.
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There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya
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CT_Shooter
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
clovishound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2024 10:47 amHere's a little blue heron quietly watching for fish. He was more intent on his meal than the idiot with the camera less than a dozen feet away. While most of the inhabitants of the swamp won't let you get as close as I would like, they are used to people, and some individuals are rather tolerant of me getting close.
That's actually a Green Heron. I had the privilege of having one visit my backyard pond and got quite a few photos. None as good as yours, though.
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clovishound
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Re: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
I stand corrected. I had shot a bunch of little blue herons in recent trips, so I ended up lumping them together, even though they are not that similar. Thanks for pointing that out.
BTW, I like your picture. I would imagine that small pond would attract a number of birds, and makes a great backdrop. Everybody, myself included, wants to bring out the long lenses when photographing birds, but sometimes having enough of the background in the scene gives nice context, and sometimes, mood to a picture. I doubt this image would have the nice peaceful mood if it had been shot with something like a 600mm lens, which would have excluded and blurred out most of the background.
BTW, I like your picture. I would imagine that small pond would attract a number of birds, and makes a great backdrop. Everybody, myself included, wants to bring out the long lenses when photographing birds, but sometimes having enough of the background in the scene gives nice context, and sometimes, mood to a picture. I doubt this image would have the nice peaceful mood if it had been shot with something like a 600mm lens, which would have excluded and blurred out most of the background.
There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English to sanity. - Sanya