The Usual Suspects plus a Black Bear and a Llama

PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
edited November 30, 2012 in Wildlife
Hi All,
The last couple of weeks started out slow, but eventually we saw a pretty good variety of Avery Island critters. All comments and suggestions welcome and appreciated. Definitely still on the learning curve for my new camera.

1) This Llama definitely qualifies as wildlife, because it is no kind of tame! It guards and supervises a herd of sheep who are responsible for weed control. Sometimes when wildlife is slow, I photograph the Llama, mainly because I'm not fast enough to catch our squirrels. :D (500mm + 1.4 TC, f/5.6, ISO 1000, 1/2000)

2012-1112_Llama-1F-L.jpg

2) A doe in Jungle Gardens. Those spots around its face and neck are Louisiana noise, aka mosquitoes. JOEL, THANK YOU FOR SUGGESTING THE 1.4 TC!! As wild as our wildlife is, many times that is the only way I can get close enough for a decent shot using my 500mm on the Canon 1DX. (500mm + 1.4 TC, f/5.6, ISO 6400, 1/500)

2012-1110_Deer_Avery_Island-2B-L.jpg

3) Two does napping under the southern live oak in our backyard: (500mm + 1.4 TC, f/5.6, ISO 2500, 1/2500)

2012-1111_Deer_Avery_Island-2IA-L.jpg

4) A buck licking its chops after dining on the feed plot below our house: (500mm, f/4.0, ISO 6400, 1/1600)

2012-1109_Deer_Avery_Island-1B-L.jpg

5) One of the last Snowy Egrets on a cold and windy morning. This one missed the memo about migrating south for the winter. A few egrets and great blue herons stay with us all winter. (500mm + 1.4 TC, f/5.6, ISO 160, 1/2000)

2012-1110_Snowy_Egret_Avery_Island-2C-L.jpg

6) This Louisiana Black Bear and her cub were also snacking at a feed plot. I was just too slow to catch the cub before it scampered off into the woods. And almost too far away for the shot. (500mm + 1.4 TC, f/5.6, ISO 6400, 1/1250)

2012-1112_Louisiana_Black_Bear1D-L.jpg

Comments

  • bfjrbfjr Registered Users Posts: 10,980 Major grins
    edited November 23, 2012
    They are all nice and would be thrilled if they were mine.

    Having said that, #3 is for me is the clear Winner :wow
    Benjamin
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  • WhatSheSawWhatSheSaw Registered Users Posts: 2,221 Major grins
    edited November 23, 2012
    I agree, #3 is an unusual pose. I like the symmetry.
  • NorthernFocusNorthernFocus Registered Users Posts: 1,347 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    Nice set. The shot of the does is pretty unique. The buck shot at ISO 6400 is awesome. So how rare is it to see a black bear in Louisiana ? I've gotta think that's not an every day occurance.
    Dan

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  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    bfjr wrote: »
    They are all nice and would be thrilled if they were mine.

    Having said that, #3 is for me is the clear Winner :wow

    Thanks, Benjamin! The does were in a unique pose. Even though their heads were close together, I had a hard time getting both in focus. I took several shots, and in most, one or the other was OOF. I think in this shot neither was perfectly in focus, but the best I could do! Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    WhatSheSaw wrote: »
    I agree, #3 is an unusual pose. I like the symmetry.

    Thank you! That's what I liked about it, too. Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    NorthernFocus wrote: »
    Nice set. The shot of the does is pretty unique. The buck shot at ISO 6400 is awesome. So how rare is it to see a black bear in Louisiana ? I've gotta think that's not an every day occurance.

    Dan, you are so right about the Louisiana Black Bears. They are an endangered species, but are making a comeback, thanks to better conservation laws and incentives for farmers to convert land previously cleared for agriculture back to the hardwood bottomland forests the bears like so much. Edmund and I tried for 15 years to get a good bear photo--we would see a very occasional one, but they were always running off. Then last year, we had a severe drought, and the oak trees dropped LOTS of acorns. Suddenly we had a bear in our backyard often for about a month. They are nocturnal, which also makes sightings rarer. But US Fish and Wildlife reports really good progress on repopulating the bears, so we are encouraged. The really unusual thinig about this bear and her cub is that neither was tagged. Many thanks for your comments. Best, Pam
  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    PGM wrote: »
    ... // I took several shots, and in most, one or the other was OOF. ... //

    Great to see that you're getting some opportunities to put this new gear to good use, Pam :)

    I wondered if any of the 'several' other shots were taken stopped down at all - 'cos looking at the settings across all the pics, you could have stopped down even a couple ... I realise that there'd be bg implications, but well ... just curious.

    pp
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  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    puzzledpaul wrote: »
    Great to see that you're getting some opportunities to put this new gear to good use, Pam :)

    I wondered if any of the 'several' other shots were taken stopped down at all - 'cos looking at the settings across all the pics, you could have stopped down even a couple ... I realise that there'd be bg implications, but well ... just curious.

    pp

  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    PGM wrote: »
    Great question, Paul. Once I put the 1.4 TC on the 500mm lens, to make it the equivalent of 700 mm, I couldn't go lower than f/5.6. Our wildlife is so skittish that it seems like the 1.4 TC is worth the sacrifice, since otherwise I often can't get close enough for a decent shot. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry [EMAIL="Christmas!@]Christmas!@[/EMAIL]

    Sorry, Pam - but I don't understand this?

    I'd considered that you had the settings / possibility to stop down to maybe f8 or even f11 to get more DOF and maybe get both heads more in focus.

    Are you saying that with the 1.4x attached, your rig won't let you dial in these apertures - for some reason?
    I'm familar with the situation, since I also use a 1.4x with my 500 (altho not with a 1Dx, alas )

    pp
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  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited November 24, 2012
    puzzledpaul wrote: »
    Sorry, Pam - but I don't understand this?

    I'd considered that you had the settings / possibility to stop down to maybe f8 or even f11 to get more DOF and maybe get both heads more in focus.

    Are you saying that with the 1.4x attached, your rig won't let you dial in these apertures - for some reason?
    I'm familar with the situation, since I also use a 1.4x with my 500 (altho not with a 1Dx, alas )

    pp

    Oh, I misunderstood you! Yes, I definitely could have stoppped down to f8 or f11. Great idea, and next time I will try it. Thank you so much for the suggestion. I really do appreciate it!

    Best, Pam
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited November 27, 2012
    Excellent set, especially #3.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • Ric GrupeRic Grupe Registered Users Posts: 9,522 Major grins
    edited November 30, 2012
    I gotta go with the does too. Terrific shot.

    That bear ain't too shabby either. thumb.gif
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