Florida Part II - pics working.

Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
edited April 11, 2007 in Wildlife
This next part of the 569 part series :D was taken at Merritt Island. I met up with a fellow Photographer from Naturescapes.net named Jack and he took me out and was my guide for the day. Great guy, had a good time, lots of laughs and photos.

I'll tell you folks, if you have never been to Florida to photograph Birds, go. Go now! :D It is like shooting fish in a barrel. There is so much to shoot it is ridiculous. Most Birds are very approachable.

We started in Merritt Island just as the Sun was coming up.

Glossy Ibis coming in for a landing.

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Glossy Ibis, well, Glossy. :D

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Lesser Yellowlegs at 1/640s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso400. I was surprised it came out so clear for 1/640!

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A juvenile Roseate Spoonbill in the glorius morning light. :)

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Immature Glossy Ibis and Roseate Spoonbill. This is from 2 pictures. The first picture I took, the Ibis had his head down and the second pic, the Spoonbill was preening. So I made one pic with both of them up.

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Roseate Spoonbill on liftoff.

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Another Lesser Yellowlegs, this time with better shutter speed. 1/1250

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Lesser Yellowlegs out for a morning stoll.

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We drove along and saw a mature Bald Eagle sitting on a pole a couple of hundred feet from the road. Jack said you want to see if we can get closer? I said, sure, what do we have to lose. We walked up and he didn't move. Jack has 1.6 crop factor and got to where he would be about full frame with wings open and stopped. I said I was going to get a little closer with my 1.3 crop. I did and then stopped. The Eagle started fidgeting like he was going to take off, so I aimed, waited a few secs....off he went, right towards and circled by us! Sweet! I got 25 frames. Here are some. :)

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My fave...

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There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!

Comments

  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited April 3, 2007
    FINALLY I get to see all the pictures in one of your posts! clap.gif

    And what a great set it is. The colors and the comps on your shots are just beautiful.

    But those eagle shots. :wow Just spectacular. bowdown.gif

    Cheers,
    -joel
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • Osprey WhispererOsprey Whisperer Registered Users Posts: 3,803 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2007
    Wonderful shots from Florida, Jody. thumb.gif Glad you had a great time. Isn't it great for birding here. wings.gif :ivar I never shot birds until I moved down here from Illinoize. :D You lucky dog. I was at Merritt Island last February for the organized MI4 shoot. I never got a shot at the darn eagle in flight. Well I only got 1 shot of a butt flight shot. :cry rolleyes1.gif Still looking for my EIF pics. Keep 'em coming.

    Oh yeah...was that "Paleo Jack" you shot with? Did you hook up with his buddy Ron (Reggie) Wooldridge? I shoot with Ron from time to time. Would have been fun to shoot with you folks. I could have given you all a guided boat tour of my osprey nests nad bird islands had I known. Maybe next time.

    Cheers
    Mike McCarthy

    "Osprey Whisperer"

    OspreyWhisperer.com
  • MaestroMaestro Registered Users Posts: 5,395 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2007
    Those eagles are some mighty fine pics. I also like the pics of the lesser yellow-legs! thumb.gif
    Stephen
    www.capture-the-pixel.com

  • sskoutassskoutas Registered Users Posts: 437 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2007
    Glad to see you back, Jody... phenominal as usual, top to bottom... but as you already know I think that stretched out last eagle is a home run.
    __________________
    Stephen Skoutas
    http://stephenskoutas.com
    sskoutas@gmail.com Certe, toto, sentio nos in kansate non iam adesse

    Please feel free to retouch and repost my images. Critique, Suggestions, and Technique tips always welcomed.
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
    edited April 3, 2007
    Lovely series of images.

    I especially like the early morning light on the glossy in flight, and the spoonbills. Very nice, almost surreal.

    And eagles in flight are always enjoyed!
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • ShepsMomShepsMom Registered Users Posts: 4,319 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2007
    Excellent work Jody. Don't you just love FL? Well, birds that is. I'm yet to catch the pinky one, i think i've seen it at the lake while i was driving to work. I need to make a trip, it's been a while.
    Marina
    www.intruecolors.com
    Nikon D700 x2/D300
    Nikon 70-200 2.8/50 1.8/85 1.8/14.24 2.8
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    Sweet set of shots. clap.gif MI is one of my favorite locations. Did you get a chance to visit the Viera Wetlands?

    Florida is just an amazing palce for wildlife shooting.
    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!"
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    kdog wrote:
    FINALLY I get to see all the pictures in one of your posts! clap.gif

    And what a great set it is. The colors and the comps on your shots are just beautiful.

    But those eagle shots. :wow Just spectacular. bowdown.gif

    Cheers,
    -joel

    Thanks Joel! :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    Bird Man Photographer wrote:
    Wonderful shots from Florida, Jody. thumb.gif Glad you had a great time. Isn't it great for birding here. wings.gif :ivar I never shot birds until I moved down here from Illinoize. :D You lucky dog. I was at Merritt Island last February for the organized MI4 shoot. I never got a shot at the darn eagle in flight. Well I only got 1 shot of a butt flight shot. :cry rolleyes1.gif Still looking for my EIF pics. Keep 'em coming.

    Oh yeah...was that "Paleo Jack" you shot with? Did you hook up with his buddy Ron (Reggie) Wooldridge? I shoot with Ron from time to time. Would have been fun to shoot with you folks. I could have given you all a guided boat tour of my osprey nests nad bird islands had I known. Maybe next time.

    Cheers

    Yeah I shot with Jack, great guy. Didn't see no Ron, though. Thanks for the offer on the Osprey nests! Will let you know the next time I head down.

    Thanks! :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    Maestro wrote:
    Those eagles are some mighty fine pics. I also like the pics of the lesser yellow-legs! thumb.gif

    Thanks! :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    sskoutas wrote:
    Glad to see you back, Jody... phenominal as usual, top to bottom... but as you already know I think that stretched out last eagle is a home run.

    Thanks buddy! Glad you liked 'em. :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    pathfinder wrote:
    Lovely series of images.

    I especially like the early morning light on the glossy in flight, and the spoonbills. Very nice, almost surreal.

    And eagles in flight are always enjoyed!

    Thanks! :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    ShepsMom wrote:
    Excellent work Jody. Don't you just love FL? Well, birds that is. I'm yet to catch the pinky one, i think i've seen it at the lake while i was driving to work. I need to make a trip, it's been a while.

    Florida is a great place for shooting birds! Thank you. :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    Harryb wrote:
    Sweet set of shots. clap.gif MI is one of my favorite locations. Did you get a chance to visit the Viera Wetlands?

    Florida is just an amazing palce for wildlife shooting.

    Yep, went to Viera in the afternoon. Photos from there will be coming...

    Thanks Harry! :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • raptorcaptorraptorcaptor Registered Users Posts: 3,968 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2007
    Your pics loaded fine this time around! Excellent set!thumb.gif
    Glenn

    My website | NANPA Member
  • Jody MelansonJody Melanson Registered Users Posts: 416 Major grins
    edited April 10, 2007
    raptorcaptor wrote:
    Your pics loaded fine this time around! Excellent set!thumb.gif

    Thanks Glenn! :)
    There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness!
  • Louis ChampanLouis Champan Registered Users Posts: 110 Major grins
    edited April 10, 2007
    I would say excellent on every single image in this set. The eagles are outstanding. Spot on with exposure and focus..

    Louie
  • dbaker1221dbaker1221 Registered Users Posts: 4,482 Major grins
    edited April 11, 2007
    wow ....fantastic series!!bowdown.gif I'm glad I went alookin on page two!!
    **If I keep shooting, I'm bound to hit something**
    Dave
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