Steve's "Baylands" Exposé (long post)

Dee

Ok, so what is this "Baylands" thing and how do you get to it? And if you are an ordinary person with an ordinary camera (Sony f828) what do you "really" see and how easy is it to get these egret birds you may ask... :

The Baylands Preserve is the largest tract of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Fifteen miles of multi-use trails provide acess to tidal and freshwater habitats. The facilities include:
Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center
Byxbee Park Hills (Art Park)
Emily Renzel Wetlands
Baylands Athletic Center (baseball and softball)
Wildlife observation platforms and benches
Picnic facilities and barbecues (by the Ranger Station)
Open from 8 am to sunset.

Heading east on Embarcadero you pass some industrial parks, a golf course, an AIRPORT! and just east of the airport on your left are two entrances to the Duck Pond! Originally this was going to be a swimming pool I read on the web!

A couple of Tuesdays ago we stopped by the Duck Pond and there were some people feeding the ducks. So naturally I had to fight my way through the flying sea gulls to get this photo:



Carefully notice the trees in the background. This is a fenced in area known as the Migratory Bird Reserve and this is where you will find some strange birds in the palm trees!



The birds just would not cooperate with me at all, but I wanted to show the fountain.



Oh, goose, step back a couple of steps so I can frame my composition better, did it listen, no! of course not, it just walked completely out of the frame!



Well, except for the cut off wing tip I like this photo a lot! Of course Hubby decided to park at the porta potty end of the pond and the light was in front of me. We should have pulled into the other lot where the light would have been over my shoulder. But, oh well, I was after bigger birds ... really!

You know, I think this might be getting too long --- Hey Smugmug programmers, how about a character count so we know when we are getting to the end? :

Dee

Steve's Baylands, part 2
A few more gulls -- we're getting to the big birds, I promise...



I love the wings, you can imagine with the bright light how frantic these gulls were zipping aorund me, trying to get food before the ducks did...



This guy was yelling that it was his/her post and don't try to land on top of me!!!

Moving on -- these are the trees east of the parking lot, I've seen birds in these trees, but they weren't there on this day and time.


Moving closer now to the "reserve."



Peeking thru the fence, not quite camera lens width, drat! I could see geese, coots, ducks and egrets on the ground!

Naturally the light was extreme to say the least! Talk about dynamic range challenged! Mr. Egret, please stand still while I bracket my shots




Look, in the sky, is it a bird -- yes it's an egret in a tree! You couldn't land one branch higher egret-dude? No, I have to fight back lighting, tree branches and clumps of leaves! And a chain link fence and I'm too short! Geesh!



Egret in the palm trees!



Some kind of tired bird, it wouldn't look up for anything!

OK, thru the magic of 8 megapixels and some cropping (use the above photos to see how much cropping, and the magic and forgiveness of downsizing for the web, some "beauty" shots!

Ah, come on now, don't get your feathers in a bunch!

Oh, please, don't start cleaning yourself now...


And to recap:

See, little photographer, see follow the red line to the smaller bird in the tree!

Think I need what he's carrying?


The End...

Andy

busting a gut here, dee

thanks for giving me a good start to my day.

ian408

Too funny!

ian

ginger_55

Dee, you and I have the same bird collection. Do you think KPOTD would be interested?

Maybe if they smiled more.

g

rutt

I love this kind of little photo story. I like to write them and I love to read them. Notice how just a few words can bind a set of pictures together and create something much better than any single picture. See how the pictures gain from being a part of a whole. It's better than any photoshop enhancement, IMHO, what you can do by making a story out of a set of pictures. Very very nice, Dee.

I've done quite a few in this genere (words and pictures) but for newcommers, I'd like to take the opportunity to point out this post of mine, which is still my favorite thing I've done like this.

I'd love to see more of these. They really make my day.

jwear

wow
Dee very set your sleepy bird is a GBH and your feathers in a bunch to great set a fun shooting day thanks Jeff

Nee7x7

Fun Thread, Dee!
I KNOW your frustration...

If only the camera worked like our eyes and brain instantly...and could focus the instant we see the perfect shot, have the right exposure and the subject be just exactly where it needs to be and in perfect light with the composition built into the scene automatically, !

BTW, I have TONS of these kinds of "almost got it* kind of shots, too!
Cheers,
~Nee

Steve Cavigliano

Dee wrote:

A few more gulls -- we're getting to the big birds, I promise...

And to recap:

See, little photographer, see follow the red line to the smaller bird in the tree!
Dee, you were supposed to rest your camera on the railing then bend a bit (unless you have a swivel lens Sony ) then shoot those darn birds......lol It's a built-n tripod Or, you can be like Andy and I, and hop the chain and shoot over the fence that way. We've only fallen into the Duck Pond a couple of times

Think I need what he's carrying?


This is a person I met the other day. His name is Marcus (yes I invited him to join us here ). Looks like he's using his 100-400mm pumper (160-640mm on the 20D). Yes, that would get you much closer than the 200mm Sony lens. Sometimes too close, like your duck feet shot......lol

The End...

Very nice Dee. Like Andy, I laughed my butt off (don't I wish ). A very funny story accompanied by some very nice shots Despite your trevails, I hope you had a good time shooting. This place is one of my favorite hangouts. There's always so much to shoot. Did you wander on down past the Duck Pond to the other parking lot (closer to the marsh)? Sometimes you'll see hawks and harriers flying over, or diving after ground squirrels/rabbits in the marsh. Also, there's a male ringneck and his harem that call that area home. Now that's one beautiful bird, who is so used to humans, he'll pose for you



Thanks for the laughs and I hope to see you out there one day soon

Steve

Dee

Thank you Rutt, and excellent link

rutt wrote:

I've done quite a few in this genere (words and pictures) but for newcommers, I'd like to take the opportunity to point out this post of mine, which is still my favorite thing I've done like this.

I've photographed several weddings (just as a guest, and once as a back up photographer by request of the bride) and I've experienced everything you described!

It is SO important to have access to the wedding site before hand... the last wedding I was a guest at took place after dark. The minute I walked in I knew I was in trouble with only an onboard flash. I did manage to get a few nice photos but I struggled with noise, flash reflections on glasses, etc. I'm torn between a remote or a more powerful higher raised flash for my cam, and I think the remote will win out.

Again, thanks for your comments, and the link.

Dee

Pheasant Dude...

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

Also, there's a male ringneck and his harem that call that area home. Now that's one beautiful bird, who is so used to humans, he'll pose for you [/color]

Thanks Steve, I don't get to the duck pond that often, and traffic on 101 is always a consideration. Some day I'll have to plan a duck pond shoot, and then plan some shopping at IKEA until the traffic dies down a bit.

Daylight Savings will help me here. I'm always taking the bread my grandson doesn't eat so I can save it for the ducks or gulls.

Next time I'm heading for the other side of the pond so the light is more in my favor. I'll forgo the egrets in the trees.

I will definitely have to check out that parking lot and look for that pheasant, he's a beauty! Glad you had a laugh, it was meant in humor...

Dee

Andy

andy wrote:

busting a gut here, dee

thanks for giving me a good start to my day.

I knew you'd get a chuckle out of my experiences, especially since you've been there.

There are some neat birds that visit the little inlet too, but a longer lens is definitely needed. They are a lot shyer than the egrets or ducks!

Dee

Ian on his bike in Pacifica

ian408 wrote:

Too funny!

ian

:

Sometimes the only thing you can do is see the humor in the situation I still have fun feeding the ducks and trying to photograph the gulls.

Dee

Ginger, that is so neat!

ginger_55 wrote:

Dee, you and I have the same bird collection. Do you think KPOTD would be interested?

Maybe if they smiled more.

g

I've sent a few (under 3) photos to KPOTD with no bites... so I've kind of given up. I left some comments on your egret nest building thread.

Dee

Jeff

jwear wrote:

Dee very set your sleepy bird is a GBH and your feathers in a bunch to great set a fun shooting day thanks Jeff

Thanks Jeff! I always have a fun time at the duck pond, even if it's frustrating trying to get the egrets. Just the thought of egrets is palm trees is enough to set me off to giggling for some strange reason.

I grew up on the east coast, which may explain why I find it amusing. I should say NY/NJ -- we didn't have palm trees!

Dee

Nee

Nee7x7 wrote:

I KNOW your frustration...

If only the camera worked like our eyes and brain instantly...and could focus the instant we see the perfect shot, have the right exposure and the subject be just exactly where it needs to be and in perfect light with the composition built into the scene automatically, !

BTW, I have TONS of these kinds of "almost got it* kind of shots, too!
Cheers,
~Nee

Thanks Nee,

I decided to have a little fun after seeing the perfect shots some other members of this forum have posted!

I remember the pelicans at Shell Beach, at least we had a better chance of getting a decent shot there -- and your tele-extender sure helped a lot.

Harryb

Hey Dee,

Great thread. Having attempted to shoot wildlife with a 717 and a B-300 I know your pain. You did a lot better than I did.

Dee

Thanks Harry!

Harryb wrote:

Hey Dee,

Great thread. Having attempted to shoot wildlife with a 717 and a B-300 I know your pain. You did a lot better than I did.

After awhile one learns the limit of their camera equipment

There are times when all one can do is admire the birds from a distance and photograph what one can that's within distance.

I'm more a nature landscape macro type of gal not a bird shooter, white birds especially -- but that egret in the tree was funny with the wind blowing the bird up and down and the bird deciding to do a bit of grooming. I love when they fluff their feathers up, just makes me laugh!

I guess there will be baby ducks in a month or two at the duck pond, but my experience is that the mommy ducks are very protective and it's difficult to shoot the little fluffballs -- boy do those little babies move fast!

So my hat's off to all the wildlife shooters in this forum!

Dee

pathfinder

Dee wrote:

I've photographed several weddings (just as a guest, and once as a back up photographer by request of the bride) and I've experienced everything you described!

It is SO important to have access to the wedding site before hand... the last wedding I was a guest at took place after dark. The minute I walked in I knew I was in trouble with only an onboard flash. I did manage to get a few nice photos but I struggled with noise, flash reflections on glasses, etc. I'm torn between a remote or a more powerful higher raised flash for my cam, and I think the remote will win out.

Again, thanks for your comments, and the link.

You are so right Dee, that you need to know what the lighting is like in advance if possible. I was asked to shoot some pics of the choir at church and thought "How hard can that be?" as I knew it was a pretty bright, modern interior. Guess what - it was bright because the lights were ceiling recessed spots directly overhead of the choir and caused profound shadows under the eyes and jaws. It was not pretty. And it was shot at ISO 800.

When I was asked to photograph again, for the children's choir, I got smarter and took two studio strobes with me and shot the children's choir with my own studio flashes overpowering the existing tungsten lighting. Bingo - MUCH better. And shot at ISO 100 with the better quality inherent at lower ISOS.

Too soon we get old, too late we get smart

Dee

Yep proper equipment and knowing how to use it

pathfinder wrote:

You are so right Dee, that you need to know what the lighting is like in advance if possible. I was asked to shoot some pics of the choir at church and thought "How hard can that be?" as I knew it was a pretty bright, modern interior. Guess what - it was bright because the lights were ceiling recessed spots directly overhead of the choir and caused profound shadows under the eyes and jaws. It was not pretty. And it was shot at ISO 800.

When I was asked to photograph again, for the children's choir, I got smarter and took two studio strobes with me and shot the children's choir with my own studio flashes overpowering the existing tungsten lighting. Bingo - MUCH better. And shot at ISO 100 with the better quality inherent at lower ISOS.

Too soon we get old, too late we get smart

That's vital! I had to chuckle over your comment about the recessed spots causing eye and jaw shadows! Now that I think about it, of course it would! I bet if the choir could see how that makes them look they'd cause a fuss! Hey your lights are making us look like ghouls!