Winter Time is Eagle Time

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 with 1.4TC (840mm) @f8 1/2500 -.33EC ISO1000 @100+ yds

Northeast USA is a wonderful place to be in winter to enjoy the American Bald Eagle.  As winter freezes rivers and lakes in Canada and the Northeast USA, the Bald Eagles migrate south in search of easier food supplies.  They congregate in areas of open water with a good supply of fish.  Places like the Conowingo Dam in Maryland, the reservoirs along the Hudson River Valley and the Delaware River Valley become stopping and/or wintering spots for the Eagles.  Joan and I have found some places that have been good for us for eagle sightings as well as Eagle Photography.  The Conowingo Dam in Maryland is a popular place for birders and photographers to congregate in October and November to view and photograph the eagles.  The activity continues through the winter but with less activity than is seen in October and November.  I am not certain why-but have a theory that the eagles that stop at Conowingo end up going father south for the winter months.  We have found that the Northern Delaware water shed region has been a very good area for observing and photographing the Bald Eagle in winter.  We visited one such area on Monday-January 3 and were treated to an entire day of eagles fishing in open water at the upper end of a reservoir.  It was exciting to watch and photograph.  We could not successfully photograph part of it as there were trees between the road and the stream entering the reservoir.  One tree there had 12 adult bald eagles perched in it. The photography is done from the vehicle on a window mount.  The reason for this is that leaving the vehicle is prohibited by law in that area when the eagles have migrated there.  Many of the eagles there have migrated from areas where they have little to no contact with humans and people outside of vehicles alarm them and they fly away and do not come back.  We have previously used a small boat launch parking lot and could be within 35 to 50 yards of the perched and flying and fishing eagles.  However, that parking lot is closed this winter because of individuals last winter ignoring the regulations and they were getting out of the vehicle.  Images can still be done in that area but the distance is 100 plus yards.

A very solid mounting system is required.  Some use window bags, but I have found with large lenses to get sharp results I have to use a sturdy window mount (such as a BM or Kirk) along with ball head and sidekick Gimbal.

Here are some shots from January 3:

Immature taking flight:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f5.6 1/1600 ISO1600 @about 100 yds 

NYS Blue banded D44 After Takeoff:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f5 1/1250 ISO1600 @about 100 yds

NYS Blue D44 surveying the situation:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4  @f7.1 -.33EC 1/160 ISO640 @about 60 yds

NYS Blue Y50 sitting on stump watching ducks:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f5 1/640 -.33EC ISO1600 @60 yds

Maryland Pink Band U2 Landing on stump with a fish:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 with 1.4TC (840mm) @f8 1/1250 -.33EC ISO1000 @100+ yds

Immature Bald Eagle in flight:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4  @f6.3 1/1600 -1EC ISO400 @100+ yds

Immature coming in for a catch:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f4 1/4000 -.33EC ISO2500 @about 100 yds

Three adults looking for small fish along edge just before dark:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 @f4 1/320 ISO1000 @about 100 yds

Immature on stump watching ducks:

Canon 1D MK IV; Canon 600 f4 with 1.4TC (840mm) @f9 1/1600-.33EC ISO1000 @about 60 yds

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Until next time!

Jim Borden

2010-A year of Growth

2010 was a year of growth for me with photography.  Even though I have been doing wildlife photography as a hobby for over 32 years, I found 2010 to be one of the years of most significant learning.  I struggled through 2009 with issues with a very expensive long telephoto lens.  It took quite some time in 2009 and early 2010 to find that the issues I was having were not the result of poor long lens technique, but due to a lens that was incapable of resolving fine detail at distances over 60 feet or so away.  Through the help of fellow friend photographers Mark Picard, Herb Houghton and Gary Steele and the application of my own problem solving skills I was able to finally identify the lens as the issue and was able to move on.  Once I had new equipment to work with I was able to once again experiment, learn and grow in my photography skills. I am so thankful that my interest in wildlife photography was rekindled in 2007 through meeting a new friend-Mark Picard.  It has changed my life.  I have refocused on family and spending time in the outdoors enjoying God's wonder.

Reading friend Coy Hill's blog and his review of his best pictures of 2010 stimulated me to do a similar thing.  While reviewing my images from 2010, I found it was difficult to pick "the best".  I also found that while some were not the greatest or sharpest images, they brought a smile to my face through the memory of the moment when the picture was taken.  I decided to share some of the images here and also share a link to a slideshow of the most memorable for me in 2010.

I have tried for years to get a great loon picture and this year I was blessed with the opportunity to get a female loon with her twins out for a ride:

I once again got to watch moose go about their business of feeding, courting and playing:

I have found the resurgence of the bald Eagle to be intriguing and I enjoy spending hours observing them and learning their behaviors:

Out maneuvering Black Bears to get good shots has been challenging and fun:

Awaking early in the morning and walking among the Elk of Pa continues to be enjoyable and informative:

Enjoying the color change in the fall has been calming:

Doing all this with my wife of 40 years has been the best!

Click here for a slide show of 2010 images

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Until Next Time

Jim Borden

Bald Eagles Along The Susquehanna (Day 1)

Each fall Joan and I take a short weekend trip to the southern part of the Susquehanna River to view and photograph Bald Eagles that have migrated there from the north.  The spot along a Fisherman's access area just below the Conowingo Power generation dam.  The eagles find it easy to find fish there when the generators are running at the dam.  It raises the water level while at the same time churning the water which brings many fish close to the surface.  On Friday the 19th of November I stopped counting at 70 Eagles in the tress and along the bank.  I took one picture across the river and had 13 eagles in the picture while using a 600mm lens.  There is also a Great Blue Heron rookery there on an island below the dam.  It is not uncommon to see 50 plus great blues.  It is certainly a bird watcher and photographer paradise.

The Eagles in the trees can present a back lighting problem, but it is a great opportunity to practice those types of shots by playing with exposure settings as well as using a better beamer to fill flash the birds.  All of these shots were with a Canon Mark IV 1D with Canon 600mm f4 lens on a Gitzo Tripod using a Wimberley Head and the IS was turned off on the lens.

The eagles are amazing.  The fish seem to be plentiful and easy to catch.  However, when one catches one, others swoop in to try to steal it away.

Canon Mark IV 1D; Canon 600 f4; at f5.6, 1/800, ISO400 EC +1

This shutter speed would normally be too slow (I like to keep at 1/1250 minimum) to capture a flying eagle crisply-I caught them at a moment in flight when they were changing direction so their speed of flight was down and it allowed a good crisp shot.

Canon Mark IV 1D; Canon 600 f4 at f5.6; 1/1000 ISO 500 EC+1

I used the eye as my focal point on this shot and could probably have taken the aperture to f8 to get a deeper depth of field-but the picture actually turned out well.

The next series of shots is a sequence of an eagle catching a fish--notice after he has caught it and begins to get airborne that he actually checks to see if he has the fish!

f6.3; 1/3200 ISO 1000 EC +.33

f6.3; 1/2500 ISO 1000 EC +.33

f6.3 1/2500 ISO 1000 EC+.33

f6.3 1/2500 ISO 1000 EC +.33

f6.3 1/2500 ISO 1000 EC+.33

The next shot was after another sequence of shots were the eagle caught one-but then he lost it.  After he found he lost it, he circled back and picked the fish out of the water again. 

f6.3 1/1250 ISO 800 EC 0.0

This was a difficult shot to get.   The eagle with the fish was being pursued by 5 other eagles and they kept getting blinded from me by a row of trees along the river bank.  Finally they came out into the open and I was able to get a burst of shots of the chase with this one being the best.

f6.3 1/6400 ISO 1000 EC +.33

After many tries on many trips I was finally able to get a Bald Eagle in a well lighted dive for a fish.  This one was with the 1.4tc on the 600mm lens giving a focal length of 840mm (or about 17x magnification)

f7.1 1/3200 ISO 640 EC +.33

Enjoy!

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Until Next Time!

Jim Borden

Pa Elk in the Fall

We have been busy with business and family the past few weeks but have had time to visit Elk County Pennsylvania before the beginning of the Elk Season.  We saw over 275 different elk in the Benezett area-all of them in the hunt zone.  All of these elk were very acclimated to human interaction.  It is very difficult to understand those that support the hunt 100% when one sees how tame these elk are.  Their claims that they go into the back country and the elk are not tame there is certainly a misunderstanding of the facts.  The PGC claims the elk herd is about 700 to 800 animals.  With that in mind I observed about 1/3 of the entire herd in two days at benezett.  Joan and I took a walk back in the woods and I was able to walk within 15 yards of a small herd of elk resting in the woods.  They showed no signs of fear and remained laying down while I photographed them.  A certain faction of the individuals that I have conversed with from the area that are avid hunters and members of the Keystone Elk Alliance have begun calling some of us anti-hunters because we oppose the Pa Elk Hunt.  One individual's conversations are laced with veiled violent rhetoric and he has even said the anti hunters better be careful in the woods during the hunt because they might get hurt.  It is sad to see that some of these individuals can not have an adult conversation about the pros and cons of how the hunt is run and a discussion of the facts concerning the hunt showing that it is not a fair chase hunt.  It is also sad that they can not understand that many of us that oppose the Pa Elk Hunt are avid hunters and Sportsmen!

With that part of it aside-we had a great time viewing and photographing the elk.

Canon Mk IV 1D; 600 f4 at f4 1/100; ISO 2500 EC +.67

Canon Mk IV 1D; 600 f4 at f4; 1/160 ISO 2000 ec+.67

Canon Mk IV 1D; Canon 600mm f4 at f4 1.40; ISO4000 ec+.67

Canon Mk IV 1 D; Canon 600 f4 at f4; 1/100 ISO 2500 EC +.67

Canon Mk IV 1D; canon 600 f4 at f4.5; 1/125 ISO 4000 EC +.67

Canon Mk IV 1D; Canon 600 f4 at f4.5; 1/125 ISO 4000 EC +.67

Canon Mk IV 1D; Canon 600 f4 at f4; 1/60 ISO2000

Since most of the good photo opportunities were early in the morning and late in the evening, it gave us a good chance to really push the ISO capabilities of the camera.  I had previously thought I would need to stop at ISO 2000 to retain good picture quality-but this trip proved that theory wrong.  I was able to take high quality pictures up to an including ISO 4000.

here is a parting shot.  Joan took this picture of me after we had walked to the back of the reclaim area in hunt zone 2.  I had walked across the open field area toward the elk to see if they would spook-the wind was to my back and I was in the open.  I walked to within 15 yards of the elk and they did not show any signs of fear or anxiousness.  This is the spot where friends had been a few weeks prior and the archer and/or the archer's "guide" that were hunting there made claims that "anti's" had interfered with the hunt.  No one spooked any elk or attempted to spook any elk and the archer could have directly walked up to the elk if he had so chosen.

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Until next time

Jim Borden

Pa Fall Foliage 2010

Our part of Pennsylvania peaked with fall foliage early this year-so some of the spots we usually get to visit to take very colorful pictures were rather dull because we were in maine when our peak occurred.    However, there were some scenes that became very colorful late and it allowed us to take some good images.

Misty Morning Wilson Pond-Lymanville Pa

Reflection on Wilson Pond

Farm Pond near Springville Pa

View at Harrison Lookout in Pa Grand Canyon

View at Colton Point in Pa Grand Canyon

Falls on Campbell Run near Tiadagton Pa

Swimming Hole I enjoyed 45 or so years ago

Some of the above photos were taken using High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography.  

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Until next Time

Jim Borden

Maine Fall Foliage and Wildlife

We spent 9 wonderful days in Northern maine enjoying the scenery and looking for wildlife.  We saw coyotes, foxes, spruce grouse, ruffed grouse, deer and of course-Moose!  We did not see as many moose this fall as we normally do as there was quite a bit of foliage left in the woods at the beginning of the week and the moose were not frequenting the ponds and rivers as much as they normally do this time of year.  We had a couple of days of little to no wind and clear skies so there were some opportunities for photographing some awesome reflections.  I am certainly glad I had experimented with doing HDR photos this summer so I could put the techniques to good use this trip.  Photoshop CS5 handles doing HDR composites very well without any plugins or additional programs being required.

This is an HDR composite of three photos: -2, -1 and normal exposure.

This is also a composite HDR image made up of three shots: -2, -1 and normal exposure.

It is very important to use a tripod and to focus the camera before starting and then put in manual focus and make no further focus adjustments -then take the 3 to 7 shots with various exposures about 1 stop apart.  

I also found that the use of a camera with the ability to take pictures at higher ISO was a definitive advantage to get some shots that would otherwise have been missed.  Early morning is often a great time for seeing moose and light is at a minimum then.  Elevated ISO helps keep shutter speeds up with long lenses to prevent blur.  here is an example of an image shot at 4000 ISO:

600MM lens; 1/50; f4; ISO 4000; Image stabilization off; 6:36 am

It was barely light when the above image was captured.  The scene looks bright as the histogram was right of center which is important to control noise when taking images at high ISO.

The above image was taken during the time of "Golden Light".  It gives images a pleasing quality. Shadows are controlled with the low sun angle. This image was taken at 840MM; f7.1; 1/1250; ISO 400.

Occasionally we get lucky when taking images.  A spruce grouse caught me by surprise and there was no time to setup tripod -so I grabbed the 600 and turned IS on and spun the ISO to 1000 and cranked the aperture wide open (f4).  I am surprised that the shot turned out as the shutter speed was 1/60 and I was handholding over my knee.  Here is the result:

Later I had the opportunity to capture a spruce grouse when I was ready with tripod.  He cooperated well:

Tripod mounted 600; f5; 1/30; ISO 400; IS turned off

We saw six different bull moose with the following being the largest we photographed:

Check out http://www.bordenphotography.com/Maine_Oct_2010/index.html for a slide show of more photos from the trip.  

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Until next Time!

Jim Borden