It’s a sure thing. Every April Great Egrets and Blue Herons come to nearby Lincoln in Placer County to nest in a particular tree. And every year my photo buddies and I go to photograph the activity. This year was no exception.
I’m still limited by a total reach of a 300mm lens and the tree is far away. These were edited in Lightroom and Topaz Sharpener. Take a look!
We’ve started bringing chairs. Yes, comfort, plus the arm rest acts as a makeshift tripod!
Like a habit, each year egrets and herons nest in a tree in Lincoln California. They probably feel safe because the tree is located in a marshy gully between two shopping centers. I call this tree The Nesting Tree. Typically, we visit this tree in April when the nesting is in progress. The birds fly off, bringing back stick and twigs to their nests. Sometimes, if the photography gods comply, through your lens, you can see them handing off the twig to their mate.
My lens only extends out to 300 mm. Six hundred would be great, but I’m not a wildlife photographer and I’m content to get whatever pictures I can get. Here’s a sample from our recent trip.
I look forward to this each year. This year I brought a chair and was more comfortable. Who knows what I’ll bring next year.
To buy or not to buy! To use or not to use! That’s my dilemma!! I’ll start at the beginning. For wildlife photography, I’ve been using an old, used prime F/4 300 mm lens on my Nikon D7100. It’s a bit heavy, hard for me to hold steady and the Nikon is not that good in low light. I finally decided to buy a used Fuji 100 – 400 mm lens for, of course, my Fuji XT3. It worked great and was easy for me to hold steady, but the barrel was tight when I zoomed. It’s in the return process. Question: should I get another one? Or just keep using the Nikon set up?
Here are some images from the Fuji set up taken at what I call the nesting tree in nearby Lincoln.
Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons nest each year in these trees. It’s a treat to sit and watch the activity. They fly off and bring back food and nesting materials to the nest. These next pictures were taken with the Nikon set up. Since I photographed mostly egrets on my previous visit, I was trying to photograph more of the herons. The trees are not close and I had to do a lot of cropping with these pictures for both set ups.
Do you see much difference? Both sets were processed in Lightroom and Topaz Sharpener AI. There is the handling ease, but that comes with about a $1,500. cost for a good used lens. I don’t think I need a new one because I don’t do that much wildlife photography.
So that’s my decision and dilemma! What do you think I should do?
Oh, if you want to see amazing Great Blue Heron Photography visit Babsje’s blog for wonderful stories and images. She is totally dedicated to the herons.
I’m not too fond of fog when I’m driving, but when I have my camera in my hand, I love it. On one foggy morning we (Marlene, Linda, Ray and I) ventured out to two local parks hoping to get foggy images.
The fog was lifting when we arrived at Boulder Ridge park in Rocklin, but still thick enough to block the visual of most of the park. This time of the year, the trees are bare and stand tall against the fog.
This large park is popular with locals. But it was damp and cold while we were there, and the hillsides weren’t visible. When we couldn’t see the rest of the park, we left and followed in our cars to Coyote Pond in Lincoln. The fog had lifted there and the beauty of this small neighborhood park was waiting for us.
It’s great that we have such beauty easily accessible in these COVID days.
Just say these words to me “road trip and camera,” and I’m ready for a fun morning. So off Ray, Marlene and I went, meeting Lucille and Gert along the way, to find some Fall color. We started outside of Lincoln, California in Placer County and drifted around the area. We saw touches of color during our drive, stopping where we could. I do wish farmers would create parking for us!
Here’s our first stop. The trees were bright red, but the lighting was not that good and a fence was prominent. They dying grape vines gave a nice orange hue.
I followed Lucille around the corner. This is what she found.
Our second stop was up the road at a county park that was already full. They let us in so we could use the bathroom. It was a long bathroom break!
Our third and last stop came as we were on our way home. We stopped when we saw orange blazing on the hillside.
So, while we didn’t find amazing Fall color, we did find amazing photographic opportunities. I love those road trips because you never know where you’ll end up or what photos are waiting for you to take.
While the kids are away, grandma stays–with the grandkids. This weekend has been fun with the younger set of grandkids. I started early Friday morning and will go home tonight, Sunday. They are great kids and growing up fast. At 6 and 8 years, they are very self sufficient.
Yesterday, I told them that I’ve been a very good grandma and deserved a treat, which was to take my camera and shoot some pictures. So we went to Coyote Pond Park near their home. Actually, this is sort of a regular of theirs. Tucked in suburbia, the park has a small play area, a nice size pond where neighborhood kids can fish, and a nice paved walkway around the pond. I was surprised what a difference more water made for the park. We saw humming birds, an egret and a blue heron. Families were picnicking and kids were playing on the playground.
Because the walk was short, the kids enjoyed it, especially when they knew they would be able to play once it was over! My grandson spotted the hummer, and we watched as the blue heron was curious about what the egret was catching.
Take a look at this hidden treasure in Lincoln. Well, it was a treasure for grandma!
What would you do if your lens wouldn’t focus? Probably go back home and try to figure it out–right. But, what if you had to pick up your grandkids within an hour and your home is 30 minutes away? You keep walking and shooting. At least that’s what I did.
The lens did okay when my depth of field was long. It failed at close up and mid range shots. I just closed down the aperture and hoped for the best. That was yesterday. Today it focused, but it’s having other troubles. It may have sensor or connector problems. I don’t think it’s the camera. When we were back east, the barrel kept getting stuck at about 35 mm. It’s an 18 – 55 mm kit lens. Now it’s working better, but not focusing all the time, and the barrel is lose on the front.
Since it is my main lens, I’ve ordered a replacement. So that’s my current frustration with my photography adventures. Now for the images I was able to get, here’s a little background on Coyote Pond Park. This is a small neighborhood park in Lincoln that has a pond. There is a walk around path and a small playground for the children. However, the find of the morning was a tree that had lost its main trunk, maybe to lightning, and is surviving from branches that have grown out of the bottom of the remaining trunk. Fortunately, those pictures came out clear. It is an amazing tree. I hope you enjoy it.
Hopefully, the new lens will work well, and, of course, focus when I need it to!
Slow Shutter Speed 