Rose Breasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Orioles

Lemoines Point Conservation Area in Kingston rarely fails...this Grosbeak was photographed on my lunch hour just before it started to rain. I had a choice of three of these birds to shoot, then was spoiled by Baltimore Orioles before I had to head back to work. Both were taken on Canon 60D with the EF 400 5.6L series lens on a tripod.

 



Savannah Sparrow.

This is a good example of the benefits of being up with the sun. The lighting quality within the 1st 2 hours is, simply put, magical. The birds have been active long before the sun breaks the horizion, but those first rays of sunlight really bring them to life!

Knowing that this small country road see's very little vehicular traffic, I'm comfortable when I arrive to my spot, to pull over onto the shoulder, and turn off the ignition. Then, I roll down both front widows 3/4, leaving enough to sit my 400mm on for support. The rest is to just be patient, and be ready...they'll come on a fence, bush, or rest on one of the fence posts and invite me to take a few shots.

Then it's off to work...I do need my day job! :)

Cheers everyone!

Tulip...

IMG_6773, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

These tupilps were taken on the side of our house mid afternoon. The light was filtering through a nearby bush, hence the light streaks on the cement wall behind the flower.

Shot taken with a Canon EOS REBEL T1i set on Shutter priority using an EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. The exposure was taken at 53 mm for 1/750 sec at ƒ / 8.0 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 400.

Florals...

IMG_6773, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

The time is here for the flowers! Florals can be exciting, the colors, shapes, lines, curves, and experimenting with wonky compositions!

IMG_0394

IMG_0394, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

These Cormorants were a real treat to shoot. I'm aware they they're not welcomed by a lot of folks, but for a photographer, they can be quite comical (and colorful).

The early sunlight worked really well to bring out their bills and turquoise colored eyes.

These were shot with straight 400mm, I'll start working my Kenko Pro 1.4tc next time I get out for a bit more range for close-ups.

Cheers!

(c) Copyright Michel (Mike) Soucy.
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 60D set on Aperture priority using an EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The exposure was taken at 400 mm for 1/750 sec at ƒ / 8.0 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 400.

THATAWAY!!

IMG_0388, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

Double Crested Cormorants on a dock. The sunlight was absolutely terrific at this time of day and made for some great captures.
All of these we're taken on tripod.

(c) Copyright Michel (Mike) Soucy.
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 60D set on Aperture priority using an EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The exposure was taken at 400 mm for 1/1000 sec at ƒ / 6.7 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 400.

IMG_0018

IMG_0018, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

This little beauty was keeping an eye on me. The day was overcast with a light drizzle.

Heron Portrait.

IMG_0353, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

Another fine morning with great lighting along the St. Lawrence brought new images of herons, geese, and cormorants.

This EF400mm 5.6L series lens rocks!

Early morning portrait of a Great Blue Heron.

(c) Copyright Michel (Mike) Soucy.
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 60D set on Aperture priority using an EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The exposure was taken at 400 mm for 1/2000 sec at ƒ / 5.6 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 400.

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IMG_9933, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

Male Red Wing Blackbird.

IMG_9934, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

What a morning it was!
With a coffee in the car, I head for a spot I had started to frequent spot on the St. Lawrence. It's truly an ideal spot for a quick "drive-by" shoot.

It's close to water with surrounding marshes and plenty of sunrising light. I'll check the sky from my livingroom window before the sun has risen and if the skies are clear, I head out to greet the sun with a newly formatted SD card.

Once I'm there, I pull over, turn the car off, grab the cameras, turn them on, pop off the lens cap, extend the hood on the 400mil, roll my window down for support, and wait and watch. One thing I need to do is get a bean-bag support for the window mounted 400.

It wasn't long before the Red-Wings strated made their way to the cat-tails 15' from the car...and I start firing rapid series of shots.

I can tell when the bird is about to sing, as they start to expand their chest with the wings slightly spread. I need to overexpose (starting at +1/2 stop) to get the detail in the black feathers.

Driving into work shortly afterwards it hard to contain my excitement, cause I knew I had captured some great shots.

Until next time...

Happy shutterbugging!


(c) Copyright Michel (Mike) Soucy.
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 60D set on Aperture priority using an EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The exposure was taken at 400 mm for 1/250 sec at ƒ / 5.6 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 400.

Female Red Wing Blackbird.

IMG_9960, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

Well, another morning along the St. Lawrence waterfront brought some great photo ops with the Red-Wing Blackbirds.

Of special interest were the females, which, don't seem to make themselves as visible as the males.

Using my trusty 400 5.6L, I shot this from the car as they were greeting the early sun.

My hard-drive is quickly filling up, the 500gb will soon have to move up to a 1TB!

Have a great weekend folks!

1000 Islands...

IMG_6570, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

And a shot of the 1000 Islander III moored in Ivy Lea. This photo was taken minutes before sunrise with absolute calm water.

Shot taken with a Canon EOS REBEL T1i set on Aperture priority using an EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. The exposure was taken at 41 mm for 1/8 sec at ƒ / 22 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 400.

Tipped at sunrise.

IMG_9219, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

Low water levels or a leak causing this boat to lean? As we were driving along the Parkway, this boat was spotted in the water. With the sun behind it, it made an attractive photo opp. Sun has just risen but had not yet peeked over the tree line introducing some really nice warm lighting.

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 60D set on Aperture priority using an EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The exposure was taken at 400 mm for 1/3000 sec at ƒ / 6.7 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 800.

Hitting the road early.

IMG_6591, a photo by Michel (Mike) Soucy on Flickr.

Before getting to bed I checked what the forecast was looking like for this morning, hoping for clear skies...and was rewarded with just that, we'll be up early for some sunrise shots.

My wife and I left the house at 5:20am, got a coffee and bagel, and headed for Gananoque, figuring to find a spot on or near the water west of the Ivy Lea bridge where I sometimes fish.

The fog was thick in some spots. I was quickly filing in my memory bank new spots for future shoots as we drove along. :)

Setting up was simple. Tripod, camera was my T1i, with a 17-85 mounted and pointing east as I composed my shot.

I didn't want the direct sun, but looking for color and reflections. I had only minutes to get what I wanted. We left this spot only minutes later, the sun was high above the horizon as we turned onto the parkway, searching for other opportunities with the early light. Didn't take long!

 Shot taken with a Canon EOS 60D set on Aperture priority using an EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The exposure was taken at 400 mm for 1/500 sec at ƒ / 9.5 using digital film with a speed rating of ISO 800.