Wild Turkeys gone Wild…right out our window!

Wild Turkey Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_6733

GREAT NORTH WOODS GOBBLERS
If someone had told me when I bought my land back in the early 90s, that I’d have up to 19 Wild Turkeys at my feeder someday, I would have told them they were CRAZY! At that time, Wild Turkeys in Minnesota were extremely rare outside of the very southeast corner of the state. “Besides,” I would have told them, “turkeys need acorns and open meadows…My land is pines and aspen and maple, very densely wooded.” Plus, I would have pointed out, they can’t survive in areas with deep snowpack. Good thing I didn’t make a wager!

Wild Turkey Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_6665
TURKEYS IN THE SNOW (NOT “TURKEYS IN THE STRAW”)
I first noticed Wild Turkeys in our neck of the woods a few years ago when I’d hear a distant Tom gobbling on clear and calm April mornings. He was far away…maybe a half mile or more back in the Schillo’s south field. And I recorded a small group on my trail camera. Then last year one or two made a couple appearances at our feeders, but never when we were home. This year, the floodgate opened. Up to 19 Wild Turkeys have foraged under our feeders this winter. I started throwing out buckets full of cracked corn. But they are extremely wary…and any motion inside the house often sends them scurrying for the shelter of the ravine.

TOM TURKEY DISPLAY VIDEO
The above video was taken from our living room while I was in my pajamas trying to balance the camera on a coffee table and a stack of books, all the while trying to keep Birk (4) and Bjorn (2) from jumping off the couch and shaking the video camera….That is why there is no audio..You wouldn’t want to hear it!

Wild Turkey Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_6660
SURFING WITHOUT A SURFBOARD
In late March, I got a big surprise when, not one, but TWO Toms began displaying right outside our picture window. A half dozen hens were feeding and seemed oblivious to the male’s full-on, fluffed-out display. The males would slowly circle each other and occasionally bump chests in slow motion. An occasional ruffle of the feathers is meant to impress. Then one morning, I saw a Tom displaying over a hen sitting in the snow. He eventually hopped up on her back and stood there for nearly ten minutes, all the while balancing on his precarious perch. Every time she made any movement, he had to react and respond to keep his balance. It was literally like watching a novice surfer on a surfboard. Impressive balancing act! Finally he hunkered down and she shifted her tail and the actual mating took place, lasting mere seconds.

Cottontail and Wild Turkey Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_5999The Cottontails, squirrels and turkeys all tolerated each other at the feeder. But each had their own personal space which could not be violated, lest they spook.

Wild Turkey Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_5986

Skogstjarna feeder Wild Turkey IMG_7118

Wild Turkeys at feeder Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_5938The morning spectacle (Above 2 images taken from our living room…Our feeders are about 18 feet from the house!).

Wild Turkey Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN Wild Turkeys Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_5027

Wild Turkey Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN Wild Turkeys Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_5023WIDE ANGLE FUN
The two photos above were taken with a super-wide telephoto lens from snow level. How did I take these without spooking these spooky birds? I set my camera up on a mini-tripod outside where the turkeys usually fed. Then I used my remote trigger to release the shutter from inside the house. So I could sit in my easy chair drinking coffee and watching the morning news, and still be taking wildlife photos! But note that this is very low percentage shooting.

Wild Turkey tom Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_7403

Wild Turkey tom Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_7411

**NOTE THAT ALL THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN FROM OUR LIVING ROOM! …THROUGH DOUBLE-PANED, KID-SMUDGED WINDOWS. DON’T LET PEOPLE TELL YOU THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER TAKE PHOTOS THROUGH YOUR WINDOWS.
[All taken with Canon 7D...Most taken with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens and camera set to Shutter Priority 1/500 second and auto-ISO. Wide angles taken with Sigma 10-20mm lens and remote trigger]

Published in: on April 29, 2013 at 7:37 am  Comments (4)  

White Critters of Winter

Ermine Owl Ave feeders Sax-Zim Bog MN IMG_4463Winter white is still all around us, even on this relatively late date of March 23rd…Still about 24 inches of snow in the woods…and we’ve had nearly 4 feet of snow since mid February. So I thought it was fitting for a photo round up of some of our white winter critters. The Ermine above was photographed near a feeding station in the Sax-Zim Bog of northern Minnesota. Two Ermine were regularly feasting on deer rib cages and chunks of suet put out for the birds. They are quick critters and photographing them was a real challenge. In summer, they have brown pelage, but in winter they acquire a winter white coat save the black tip on their tail (photo below). It is one of the only mammals that has a different name in winter…Long-tailed Weasels become Ermine when they turn white. Note that some have a greenish tinge to their fur.
Ermine tail Owl Ave feeders Sax-Zim Bog MN IMG_4457Ermine Sax-Zim MN IMG_0018358Fast critters! Ermine are carnivores and specialize in squeezing their narrow body in mice and vole tunnels.

Glaucous Gull Canal Park Duluth MN IMG_0072569The Glaucous Gull is a big bruiser of a gull…even larger than our Herring Gull. It is an arctic bird that nests only in the Far North including the North Slope of Alaska, Ellesmere Island, northern Labrador and Baffin Island. But we are fortunate that a few winter on the Great Lakes, especially in late fall and early winter when there is little ice on Lake Superior. This juvenile bird (note all white plumage and pink bill with black tip) was photographed in evening light against a dark background of the breakwall in Duluth’s Canal Park.

Snowy Owl Superior Middle School Sparky Stensaas IMG_0074842Snowy Owl Superior Middle School Sparky Stensaas IMG_0076189Snowy Owl Bong Airport Superior WI IMG_0074505 (1)The above Snow Owls were all photographed in nearby Superior Wisconsin near the Bong Airport…a suitable substitute for arctic tundra for this Snowy. Most of the birds we see in winter are young birds. They gravitate to the industrial ports of Duluth and Superior where there is plenty of food—pigeons, mice, voles, rabbits. To get a good viewing/hunting vantage point, they perch on light poles, buildings (including right above the main entrance to the Superior Middle School!), fences, and even spruce trees—an odd sight for a tundra-dwelling bird).

Snow Bunting Crex Meadows WI IMG_4878 (1)I love the black and white plumage of this lone male Snow Bunting that I recently photographed near Crex Meadows, Wisconsin. Note that he is nearly in spring breeding plumage, his back will become pure black as will his bill, but he’s worn off the yellowish and brown feather tips of winter. This is unusual in birds who usually go through a complete molt in spring. Snow Buntings only molt once, in the fall. They rely on the feather wear to reveal their spring plumage. They only grace us with their presence in late fall and winter, heading back north to their tundra homes in spring. Males arrive in the arctic when there is still snow and below zero temps to set up territories. Females return about three weeks later.

Northern Shrike nr Northwestern Middle School Poplar WI IMG_4031Shrikes are pint-sized bird predators who are only winter visitors to our “balmy” northern U.S. climes. They “tee-up” on tree tops in open areas to scan for small birds and mice/voles. They also appreciate our bird feeders…a real shrike smorgasboard! They nest in the taiga across Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavit, east to the northern Labrador Peninsula (northern Quebec and Newfoundland ). They are heading back north now. This cooperative dude was photographed near Poplar, Wisconsin. He allowed me to walk right up to him (usually they fly the instant you apply your car brakes!)
Snowshoe Hare Sax-Zim Bog MN IMG_0002192 copyRemaining motionless in a snow-blanketed environment is a good survival strategy unless a photographer has already spotted you alongside a Sax-Zim Bog road. This Snowshoe Hare is perfectly adapted to deep snow and extreme cold…and you need any advantage you can when you have feline predators such as Bobcat and Lynx after you.
Hoary Redpoll Matt Moses yard Solway Twp St. Louis Co MN IMG_4280Hoary Redpoll Admiral Road Sax-Zim Bog MN IMG_0076263It was a banner winter for Hoary Redpolls in northern Minnesota. Normally there is a ratio of about 1:100 Hoary’s vs. Common Redpolls. Hoary’s, like their name implies, are paler, whiter, frostier than Common’s, with limited streaking on their flanks, a stubby bill and “pushed in” face and very limited streaking on their rump. Both are winter visitors from the Arctic. They are still around but will soon be heading north.

Trumpeter Swans 2 flying backlit Monticello MN IMG_0073469How could I forget the largest white winter bird of all? The Trumpeter Swans congregate in the thousands on the Mississippi River near Monticello, Minnesota. A nuclear power plant keeps the river open even in the coldest temps.

Mallard albino Monticello MN IMG_0073451Leucistic Mallard. Okay, not naturally a white bird, but this Mallard was photographed this winter, and it is white-ish :)

[All photographed with Canon 7D and Canon 400mm f5.6 lens. All hand-held]

**PLEASE SPONSOR ME in my BIG HALF YEAR FOR THE BOG effort to photograph 150 species of birds in Minnesota before June 30th. I am over 60 species now. This is a fundraiser for my non-profit organization…Friends of Sax-Zim Bog. You can pledge per species or in a lump sum. I also have a gallery of images linked here too. THANKS!
SPARKY’S BIG HALF YEAR LINK HERE

GOOGLE PLUS GALLERY OF ALL MY BEST BIRD PHOTOS FROM 2013 HERE

Published in: on March 23, 2013 at 4:47 pm  Comments (4)  

Boreal Owl Bonanza!

First of all, let me say that Boreal Owls are the cutest bird in the entire world! About the size of a Kleenex box, nearly as wide as they are tall, the Boreal has bright yellow eyes with two black “tear drop” marks and a face framed by black. Immaculate white spots dot the forehead. This has been a great winter to see this most elusive of all owls in northern Minnesota.

Roughly every 4 years there is an increase in Boreal Owl sightings in Minnesota. Usually, late in the winter, a few may be spotted hunting in the daytime, which often means that they are hungry!…possibly starving. You see, Boreals are normally nocturnal hunters. So when voles are at a low cycle further north, the Boreals need to move in search of food. In late January of 2013 they started showing up in Sax-Zim and along the North Shore. Guide Chris Wood found SEVEN in one day along the Scenic 61 highway north of Duluth. This has been a huge IRRUPTION! (yes, irruption is the right word).

And since Boreal Owls are rarely seen, this influx of day-hunting Boreals is big news. Most of the folks I guide still need it for their life list. So irruption years become BUSY years for the local guides (and I’m no exception!). In fact, the tiny owl hadn’t even been recorded nesting in the Lower 48 until the spring/summer of 1978 when a Boreal Owl pair took up residence in a nest box in Tofte, Minnesota.

Here is a compilation of video from 4 different Boreals taken between January 27th and February 8th.

Boreal Owl Scenic 61 nr Stoney Point Duluth MN IMG_0074437
Boreal Owl preens nr Stoney Pt Scenic 61 St. Louis Co MN IMG_0074883
Boreal Owl Dodges Log Lodges Scenic 61 Lake Co MNIMG_0074823
Boreal Owl Dodges Log Lodges Scenic 61 Lake Co MN IMG_0074782
Boreal Owl sleeps Dodges Log Lodges Scenic 61 Lake Co MN IMG_0074762

All photos taken with Canon 7D and Canon 400mm f5.6 lens. BUT note that the top photo was taken with the 400mm AND stacked 2x and 1.4x teleconverters! Don’t let anyone tell you that you should NEVER stack teleconverters…I did and the photo turned out all right I think.

Published in: on February 23, 2013 at 8:31 pm  Comments (8)  
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Feathered & Furry 500: An attempt to photograph 500 animal species in 2013…in Minnesota only!

feathered furry 500 logo w-photos FLAT

The title to this post is “Feathered and Furry 500″ but like my logo says, it more accurately should be the “Feathered, Furry, Finned, Frass-forming 500″ …couldn’t think of a reptile/amphibian f-word until I posted the question on Facebook when folks sent me the following adjectives—flick-tongued, fossorial, funny, freaky, fearsome, flexible, furtive. p.s. “frass” is insect poop.

WHAT?
I will attempt to photograph 500 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects during 2013. And I hope to create interesting, creative images that go beyond snapshots.

WHERE?
All photos must be taken in Minnesota (unless I don’t find another Snowy Owl and have to count my Superior, WI one!)

WHY???
This is part of my BIG HALF YEAR FOR THE BOG effort. My non-profit, Friends of Sax-Zim Bog, is making a push to raise funds to do some more land purchases and build a Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center in 2013. We have 25 participant so far…Each one has a web page where, like myself, we will post updates on our goals and fundraising. Pledgers can either pledge on a per-species basis or a lump sum. My goal for the first half of the year is to photograph 100 species of birds in Minnesota.

You can see my progress here and PLEDGE ME AND MY EFFORT HERE.
Big half year for the bog logo

YOU CAN SEE MY FAVORITE “FEATHERED & FURRY 500″ PHOTOS FROM 2013 HERE:

http://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/111907221964958833473/albums/5835494865426053457

I ended January with 44 species of birds and 5 species of mammals (no butterflies yet!). Highlights have included MANY photos of Boreal Owls (we are having an irruption in N Minnesota this year), a diving Great Gray Owl, backlit flying Trumpeter Swans, and a sunrise backlit chickadee (even common birds can make great subjects!)

Boreal Owl Scenic 61 nr Stoney Point Duluth MN IMG_0074437

Boreal Owl, Scenic 61 between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota near Lake Superior.
Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 AND stacked teleconverters (a 1.4x and a 2x!!) on a tripod and self timer to limit camera shake.

Published in: on February 7, 2013 at 11:39 am  Comments (1)  

Subzero Swans: Shooting with Sparky video

Trumpeter Swans 2 landing backlit sepia Monticello MN IMG_0073484

Trumpeter Swans 3 landing backlit Monticello MN IMG_0073480
Heading north from my parent’s home I decided to stop by Monticello, Minnesota to photograph Trumpeter Swans wintering on the Mississippi River. Tucked into a suburban neighborhood on a cul-de-sac is a tiny lot-sized city park. Hundreds of swans winter here. The attractions for the swans are the Mississippi kept open by the discharge of a nuclear power plant and cracked corn. Sheila the Swan Lady began feeding a handful of swans years ago…and word got around the swan world. Now over 1500 Trumpeters winter here! Sheila has passed away, but her husband carries on, scattering hundreds of pounds of corn each day. Please put a few bucks in the donation box at the park to help support this feeding project.

It was cold…zero degrees…and I was plenty early, 45 minutes before sunrise. While dancing around to keep my feet warm, I set up my heavy tripod and got to work. You must stay behind a split rail fence so you are forced to shoot down on the subjects. Not the best angle. Eye level almost always gives animal images more impact. But occasionally swans will fly in at eye level. As the morning progresses, there is behavior and birds everywhere…a swan battle here, wing-flapping there, a flock of Goldeneyes rocketing past, a Bald Eagle overhead, a lamentation of swans flying in (yes…lamentation!). It is hard to swing the tripod head around fast enough to catch all the action.

Trumpeter Swan battle Monticello MN IMG_0073397

As the sun rose the light turned the river steam a very nice gold, silhouetting swans and trees. Several small flocks were flying by. I set Shutter Priority to 1/60 of a second and panned at as they flew past. I’ve had great luck with this on previous trips. But today I preferred my 1/1000 of a second motion-stopping images…Swan feathers translucent and back lit against the blue river.

Trumpeter Swans 2 flying backlit Monticello MN IMG_0073469

Trumpeter Swans 3 landing backlit Monticello MN IMG_0073476

The noise…hundreds of Trumpeters trumpeting…has to be experienced to be believed. It is the highlight of any visit. And to me personally, the whole experience is unbelievable. I never would have believed this day would come. When I was in high school in the late 70s/early 80s, Trumpeter Swans were extirpated from Minnesota, which had not had a breeding pair since 1885. I remember seeing some captive Trumpeters at Elm Creek Park Reserve. Then the MN DNR and began a reintroduction program, bringing in eggs from South Dakota, Montana and Alaska. In 1987, 21 2-year old swans were released at Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge in Becker County. Today, the Minnesota population is over 2400 swans. An amazing success story.

More and more swans arrived, flying in towards the feeding area. But by now the light was getting “hot” and their white sunlit feathers were blowing out. The histogram was clipped on the white side. Not good. I packed up the gear and just enjoyed the cacophony of trumpeting Trumpeter Swans before heading home. Like they say, or if they don’t say it somebody should, “Any day shooting is better than a day in the office.”

Tips for shooting swans
1. Get there early! White swans in sunlight equals difficult exposures. Feathers tend to blow out to detailless white. I would even suggest getting there 30 minutes before sunrise. Any “steam” on the water may light up to a beautiful yellow-orange when the sun first peeks over the horizon.
2. Choose a lens that will bring the action closer but leave enough breathing room around the bird so sudden wing-stretching or flapping or fights will not leave part of a wing out of the frame. A 400mm on a crop-sensor camera works well as would a 500mm on a full-frame camera. But even a 300mm lens can yield very nice images. I also like to use my 70-200mm for some “bird in landscape” shots.
3. To stop the action, set your camera to Shutter Priority 1/1000 of a second and your ISO to Auto (if you have this feature).
4. Experiment! Pan with swimming birds as well as flying birds…1/80 to 1/60 second work best. Try some fill flash. Zoom. Use a wide angle lens for an “animal in the landscape” shot.

Trumpeter Swans flying blur panning Monticello MN IMG_0073429

Resources:
Trumpeter Swans at Monticello, Minnesota: Hundreds of Trumpeters, Canada Geese and ducks winter along the Mississippi River in Monticello, Minnesota. A tiny city park buried in a suburban neighborhood is access to the swans. Visit http://www.MonticelloChamber.com for more info and a downloadable pdf brochure.

Trumpeter Swan checking on young one Monticello MN IMG_0073411

All photos taken with Canon 7D and Canon 400mm f5.6 lens.
Flight shots taken at 1/1000 second on Shutter Priority with auto ISO

Mallard albino Monticello MN IMG_0073451Leucistic Mallard blends in well with the white adult Trumpeters and gray and white juveniles.

Published in: on January 20, 2013 at 4:30 pm  Comments (7)  
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Top Twenty Images of 2012

2012 is gone and I’ve had a chance to look at all my images from the year and pick my favorites. Time helps clear your vision. Some images I was crazy about right after I took them, are no longer exciting to me. Here I present my favorite images of 2012 in reverse order…Maybe not the most saleable nor necessarily the best portraits (which can be boring), but the shots that I kept coming back to..the ones that intrigued me…or were difficult to get…or were the most creative. And this last bit about creativity brings me to my big announcement for 2013…I will be releasing a new video: GET CREATIVE: WILDLIFE IMAGES BEYOND THE PORTRAIT this year. Stay tuned!

near Saginaw, Minnesota St. Louis County #20—The surprise image of the year…I was perusing photos from my June work for the Minnesota County Biological Survey when I found this very underexposed, blaah image. But then I saw the potential as a high-contrast black and white image. The result was a very graphic silhouette of a foraging Pine Warbler amongst the long delicate needles of a Red Pine. St. Louis County, Minnesota.

07-Best2012 Ruby-throated Hummingbird female and Liatris Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_0064370 #19—I spent much quality time with our backyard hummers this summer. We mainly hosted females but occasionally a bully male would show up…but never when my camera was in place. I was using flash and a Better Beamer to throw light onto the hummer but in this shot the flash did not fire. But I like the resulting softer look…No harsh light blasting the tiny bird. My home in Carlton County, Minnesota.

11-Best2012 blurred leaves Rock Pond Duluth MN IMG_0067511 #18—Fall leaves always seem to vex me…I have a hard time creating interesting images of the stunning scenes around me in late September/early October. On this windy day I used a tripod and a very slow shutter speed to render the leaves a colorful blur while the trunks remained relatively still. I like the contrast of white vs. orange and blur vs. sharp. Rock Pond, UMD, Duluth, Minnesota.

16-Best2012 Bald Eagle from firetower at Big Bog SRA Koochiching Co MN IMG_0055770 (1) #17—Eye-level Bald Eagle shots are not easy to come by! And this one has a story…It was taken 80 feet up in a firetower! I was visiting Big Bog State Recreation Area in far north central Minnesota and decided to climb the tower to get a bird’s-eye view of Lower Red Lake and surrounding forests. Some distant eagles caught my attention and I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if one flies past me in my aerial perch…And the miraculous part is that one did! It was not a gleaming white and black adult but rather a dramatically patterned youngster. I panned with the bird and amazingly it came out razor sharp.

18-Best2012 Swans geese St. Louis River fog Fond du Lac MN IMG_0055161 #16—I cross this bridge over the St.Louis River on the outskirts of Duluth every day on the way to work. It has many moods and this hazy spring afternoon created a bucolic and blue still life of swans, ducks, ice and trees.

IMG_0070171 #15—My youngest son, Bjorn, shows great promise as a wildlife photographer…At least he looks good in khaki!

19-Best2012 Cedar Waxwing Gunflint Trail Brule River Cook Co MN File0113 #14—Not a set-up! A fortuitous find that resulted in a very nice portrait with a little behavior too. This very rarely happens but it did this August morning on the Gunflint Trail. I’d just returned from a early morning paddle on the Brule River, loaded up the canoe and was pulling out of the dirt parking area when I spotted the foraging Cedar Waxwings in a heavily-fruited Mountain Ash.

15-Best2012 water lily File0169 #13—Just a very pleasing composition (to me anyway)…a water lily on dark water taken from a low angle to get the reflection. I also love the purplish lily pads. Cook County, Minnesota.

04-Best2012 Lower Yellowstone Falls IMG_0067608 #12—A very long exposure with my 10mm Sigma lens was made possible by a 9-stop ND filter. I love the soft ethereal feel of the powerful Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, belying the thunderous roar. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

17-Best2012 Snowshoe Hare Sax-Zim Bog MN IMG_0002136 #11—I had to include this portrait as I have been trying to get a decent winter Snowshoe Hare photo for years! And on this snowy Sax-Zim Bog day, I succeeded! The hare really felt it was invisible and stayed put as I crawled closer and closer through the snow.

12-Best2012 Abandoned house and tree Itasca Co nr Northome MN IMG_0055660_59_58_tonemapped 88-0-7-4-10 #10—Seems like I always slip in a non-nature subject. I really enjoy photographing vernacular architecture, including abandoned buildings like this farmhouse. A HDR image and sepia color finished it off. Itasca County, Minnesota.

10-Best2012 Polyphemus Moth Antheraea polyphemus detail Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_0057753 #9—Abstract macro image of a Polyphemus Moth’s wings turned upside down to create a strange “face” complete with big blue eyes and a puckered mouth. My home in Carlton County, Minnesota.

05-Best2012 Swinging bridge flood IMG_0058741 #8—The banner headline of 2012 for us Duluthians/Carltonians was the Great Flood of June. It affected all of us dramatically. But my most powerful image was this shot of the raging St. Louis River taking out the historic and much loved Swinging Bridge of Jay Cooke State Park. Read more here.

08-Best2012 Sharp-tailed Grouse Carlton Co MN IMG_0056142 #7—A rite of spring, the congregation of Sharp-tailed Grouse at their dancing grounds or leks, is an event I hate to miss. But it is always difficult shooting. They are most active just before sunrise when the light is poor…And it is April so the weather is often cloudy and windy. Visibility in the cramped blind is not great either. This time I resorted to a slow shutter speed and panning. I love the shot as it conveys the manic intensity of the males as they dance, pursue females, and chase off rival males. Carlton County, Minnesota.

09-Best2012 Moose bull called in Dumbell Rd Superior National Forest MN nr Isabella IMG_0066747 #6—One of the few straight-up wildlife portraits in the collection, but I had to include it. Much has been made of the dramatic decline of Moose in Minnesota…and it makes me very sad. They are one of my favorite mammals. I learned to call Moose years ago…imitating the sound of a female. After a several-year dry spell, I was able to call this young bull in this fall. Intense moments followed as he was deciding whether I was a cow Moose or some stupid human. Thankfully he came to the right conclusion! See the video here.

14-Best2012 abstract river rocks IMG_0069193 #5—Can you tell what this is? Colorful river rocks below a Yellowstone National Park stream. It’s funny…I really don’t like abstract painting but I love much abstract photography.

06-Best2012 Ring-billed Gull Duluth MN tungsten w-2 1-2 CTO gels on flash IMG_0065801 #4—Two icons of Duluth in one shot! The Aerial Lift Bridge and a Ring-billed Gull. Not your typical wildlife shot but one that is certainly unique. In this technique I learned from flash/lighting guru ??? you set your camera to tungsten white balance (to turn the dark brooding sky blue) and then use a flash with an orange CTO gel to throw a very warm light on the subject, in this case, a Ring-billed Gull.

13-Best2012 IMG_0068269 #3—Often times I’ll get home from a trip and when viewing my images in Aperture, I’ll come across an unexpected prize. It’s like Christmas as a kid! I thought I knew what my favorites would be from viewing them in the field on the back of my camera…but I’m often wrong. This is one such image. It was taken into the sunlight to backlight the Bison’s fur…but it was mostly a “G&G” shot (grab-and-go)…No premeditation, No tripod…Jump out of the car and “snap.” But after converting the image to sepia, I really loved it. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

02-Best2012 Monarch IA IMG_0065536 #2—I really concentrated on wide-angle wildlife this year and this may be my favorite. Crawling on my knees for hours on an Iowa prairie in September finally netted me this image. Read the whole story here. Northeast Iowa.

01-Best2012 Great Gray Owl peek-a-boo McDavitt Rd Sax-Zim Bog MN IMG_0058141 #1—Drumroll please…My personal favorite from 2012. Read the whole story of this bog encounter here. See the video here. I like the Great Gray Owl’s furtive glance around the trunk of a spruce…It lends an air of mystery. It is very “Brandenburg’s-wolf-peek-esque” if you’ve ever seen his famous photo. Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota.

Published in: on January 3, 2013 at 10:07 am  Comments (16)  

Happy New Year from The Photonaturalist!

Red Sedge Yellowstone NP WY 766_6700_2
Hoping your 2013 if filled with Perfect Pixels, Sharp Shots, Amazing Auroras, Bountiful and Beautiful Birds, Wondrous Wildlife, Luscious Landscapes, Scintillating Sunrises and Creative Compositions.

Published in: on January 1, 2013 at 11:13 am  Comments (1)  

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a flying Red Squirrel!

Red Squirrel flying Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_0071297Who knew Red Squirrels could fly? Well, not really. But they are very proficient leapers! If you’ve ever seen them jump from tree to tree you can really appreciate their talent! Their bushy tail acts as a rudder, helping to control their flight and landing.

This guy was making repeated trips to my sunflower seed feeder; No doubt caching the seeds under the snow. Red Squirrels have been shown to have very good memories, which allow them to find the general location of their snow-buried caches and then a decent sense of smell pinpoints the hoard, allowing for a high recovery rate of stashed cones and seeds. Tunnels under the snow go from cache to cache to cache.

Leaping Red Squirrel composite FLAT SMALL[CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE] This is a composite of NINE photos of my leaping squirrel. The distance was exaggerated in Photoshop, and the photos were compiled from many different jumps. But it gives you an idea of their perfect aerial form and sideways landing technique. You can also really see how they use their tails to control their flight position.

Red Squirrel flying Skogstjarna Carlton Co MN IMG_0071351

Canon 7D with Canon 70-200mm f4 lens at 200mm. Focus fixed. Hand-held. Manual Exposure: f4 at 1/2500 second and Auto-ISO.
(I hand-held so I could track the squirrel in “flight.” I used 1/2500 of a second to freeze the motion.)

Published in: on December 19, 2012 at 3:32 pm  Comments (5)  

Holiday Gift Ideas for Wildlife Photographers (under $40)

KIRK FAT BAG
fat_bag_new
Not all wildlife photography is done while roaming the hinterlands…In fact, many of my favorite shots were taken right from the driver’s seat of my car! The Kirk Fat Bag is literally a fat bag that straddles your car door so you can rest your telephoto lens on it to dampen vibrations and get sharper photos. I filled mine with split peas…It takes EIGHT POUNDS! But you won’t starve if you get stranded!
BUY IT HERE FROM KIRK ($39.95 empty)

THERMOS KING—40 OZ.
thermos-stainless-kingI just received the 40-ounce Thermos as an early Christmas present (Thanks Mom and Dad!). And I love it! I tested it with nearly boiling water…24 hours later it was still nearly too hot to drink! Even 36 hours later, the water was still very warm. There is nothing more comforting on a cold winter day in the field than knowing you have a thermos of hot coffee or cocoa within arms reach. You could also bring extremely hot water into the field on an extremely cold day (minus 20 F or lower) to create instant vaporization photos like I did in this video
Stainless steel, Thermax double-wall construction, twist pour spout so you don’t need to remove stopper, cap doubles as insulated mug.
BUY IT FROM SEARS HERE ($37.80)

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY DVD
Get Close DVD and case photo IMG_0064812 copyWARNING! Shameless product promotion ahead: Yes, this is my video. It was a blast to make and I think you’ll really enjoy it. The DVD is 90 minutes of non-stop wildlife photography tips and tricks on getting close to wildlife. We go Moose calling, learn about pop-up blinds, create a backyard bird pool, make a blind out of snow and even go out in a floating blind (with details on how to make your own!) Available as a download too.
BUY THE DVD FROM AMAZON HERE ($29.95)
OR email me at thesparkygroup@gmail for download info ($29.95)

LENSCOAT
lens-coatProtect those expensive telephoto lenses with a LensCoat neoprene wrap. I love mine…I got one for my 400mm f5.6 lens. They not only protect your lens from dings and scratches, but they also camouflage your black or white lens and keep them quieter. Choose from several camouflage patterns.
BUY IT HERE FROM B&H PHOTO (price varies with lens…$20-$100)

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR PORTFOLIOS
portfolio-22-1000Need some photographic inspiration? Just flip through the pages of the gorgeous hardcover books from the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. This is the most prestigious wildlife photography competition in the world…and the resulting photos prove it! I’d stick with the last five portfolios…#s 18-22.
BUY IT FROM AMAZON HERE ($39.95 for portfolio 22)

LENS MUG
canon-ef-lens-mug-20100319-122844Drink your coffee out of a Canon 70-200mm lens? At least that’s what your friends will think! Convincing replica of the actual Canon 70-200mm lens.
BUY IT FROM UNIQUE PHOTO HERE ($22.95)

Just a few ideas! Coming up next…Gift Ideas for Birders

Published in: on December 4, 2012 at 9:29 am  Comments (5)  
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Turkey Facts on Turkey Day

Wild Turkey I called in with a Tom recording at the Sick Dog Ranch near Alice, Texas. [Canon 500mm f4 lens, flash with Better Beamer, tripod]

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
By 1880 Wild Turkeys had vanished from Minnesota…and most of the country. They would not return in any numbers to Minnesota for another 100 years…Not until the 1980s when, due to restocking efforts, the again gained a foothold in the state. I vividly remember seeing my first Wild Turkey in Minnesota…We had to travel 5 hours south of Duluth to the Southeastern corner of the state, Houston County, tucked into the borders of Wisconsin and Iowa in the bluff country along the Mississippi River. It took days of searching winding dirt roads before we finally spotted one in a meadow. The caravan of cars almost crashed into each other as the lead car slammed on its brakes…The Turkey ran and we only got a brief glimpse. Fast forward to today and I have broods of 10 or 11 feeding at my feeder!

NAME GAME
a. POULT is a turkey chick
b. JAKE is a young male
c. JENNY is a young female
d. and of course TOM is an adult male (adult female is a HEN)

SIZE
The average domestic Turkey weighs 12 pounds but can top 40 pounds, while a Tom in the wild averages 20 pounds.

MINNESOTA
Minnesota is the leading producer of domestic turkeys in the nation.

POWER HOUSE
Although most commonly used as fertilizer, turkey litter (droppings mixed with bedding material, usually wood chips) is being used as a fuel source in electric power plants. One such plant in western Minnesota provides 55 megawatts of power using 500,000 tons of litter per year. [Source: Wikipedia England]

SPEED DEMONS
Wild turkeys can run up to 25 mph. Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest-known human, averaged 23.35 mph during his world-record, 100 meter sprint.

BEN KNOWS BEST
Benjamin Franklin privately felt that the Wild Turkey would make a much better National Symbol than the Bald Eagle.
Writing from France on January 26, 1784 to his daughter Sally (Mrs. Sarah Bache) in Philadelphia, Ben writes,
“For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.
“With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country . . .
“I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”
[Source: http://quotes.wordpress.com%5D

Published in: on November 22, 2012 at 9:45 am  Comments (2)  
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