The PhotoNaturalist
Adventures in natural history photography with Sparky Stensaas
June 18, 2013
Sparky Stensaas
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[April 26, 2019; Tympanachus WMA; Glacial Ridge NWR, Minnesota] The prairie chicken blinds that most places provide are not set up for eye-level photography so I had to slowly open the door and crawl on my belly to the edge of the blind to get the shot. [Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM; 1/1600 second at f/5.6; ISO 500] #greaterprairiechicken #lekmagic #prairiemorning #sparkystensaas #glacialridgenwr #glacialridgenationalwildliferefuge #tympanachuswma #tympanachusOur buddy! The kids named him “Brock the Log Walker.” This is the guy/gal that tore down all our feeders over Easter weekend and was coming back every day at 7 PM to see what he might’ve left behind. Today was the first day he didn’t come back. Good thing since our honeybees are now in place. [April 22, 2022; Carlton County, Minnesota] Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM lens at 324mm; 1/320; ISO 12800; Lightroom] #blackbear #carltoncountywild #backyardbears #bearhooligans #minnesotawildlife #sparkystensaasFind the Ravens! Maybe this is taking “bird in the landscape” concept too far. What do you think? Tighter crop better? This is from yesterday 4-24-22. I was on my way to photograph the “zillion” ducks on Lake Superior and the Bay off Park Point in Duluth…But then as I dropped in elevation the fog became as thick as pea soup. Change of plans! So I headed home but saw the fog breaking up in the Jay Cooke valley. Maybe a bird like a Trumpeter Swan would fly through the scene. That would be cool. But instead I noticed that there was a nest of Ravens in the pines. I could hear the begging calls of the nestlings. I waited until the adults came back and got this shot. Very moody and of course it looks much better on a giant desktop computer screen but I like it.[Canon R5; Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM lens at 300mm; f/6.3 at 1/800; ISO 1000; Lightroom; Snapseed] #birdinlandscape #jaycookestatepark #carltoncountywild #carltoncountymn #commonraven #minnesotawildlife #findthebird #sparkystensaas[April 9, 2022] One of the nice things about a late winter is that open water is limited and so returning ducks like this Common Goldeneye are forced into smaller patches of water. These “ice out ducks“ provide lots of entertainment. I simply throw some camo netting over myself and tripod and sit on the ice and wait, enjoying the sounds of spring. This goldeneye drifted down river and while I got some awesome portrait shots I actually like this one better with the snow covered ice in the foreground. [Canon EOS R5; Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM at 343mm; 1/1000 second at f/6.3; ISO 125; Snapseed] #commongoldeneye #iceoutducks #sparkystensaas #stlouisriver #minnesotawildlife #springinthenorth #canonr5birds #duluthmn #thephotonaturalist[March 21, 2022; Otter Tail County, Minnesota] There was a near full moon and I was hoping to silhouette some migrating geese against it but clouds came in and obscured the moon. Then I turned around and this opportunity presented itself. Canada and Greater White-fronted geese.[April 8, 2022; Carlton County, Minnesota] Heavy overcast days can be a bummer for bird photography, especially if the sky is your background. But it is an opportunity for striking high key photos, especially if you have a colorful subject like this American Kestrel [Canon EOS R5; Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM at 500mm; 1/800 second at f/7.1; ISO 320; Lightroom] #americankestrel #highkeyphotography #highkeywildlife #carltoncountymn #sparkystensaas #thephotonaturalist #creativewildlifephotographyShooting with Sparky Videos
Join Sparky in the field in these short videos from past wildlife and nature photography adventures.
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