Scenic Aperture - Frank Comisar's Photography Blog

Nesting GBH

Frank — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:48:30 +0000

Here is yet another Great Blue Heron working on her nest off the coast of Florida near Sarasota. That morning in early February had to have been one of my most productive photo shoots ever. The light was perfect and the birds were engaged in interesting behaviors. A GBH doing “something” rather than just standing still is so much more interesting. I like this shot because of the nesting behavior, the details in the wings and the highlights on her feet; it seems to have a lot of movement.

This shot was taken hand-held with the K7 and DA*300 (a stellar lens) at 1/640s f/5.6 iso200 and +0.3EV.

Nesting GBH

I Need Some Mammals

Frank — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:02:56 +0000

Sorry. More birds shot from Florida.

Here is Snowy Egret and a Tri-Colored Heron from Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. I went there with a specific goal to get at least one good capture of a snowy egret. They were like pigeons in New York – everywhere you looked – and they gave me many opportunities to get a “keeper”. I like this one captured with the K7 and DA*300mm at 1/200s at f/4 and iso 100 -1.0EV. It’s really tricky to get the exposure right on these bright white birds. I was constantly changing the exposure compensation and checking the histogram for blow-outs. This one turned out pretty good at -1.0EV. The tri-colored heron was also shot with the K7 and DA*300. EXIF on the heron is 1/125s at f/4 iso200.

My portfolio desperately needs some mammals. I’ve recently been accused of becoming a “birder”. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I gotta get some mammals. Any suggestions?

Snowy Egret

Tri-colored Heron

Hidden Gem

Frank — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:06:27 +0000

I’m still finding shots I overlooked the first and second time through the images I got in Florida a few weeks ago. Here’s the latest hidden gem; great white egret (nesting plumage):

Pentax K7 w/ Pentax smc DA*300 at 1/1600s f/5.6 iso200

Pentax Photo Gallery Milestone!

Frank — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:43:22 +0000

I’m very pleased that my 50^th image has been accepted into the Pentax Photo Gallery! PPG Artists and Pentax: thank you for your votes; whether up or down. Feedback, expressed by way of your votes, is a rare and valuable gift that has helped improve my photography skills.

It’s fantastic that Pentax gives us the PPG to display our work through which we can help promote our favorite gear.

Here’s number 50. Visit www.pentaxphotogallery.com/frankcomisar to see my complete gallery.

Why I Shoot Wildlife

Frank — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:22:19 +0000

Here’s one you wildlife photographers might find interesting; It sure got me excited. I had packed up my photo gear and was leaving Everglades NP for the day when I spotted this scene – a mother anhinga had just returned to her nest of 3 chicks. The chicks were pretty excited too. They began to jockey for position and stretching to reach mom. The poor little guy on the left side of the nest almost spilled out. I assume they thought they were about to get a meal but mom seemed to need some time for herself. She perched about 10′ above the nest, spread her wings to dry, and proceeded to ignore the chicks. I watched for about 30 minutes until the chicks settled down and apparently went to sleep.

The light was pretty bad and getting worse so I fired off a few shots to capture the moment; the birds were in shadow with the sun setting behind them toward the left. Also, as you can see, the background was very busy making it impossible to isolate the birds. Had it not been a 2.5 hour drive, I would have returned the next morning when the family would have been perfectly illuminated in the morning light.

One of the reasons I photograph wildlife is that I enjoy experiencing creatures like these in their natural habitat going about their daily routine. This was a great example. Even though this is not technically a great photograph, it was a great moment in time and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to capture it. I hope you enjoy it too:

Anhinga Family

More Birding in SW Florida

Frank — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:48:32 +0000

I was lucky enough to spend three days birding in SW Florida last week. Day one was at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. Day two, and the best birding photography I’ve ever experienced, was on a charter boat tour out of Sarasota. Finally, on day three I spent a beautiful morning at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island. As I write this, I’m killing time in the Ft. Myers airport watching the weather as the latest blizzard screams through the upper midwest. My original flight connected through Chicago but Southwest Airlines has suspended all flights through Midway until thursday. I was able to rebook through Memphis – freezing rain there – so this day will be interesting. If I had any brains I would just stay here as it is sunny and 75 degress with a nice breeze off the ocean. At least I have some great memories from the last couple of days of photography in this most interesting place. Here are a couple more that I find interesting:

Great White Egret

Great Blue Heron x2

Great White Egret Flight Fight

GBH Kissing??

American Wood Stork

Black Crowned Night Heron

Sarasota Photo Shoot

Frank — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:58:24 +0000

I had a great morning of birding today with Capt. Terry Frankford of Reelin & Chillin Charters in and around the Sarasota, FL. He provided a great tour and many fantastic photo opportunities. Here’s a couple taken with Pentax K7 and Pentax smc DA*300mm. More to come:

Breakfast with the Kids!

Big Stretch!

Plumage!

GBH x2

Birding in the Everglades

Frank — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:44:40 +0000

Day One:

Snowy Egret

Pheasant Hen

Frank — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:45:02 +0000

Squaw Creek Hawk

Frank — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:46:29 +0000

I had Squaw Creek NWR all to myself this morning. I was there for about 2.5 hours and did not see another person. Although the temperature was in the mid twenties and there was no open water, it was quite nice. There was very little snow cover. I spotted several immature bald eagles and this incredibly patient hawk.

Pentax K7 w/ Pentax smc A* 600mm; 1/800s @ f/5.6 iso200

Pentax K7 w/ Pentax smc A* 600mm; 1/640s @ f/5.6 iso200

Pentax K7 w/ Pentax smc A* 600mm; 1/800s @ f/5.6 iso200