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| This Golden-cheeked Warbler was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, a 25mm extension tube (to allow for closer focus), and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/300 sec. at f/9. Fill flash at -2 2/3 stops with the Better Beamer. |
Chris and I arrived at Mike and Julie Murphy’s Los Madrones Ranch on Tuesday afternoon. As with most new places, it took us a while to figure the place out but we wound up getting some great images of many species that we had seen or photographed (or both!) for the first time. Texas’s top birder and one of (if not the) best bird photographers in the state, Greg Lasley, helped us track down our number one target species, the Golden-cheeked Warbler, a gorgeous bird that nests only in Texas Hill Country. Six to seven pairs of this endangered warbler nest on the Murphy’s beautiful 400 acre ranch. We stayed in the lovely Casita with all the comforts of home and photographed from three of the four photo blind/feeder set-ups that Mike has constructed.
Los Madrones is located in western Travis County, TX. If you would like to photograph some of the species below (and more), you can contact Mike Murphy to arrange a vist by cell phone at 512-925-6902 or via e-mail to mike@losmadrones.com. You can learn more about the ranch here: http://www.losmadrones.com/Los_Madrones/Home.html.
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| Rufous-crowned Sparrow is common at Los Madrones but it was a challenge to get one to sit on the right perch as it came to the feeders. This bird was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/8 just before it hopped down onto the feeding tray. |
There is a great section in “The Art of Bird Photography II” (916 pages on CD only) on selecting perches and creating a feeder set-up that will work for photography. You can learn more about ABP II here: http://www.birdsasart.com/ABPII.htm.
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| This Ash-throated Flycatcher, the western counterpart of the Great-crested Flycatcher that breeds in the woods next to my home in central Florida, was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/10 set manually. Manual fill flash at 1:8 power. |
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| This Western Scrub Jay was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/300 sec. at f/10. Fill flash at -2 2/3 stops with the Better Beamer. |
As regular BIRDS AS ART Bulletin readers know I am a huge fan of cloudy-bright days. They offer much reduced contrast, great color saturation, amd images without shadows. And most importantly, they allow you to work well off light angle. The two images above were created as the birds sat on natural perches well off to the side of our set. Had it been a clear sunny day, each would have been about 40 degrees off of the proper sun angle and I would not have even pointed my lens at them.
Thanks to Mike and Julie for their generous hospitality and for hosting our visit to Los Madrones.
