What’s Up?
On our first afternoon in Iceland, we drove an hour to a local bird reserve and sat by the edge of a small pond and we worked the Red-throated Loons. Right place, right time. Everyone in the group did great, especially me. I share three of my favorites from that afternoon with you below. The next day was Wednesday, our first morning of photography. We visited some local hotspots around Reykjavik and found a marsh with lots of Black-tailed Godwits, my most wanted species on the trip. Mission accomplished! That afternoon, we returned to the loons. It was windier and there was not much action. I was not feeling such good, and wound up with my second ever (and fortunately second worst ever) bout of food poisoning. Dr. Anita North took me to the emergency room after midnight in hopes of getting some IV fluid in me. Two hours later I felt a bit better, got some color back, and my heart rate had decreased, so we decided to leave without having been seen by a doctor in the ER. The next day, Thursday, on our bus ride up north, she made sure that I drank as much water as possible so I began feeling a bit better.
The drive to Akureyri took about five hours. We stayed in a nice hotel, enjoyed a five-star fine-dining meal, and slept the night. Today is Friday 14 July. We take the ferry to Grimsey Island, right on the Arctic Circle. I am feeling close to perfect and looking forward to the puffins and more. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. If I can get online from Grimsey, I will try to post every few days. If not, much love and I will be in touch when I get back to civilization.
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This image was created on 11 July 2023 near Reykjavik. Seated on the edge of a pond with my feet in the water, I used the handheld Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 7:20:44pm on a sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Red-throated Loon swimming |
On Getting a Bit Lower
I began working on the tripod, but when some loons began swimming closer in some calm water in the lee of the north shoreline, I moved left and held the lens down in front of me. Because I had to shoot over the marsh grasses, I could not get any lower. But one foot lower made a nice difference. I had my reading glasses on and activated the level. Tracking: Zone/AF-C is a godsend in such situations. I love the soft light, the shallow depth of field, the low perspective, and the wake.
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This image was also created on 11 July 2023 near Reykjavik. Seated on the edge of a pond with my feet in the water, I used the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod topped by the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/4000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 8:12:45pm just as a light cloud covered the sun briefly. Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Red-throated Loon pair displaying |
Why Go to the Tripod?
Holding the lens down and in front of me about a foot above the water is a bit strenuous. So, unless the birds came close, I kept the lens on the tripod. I could have gone to a slightly lower ISO and a slower shutter speed, but as several pairs were engaging actively, I opted to keep the shutter speed on the high side.
As the bird in the rear was swimming slightly faster than the closer bird, I saw the juxtaposition coming. I fired off about 10 frames as it passed the front bird and chose what was to me the most pleasing juxtaposition.
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This image was also created on 11 July 2023 near Reykjavik. Seated on the edge of a pond with my feet in the water, I used the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod topped by the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/4000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 8:01:45pm just as a light cloud covered the sun briefly. Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #3: Red-throated Loons courting |
Why Add the 1.4X TC?
With virtually all the action taking place in the center of the pond, I added the 1.4X TC for more reach. Not only does that give you more pixels on the birds, but it makes life easier for the AF system as there is less chance for Zone to grab the water and a much better chance of it grabbing the birds. With them being relatively distant, I did not attempt to acquire focus until the birds rose up. Obviously, that strategy worked well. I wound up with several family jewels. By a very small margin, this one was best.
Your Call?
Which of today’s three featured images is the strongest? Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
I prefer image #1.
Small typo “but it makes like easier for the AF system”… like s/b life
I like #1 best …. the isolated bird, ripple on the blue water with a strip of color across the top edge. The way you composed the image appeals to my eye and, of course, the bird is posed perfectly. I might wish for a more complete reflection. Hope you get some video of the Puffins on Grimsey.
David and Sue,
Thanks. I was so excited to get online on Grimsey that I neglected to take a look at the photos. It is fixed now.
with love, a
I agree with Sue Jarrett. Images 2 and 3 look very similar, if not identical. I like them better than image 1. Glad you’re feeling better.
Image #1 and #2 and #3 of Red-throated Loon are good and nice. But image #3 says courting and it looks just the same as Image #2 that says displaying.