Photo-birding Serendipity

Posted by Chris Cunningham

Dans les champs de l’observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.—Louis Pasteur

Photo-birding Rufous Hummingbird in Flight
Rufous Hummingbird in Flight, Franklin Mountains State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4c TC). High-speed synchronized flash.

Pasteur’s brilliant and famous expression above (“Chance favors the prepared mind” in streamlined English translation) is undoubtably one of life’s great truths. Ultimately, seeing a particular bird species or avian behavior is a matter of chance. In all the singular sightings of difficult-to-see species (Tropical Parula, Red-faced Warbler, Clay-colored Robin, Black Rail, etc) that I’ve made, I realize that had I been looking in a slightly different direction for a fraction of a second, I would have missed the bird entirely. But being in the right place at the right time to even have a possibility of making the observation in the first place is decidedly a matter of preparation (and effort), not chance.

Photo-birding Immature Golden-fronted Woodpecker with Giant Walkingstick, Estero Llano Grande State Park, Texas
Immature Golden-fronted Woodpecker Tearing Apart a Giant Walkingstick (Megaphasma dentricus), Estero Llano Grande State Park, Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

Photographing birds is even more subject to the vagaries of chance than simply seeing birds. A passing cloud, a wind gust, a stray blade of grass in front of the subject, stepping in a hole or ant nest, or getting stung in face by a nasty bug at the precise moment a shutter should have been activated can all doom a photo that, a fraction of a second before, held great promise. The fact that rare, unpredictable natural events can be captured at all is sometimes a matter of some amazement to me given the difficulty of the problem. I think, for example, that after thousands of hours of photo-birding I’ve seen birds eating walkingsticks a total of three times in my life, and, incredibly, I was able to photograph it each time! On the other hand, I’ve never captured a single decent image of some species of birds I’ve seen dozens of times!

Photo-birding Reddish Egret, Bryan Beach, Texas
Double Wing-fishing Reddish Egret with Beak Breaking the Surface, lagoon behind Bryan Beach, Texas. Surprisingly, to me at least, Reddish Egrets keep their eyes open during the impact with water. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

From time-to-time, I talk with photographers who have quit trying to photograph birds, or are at least considering quitting. They cite the difficulty and not getting any good results. What they seem to be hoping for is serendipity, or at least great good fortune. But after slogging through swamps and jungles, being pelted by rain and blasted by the sun from deserts to plains and mountain-tops, and shooting tens of thousands of images, I’ve started to doubt that serendipity or even good luck is much of a factor in photo-birding. I think that there are only drive and statistics. If you want some bird photos, then clear your calendar, break out the sunscreen and bug repellent, and get out there and photograph some birds (and enjoy the process)!

Photo-birding Gull with Needlefish, Hans and Pat Suter City Wildlife Park, Corpus Christi, Texas
Laughing Gull (Nonbreeding) with Needlefish, Hans and Pat Suter City Wildlife Park, Corpus Christi, Texas. Elisa recorded this interaction at dusk one Thanksgiving. I’ve never seen one of its kind again. I’ll keep looking. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

©2016 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Lean to Bountiful: Birding Late Winter into Spring

Posted by Chris Cunningham

After months of want and hunger, we suddenly found ourselves able to have meals fit for the gods, and with appetites the gods might have envied.–Ernest Shackleton

Immature Red-shouldered Hawk with Common Moorhen, Pilant Slough, BBSP
Rough Day on the Slough: Immature Red-shouldered Hawk with Common Moorhen, Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. This young raptor has an injured or infected eye. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

The current seasonal transition got me thinking about the life struggles of birds. As a birder, I look forward to the coming spring and summer with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. Yes, there will be be many interesting sights and sounds to experience. But the return to the sweltering heat, blistering sun, and the ubiquitous biting insects (Zika, anyone? Chikungunya?) can and will put a damper on many a trip. The loveliness of the Texas winter for the birder disguises the fact that for birds, these are hard times. Food is in short supply and a hard freeze out of the blue can spell death subtropical species that wander just a little too far north.

Clapper Rail with fish, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
Clapper Rail with Fish, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. This lucky bird found a rich patch of habitat and snapped up fish after fish! Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Birds that would prefer a juicy arthropod, may now have settle to settle for a dried out seed or two. But change is coming! Buds are appearing, and flowers are starting to buzz with insects. Once the spring really gets rolling and winter moves out, the birds here in North America now will have a brief stretch of time to dine with little competition. Soon, though, hundreds of millions of hungry avian Neotropical migrant mouths will arrive, and the hardscrabble competition for food will begin again!

White-faced Ibis with Bulb, Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas
White-faced Ibis (Nonbreeding) with Bulb, Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. This bird would prefer a juicy dragonfly naiad or frog, but may have to settle for a marsh plant bulb today. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

©2016 Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Reversed-lens Macrophotography with Legacy Glass

Posted by Chris Cunningham

Nostalgia is not what it used to be.–Simone Signoret

My father had an interest in German optics and occasionally used a twin-lens medium format Rolleiflex with Carl Zeiss lenses at work. He also had a Rollei SL35 (with Schneider-Kreuznach glass) and a Leica R8 of his own. I inherited his camera equipment last year. A few years ago, Elisa also inherited some nice old Canon equipment from her grandfather. With my collection of old Contax/Yashica stuff, we now have access to a variety of quality glass from the 70’s through the present available for reversed-lens work.

Purple Pea Flower, Houston, Texas
Henbit Dead-nettle Flowers (Lamium amplexicaule), Houston, Texas. Flowers of this invasive are approximately 90mm tall. Canon EOS 7DII/reversed Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Planar/Canon 600 EX-RT flash in strong natural light. Hand-held.

Oklahoma artist Thomas Shahan has achieved some spectacular results with pretty modest equipment, namely a Pentax DSLR and old manual focus lenses mounted in reverse on extension tubes for macrophotography. Inspired by Shahan’s work, I’ve started experimenting with old glass, rigged for macro.

My recent tentative macrophotography experiments have involved reversing old lenses with an adapter, Fotodiox or Promaster. These adapters are available from Amazon for about ten bucks. This reversal process essentially turns a short focal length lens (in the normal range) into a powerful macro lens.

Disappointingly, my dad’s Leica 90mm f/2 Summicron-R will not form a focused image on a Canon EOS 7DII when reversed. The focal length is likely too long. In contrast, my old Contax/Yashica-mount Carl Ziess (Japan) 50mm f/1.4 Planar from the 90’s worked very well reversed (for both Elisa and me). Likewise, I had Elisa’s grandfather’s Canon FL 55mm f/1.2 from the 70’s taking pretty nice images in a matter of minutes—but the Planar has a slightly greater depth of field. Incidentally, along the way I thought I had a brilliant idea by buying an inexpensive ($35) LED video lighting panel for outdoor macro work, but it simply is not bright enough. I went back to flash.

Hemipteran with parasitic mite, Houston, Texas
Hemipteran with Parasitic Mite(?), Houston, Texas. This bug is about 3 cm long. Canon EOS 7DII/reversed Canon FL 55mm f/1.2/Canon 600 EX-RT flash in strong natural light. Hand-held.

As an informal comparison, I also shot some images of similar-sized objects (from a few millimeters to just under a centimeter) under identical conditions with our 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro plus 12mm extension tube II. The 100mm Macro is, of course, easier to use with autofocus and metering. My sense is that the Planar, despite being almost twenty five years old is very sharp and has better color than the 100mm f/2.8 L Canon Macro. It also produces a dreamy, Leica-like quality not present in any of the other lenses.

On the other hand, the Canon 100mm is a really nice lens and a real workhorse with great functionality over a range of sizes and distances. If I needed to get a shot, it’s what I would reach for. The Planar, however, seems to have potential for making some really gorgeous images, albeit with lots of effort and trial and error. The results with the Planar were encouraging enough for me to order a Fotodiox reverse adapter for my dad’s old Rollei Schneider 50mm f/1.8 from the 70’s. We’ll see.

In our throw away society, it’s nice to find a way to use and derive unique benefit from some “obsolete” technology. Can’t wait for the warm buggy and flowery Texas weather! With lots of practice I hope I can at least get in the same ball park as Mr. Shahan.

Buttercup, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas
Buttercup (Ranunculus sp.), Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. These flowers are quite small: perhaps 2.5 cm across the petals. Canon EOS 7DII/100mm f/2.8L IS Macro (+12mm extension tube II). Natural light. Hand-held.

©2016 Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Here Comes Spring Birding

Posted by Chris Cunningham

Spring comes on the World –
I sight the Aprils –
Hueless to me until thou come
As, till the Bee
Blossoms stand negative,
Touched to Conditions
By a Hum.—Spring comes on the world, Emily Dickinson

Battling Moorhens, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas
Let ’em Have it, Stan! Battling Common Moorhens, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. February through March is the time see Common Moorhens fight it out for territorial dominance in Texas marshes. Photo taken during the first week of February. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Even though it’s the middle of winter, signs of the drive toward life and impending spring are all around, hinting at much greater changes to come.

Some herons, night-herons, egrets, and Double-crested Cormorants are sporting breeding plumes, some of the early bloomers like redbuds and Mexican plums are starting to pop, and there are splashes of color everywhere. Soon, the most exciting time of the year begins with the return of the spring migrants . . . .

Snowy Egret Chick Stretches its Wings, Smoth Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas
A Snowy Egret Chick Stretches its Wings, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Territorial displays and fights, singing, courtship and nesting behavior will be all around shortly, also. Baby birds will quickly follow. But, after a few months of chasing birds around in the Texas heat a new longing will begin  . . .  a longing for the first blue norther of fall . . . .

Monarch Butterfly, winter, South Padre Island, Texas
Monarch Butterfly, in Early Winter, South Padre Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/100mm f/2.8L IS Macro. High-speed synchronized ring-flash.

©2016 Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.