New Camera

Of course you know that as soon as the battery was charged I was in the car and off to the inlet. I was hoping there were kingfishers about to try the new camera out on and I wasn't disappointed. I practiced on a few other birds first to make sure I had the settings where I wanted them, and I had to deal with clouds blocking out the sun but I think I got them mostly right.

The new camera has things in different places and that is going to take some getting used to. But that is just practice so I just need to take more photos to get it right. One of the things my obsession with the kingfishers has taught me, is that nothing is going to happen how I want it until  I have put in the hours to achieve it.

When I head out to the inlet now I do so with the intention of being there for at least two hours. Anything short of this doesn't really seem to work. I take a blanket in case it gets windy and it often does, and I take a good jacket as well. I have been caught out a few time and gone home shivering with cold when everyone else is hot. The wind chill factor coming off the water is always colder and if you are just sitting there it can chill you to the bone.

I am looking forward to my portable hide arriving because over winter I am hoping it will keep the wind off me a bit better and I will also be able to shoot the birds in the rain if they are out there. Yep I hear you, totally mad but very determined to put together a great portfolio of kingfisher images when I am done with them.

As we were heading off we rounded the bend and there were the spoonbills all tucked up for the night. I couldn't resist taking this shot, even though it meant deleting one of the kingfisher shots to make room on the card for it.

Been shopping!

I haven't been out with the camera yet today so thought I would post a few more from Friday night. The batteries are charging for the new camera (Canon 7D) but I only have one smallish card until the new ones arrive from Ascent on Tuesday. I am looking forward to trying it out as soon as the batteries are done!

There are a lot of scruffy looking kingfishers flying about at the moment. I look forward to them all finishing their moulting or whatever they are doing, as I know they will be way more impressive to photograph when they have their proper colours. Not that I am complaining, I love their scruffy looks too.

The white-faced herons never fail to put on a show for me when I am sitting at the beach. It is hard not to take yet another shot of them. Below is a speeding bullet on wings. These guys move so fast and you can see the determination on their faces that they WILL get their prey!

A short road trip

Some days everything works and I come home with great photos, others days - like yesterday - nothing seems to work for me. Naturally I am disappointed in what I achieved for the day but I did learn a few things about the sites that I chose. Tides are important and just how far out the tide is, is also important. Different areas require different timing so I can see a note book being written up so I don't forget this lesson.

Another thing I learned yesterday was my limitations regarding walking on sand and soft uneven ground. I have one of those unseen disabilities that can cause me a lot of pain if I push the limits. I did this yesterday. It just means I need to be better prepared and know exactly where I am going and how far I have to walk to get there.

So after yesterday's disappointing lot, I can think of only one thing to do. Retail therapy! I know exactly where I am going and how far I will have to walk. I am off to buy a new camera! 

A great night for Kingfishers

Last night has to be my favourite kingfisher shoot. The weather, the tide, the light all worked well and the kingfishers were great too!  I am super happy with the images I have and won't bore you all with writing this time because I think the images speak for themselves!

A mixed bag...

Yesterday afternoon I headed back over to Pauatahanui with the intention of photographing more kingfishers. Unfortunately I forgot to check the tides first so arrived there about thirty minutes away from high tide. Normally there isn't much to see around this time, or so I thought, but I am stubborn and decided to sit it out and wait.

It wasn't long before I noticed a couple of Caspian Terns flying past the car and landing some distance from me. One of them was squawking a lot and the other was hovering above with a small fish in its beak. Instinctively I picked up the camera and photographed the event. The images are not that great because of the distance but I have to tell you it was fascinating to watch!

After that I saw lots of Caspian Terns out fishing in the channel, they would fly high always looking downwards, then dive for their dinner before flying back low to the water. It was almost like a dance but again, a little too far away for me to record.

As the tide started to go out the usual suspects started arriving in their usual order. Swans and geese first, followed by the white-faced heron and then the pied stilts. The spur-winged plovers fly past making lots of noise but didn't settle anywhere close.

I had decided that six o'clock was my cut of time, and as I had already been there for a couple of hours I had to stick to that. The kingfishers hadn't shown up yet but I was resigned to not seeing them as the tide was still too far in. I was proven wrong yet again, five minutes before I packed up my gear a kingfisher fly into reach of the lens. He didn't stay long and but I did manage to get a few shots before he left again.  All in all it was a mix bag of images that I ended up with but worth the trip out there.

Looking around...

When I head out to photograph something specific (like the terns) I am very focused on my subject and often to the point of not seeing anything else that is around. I am trying now to get in the habit of looking around the area to see what else is about before I leave.

When I was out at Makara Beach, as I decided to leave on both days, the oyster catchers flew in on mass. Both times I wasn't ready for them and as they move so fast I missed most of the opportunities put before me. I did manage to get a few shots but had I been prepared and expecting them I would have managed many more.

As we were driving away from the beach we passed one of the trees that the shags nest in and then found a second with two shags sitting right by the side of the road. There was no where to park near them so it was a bit of a hike back from where I eventually parked the car. I think it was worth the trek because I manage to get up real close to the shags.

A second day at Makara

After finding the terns on Saturday I was keen to have a second shot at them, but the weather report on Sunday predicted rain and I had pretty much resigned myself to staying home for the day. Well the rain lasted all of ten minutes and then the sun came out so I bundled up my gear and we headed back to Makara Beach.

It was definitely threatening to rain when we got there but the terns were there so I really didn't care that much if it rained or not. At least not until it got too heavy to keep the lens free of raindrops. In between arriving and the rain coming down heavy I managed to photograph the terns from a slightly different angle and with a  more cloudy and stormy sky behind them.

There were people going past them from time to time at which point they all take to the air before settling back down in formation in a new position on the beach. They didn't quite go where I wanted them to this time but there's always another day.