quiet images: birds

Thursday, May 8, 2014

365 Project Update

As you may recall, I started a 365 project at the beginning of the year. Technically speaking I'm doing two projects simultaneously -- one on Flickr and one on 365project.org. It's been great fun thus far, and I've met a lot of fellow photographers from around the world, including the U.K., Australia, South Africa, and Russia. This is bringing fresh perspective to my photography.

For this entry I'm sharing a few of my images that have been the most popular and viewed between my two projects. Seems to be a theme here for what my photography friends like: birds of all types.

January - Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park


Ibis Patrol, copyright 2014, Stephanie Maatta Smith

A trio of ibis were lined up on the fence where we waiting to catch the boat. It was a cold, misty day, and the lighting was difficult to work with.

February - Kensington Metropark

It turned out to be a reasonably warm Sunday in late February, and it was a bit on the melty side. This little sparrow was quite tolerant of my foolishness with a camera. It was singing away and waiting for its mate. I love how the snow, while dirty, was sparkling in the sun.

March - The Florida Aquarium

Fluffing Her Feathers, copyrigh 2014, Stephanie Maatta Smith

This little tease was floating along in the Wetlands Exhibit, fluffing her feathers and preening for the males. She was quite adept at ignoring the kids who were trying to touch her, and my attempts at composing a good image.

April - Michigan Welcome Center, Saint Ignace, MI

This bright-eyed seagull was perched on the hood of my vehicle when I stopped for lunch. It was peering in the windshield at me, hoping for a bite of my sandwich. This was shot through the windshield; I was amazed at how clear the image is.

Late April and early May have lent themselves to interesting photographic opportunities. You've already had a glimpse at my newest project. Baseball photos are sure to follow in the near future.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Composing with My Feet

Curves Ahead
copyright 2013, Stephanie Maatta Smith

Another photography workshop completed and a resounding success from my point of view. The theme on Sunday was "Autumn Color and Light." We spent a full day walking the trails at Kensington Metropark learning macro techniques and working with color and light. My biggest take-away was learning to compose with my feet. Our instructor had me select subjects for my images and pulled me all the way around the subject -- through weeds and mud -- looking at the subjects from multiple angles and points of view. The idea was to get the best light, an uncluttered background, and to isolate my subject for a close-up view.

closed milkweed pod against water background

After lunch we headed uptrail away from the water where we would see wildlife, especially song birds. Once again I found myself knee deep in leaves and brush, attempting to avoid "leaves of three, let it be" while composing with my feet. The chipmunks and chickadees were particularly interested in what we were doing, though I suspect they were really looking for handouts. Of course, we didn't come empty-handed.

My favorites shots of the day were the antics of the song birds while they charmed us out of birdseed. As we photographed the birds, our accompanying naturalist showed us how to watch the birds' flight patterns so we could capture them in their natural settings, catching them on trees or in flight. She also had us focusing on their eyes as much as possible to get the point of light that gives the photograph life.

Tufted Titmouse on nature center guide sign

pair of black-capped chickadees on nature center sign

While, of course, I want to acquire a "bigger, badder" lens for photographing wildlife, one thing I see is by increasing my shutter speed significantly I can capture wings in flight. Next stop, however, is Wild Birds Unlimited for a sack of birdseed, and then back to the park.