#857. Spidey

Taken a couple of weekends ago near Round Top, Texas. If you're one of the majority of folks who find spiders to be a little unnerving then "Happy Halloween!"

Title: "Spidey"

Camera / Lens: Canon 5D Mark II / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS4 > Nik Silver Efex Pro

#826. Rockport Skimmers

A flock of Black Skimmers taken in Rockport, Texas a few weekends ago.

Title: "Rockport Skimmers"

Shot data: 1/2000s f/5.6 at 275.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 5D Mark II / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Nik Color Efex Pro

#552. Brazos Bend Gator

Taken a couple of weekends ago at Brazos Bend State Park.

Title: "Brazos Bend Gator"


Shot data: 1/160s f/8.0 at 200.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 5D Mark II / Canon 24-105mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Texture from flypapertextures.blogspot.com

Baytown Eagle

I made a trip over to Baytown today to try and photograph the pair of nesting eagles located off of Tri-City Beach Road. I don't really have enough lens for this type of birding but I had a great time watching and photographing the eagles just the same! This shot was taken with a crop camera (Canon 40D) using a 100-400mm zoom lens at 400mm and using a Canon 430EX flash equipped with a Better Beamer flash extender. Today I could almost understand why some folks might buy a $12,000 800mm lens. Almost! :-)

Title: "Baytown Eagle" (rollover)


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Nik Viveza plugin > Topaz Adjust plugin

Hawk

Yesterday afternoon we were driving around in Baytown when we saw this hawk in a field on Main Street. My camera was equipped with my 100-400mm zoom and a 430EX flash with a Better Beamer flash extender attached so we pulled over. I got as close as I could for this shot but I was still pretty far away and as a result this image is about a 25% crop of the original.

Title: "Hawk"


Shot data: 1/250s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso320
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin
Flash: Canon 430EX on camera in TTL mode with Better Beamer attached

Curious Squirrel

Taken in a local park about a month ago. I know he's just a rat with a bushy tail but still...he seems cute in a way, doesn't he? :-)

I know I get low marks for creativity with this shot but I'm feeling a bit lazy on a rainy day here in Houston. I really need to get out and do some shooting!

Title: "Curious Squirrel"


Shot data: 1/3200s f/2.8 at 18.0mm iso500
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom

Ducks

Ducks taken at a park in Nassau Bay, Texas earlier today.



Title: "Ducks"
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom

Baby Gator

This shot was taken on the Bay Area Photo Club's field trip to Brazos Bend State Park last Saturday. The alligator in this shot is a baby. Its whole head was about 6 inches long. During the course of the day I was struck by how much the baby and young alligators resemble the adults in general appearance. Only their sizes seemed to vary...at least to the untrained eye! :-)

Title: "Baby Gator"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
1/50s f/9.0 at 400.0mm iso250

San Jacinto Day Eagle

I took this shot at the San Jacinto Day Festival two weekends ago. This was as close as I ever remember being to a bald eagle and I was duly impressed! It is easy to see how these birds earned such a regal reputation.

Title: "San Jacinto Day Eagle"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
1/200s f/8.0 at 400.0mm iso100

Morgan's Point Gull

Here's a gull photo from last weekend. Taken at Morgan's Point in LaPorte, Texas. The pier is one of the thousands of fishing piers destroyed by Hurricane Ike last year.

Title: "Morgan's Point Gull"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400 L zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Turtle Soup

Here's one last shot from our trip to Armand Bayou Nature Center the weekend before last. There are a couple of small ponds near the end of the Discovery Trail that are home to many turtles. This green algae covered pond was so thick with turtles it made it easy for me to come up with the title for this photo: Turtle Soup.

Title: "Turtle Soup"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Mid-Color Pop" preset to increase saturation > Curves Adjustment Layer to improve overall contrast > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Clarity" preset to sharpen details > Merge Visible to New Layer to do some cloning work on the water surface between the turtle and the leaf (there was a hole in the algae between them that was distracting) > Selective Color Adjustment Layer to increase saturation on the red leaf and orange markings on the turtle > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette > Brightness / Contrast Adjustment Layer to increase overall brightness of the image