Knoxville, Tennessee – Where it all started…….

July 31, 2011 by Bob Zeller

For most of my photographic life, I had mostly been interested in creating images of scenics, animals, aircraft, most anything except birds. It never entered my mind that there was so much to offer in photographing the avian varieties. My bird knowledge was sparrows, pigeons, or ducks. That simple. Just those three “species”. Then one day it all changed……..

To digress a bit, several years ago I came in contact with a person who is now a very dear friend of mine. A lady from Knoxville, Tennessee who is an awesome photographer, Deb Tappan. (Click that link to see her work). Ann and I paid a visit to Deb and her husband Paul, in early 2006. They showed us a great time with visits to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the surrounding areas.

While visiting, I noticed that in front of their home was these trees with a variety of birds of all colors; finches, cardinals, etc. Deb suggested that I try to photograph them through the window. She removed the screen and I was enthralled with the birds, and I started snapping the pictures. After we returned to San Angelo, I loaded them into my computer. I realized then that I had to identify them if I was going to show them anywhere. So I bought bird guides and got to work. I was hooked then.

A few months later, we made a return to Knoxville, determined to get several more photos of the birds there. Again, Deb and Paul, showed us some great spots. One of them was the Tellico Reservoir Recreation Area on the big Tennessee River. Wow! What a time we had! Deb and I each set up our cameras on our tripods. Trying to photograph all of the herons and osprey was a challenge. The challenge was trying to decide which way to aim the camera, as the birds were flying from all directions. We had really found the mother lode. 🙂

After that trip I realized that I had finally found the genre of photography that I seemed to excel at. Now my cameras and binoculars are alway at my side. Ann and I are hooked on birding, as I am hooked on photographing every bird we spot. I guess I owe it all to Deb for taking that screen off of her window so I could get a few snapshots.

Here are a few shots from that memorable day on the Tennessee River. All images were captured with my Canon EOS 40D. I attached my Canon 500mm lens with a 1.4 tele-converter, making it into a working 700mm super tele-photo. I then mounted this rig on a Bogen-Manfrotto tripod with a Wimberley II Gimbal head. The data was ISO was 400, aperture priority, and center weighted metering for all images. The shutter speed and aperture is noted under each photograph.

Black-crowned Night Heron

1/1000 sec, @ f7.1

Osprey with fish

1/1250 sec. @ f7.1

Great Blue Heron

1/3200 sec. @ f6.3

juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

1/800 sec. @ f7.1

There you have it. I still dabble in scenics, etc., but I guess my heart is in wildlife. I am glad that I have so many people that enjoy my work, so keep your comments coming. That is what inspires me. 🙂

Green Heron

July 29, 2011 by Bob Zeller

Green Heron (Butorides virescens). This delightful little bird was photographed locally in San Angelo, Texas. They are present nearly year around here. This one pictured is a mature adult.

Green Heron

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 100-400mm zoom lens
1/400 sec. @ f6.3
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 365mm
Metering – partial
Aperture priority

Enjoy and click image to see an enlargement.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

July 28, 2011 by Bob Zeller

Another blast from the past. I hadn’t realized how many images that I had stored that I haven’t had time to edit. It’s like going up in the attic to see what’s there. I wonder what kind of goodies I am going to come up with. 🙂

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 500mm IS lens with 1.4 tele-converter
1/2500 sec. @ f5.6
ISO 500
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – partial
Aperture priority.

Enjoy and click on the image to see an enlargement.

Cattle and Snowy Egrets

July 27, 2011 by Bob Zeller

I am still editing old images that were taken a couple of years ago. They may have been seen in a previous blog post. But with new software I think I am improving the images for sharpness and definition. This first one is a Cattle Egret. The photo was taken at Big Bend National Park. We were just entering the park, and there were several of the egrets perched in some Ocotillo bushes a few yard off of the road.

Cattle Egret

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 100-400mm zoom lens
1/400 sec. @ f22 – minus 1/3 EV adjustment
ISO 500
Lens focal distance 400mm
Metering – center weighted
Aperture priority

This image of a Snowy Egret was taken below the Lake Nasworthy dam in San Angelo, Texas. He was intent on his fishing and was oblivious of me. I was able to get within 50 feet to get the photograph.

Snow Egret

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 500mm IS lens with 1.4 tele-converter
1/3200 sec. @ f6.3
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – partial
Aperture priority

I hope you again enjoy the images. Click on either of them for enlargements.

Brown Thrasher and Loggerhead Shrike

July 26, 2011 by Bob Zeller

Well, I am still working on re-doing some older photographs. These are some that I almost threw away. But after taking a second look and doing some editing I think they are passable to show off. I hope you enjoy. Click on either one for an enlargement.

Portrait of a Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). Found mostly east of the Rockies.

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 500mm IS with 1.4 tele-converter
1/1000 sec. @ f8 minus 1/3 EV adjustment
ISO 640
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – partial
Aperture priority

Loggerhead Shrike

Who was that masked ……bird?? Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) This masked, ferocious little guy is found throught out the south and southwest.

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 100-400mm zoom lens
1/4000 sec @ f5.6
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 400mm
Metering – center weighted
Aperture priority

Dry O. C. Fisher Reservoir – San Angelo, Texas

July 24, 2011 by Bob Zeller

I have been talking about how dry our O. C. Fisher lake was. Now here is proof, with these aerial photos that were taken and sent to me. All that is left is that puddle of toxic water that is standing outside the outlet. Please notice all of the fish kill that has taken place. The gray area you see is dry lake bed.

You can see the high water mark on the concrete building where the lake level once was back in the mid-sixties. Then it gradually dropped down to the level just above the outlet openings where it stayed until about a year ago when this latest drought started.

I have been going through some photos of some of the wildlife that used to be in abundance at the lake. This is an image of an American White Pelican. We probably won’t see any of them for awhile. It was while I was taking this photo that a Northern American Bobcat rushed by within 4 feet of Ann, who standing behind me, and nearly knocked her down. It was chasing a Jackrabbit, and probably didn’t notice us.

American White Pelican

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 500mm with 2x tele-converter – tripod mounted.
1/2000 sec. @ f8
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 1000mm
Metering – center weighted
Aperture priority

I hoped you enjoyed the photos. Click on any of them to see enlargements.

Middle Concho Park – Hot Friday Afternoon

July 22, 2011 by Bob Zeller

We decided to get in our air-conditioned car for a short trip to Middle Concho Park. Just to get out of the house. Got a couple of good pictures. One of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) and a Great Egret (Ardea alba). We also saw what I think was a Long-billed Curlew (Limosa fedoa). If it was a curlew, it was a bit out of season for this part of the state. But strange sightings are almost the norm lately. I didn’t get a photo so I am unable to confirm it.

Great Blue Heron

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 500mm IS lens with 1.4 televerter – hand-held
1/2000 sec. @f5.6
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – partial
Manual exposure

Great Egret

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 500mm IS lens with 1.4 tele-converter – hand-held
1/1600 sec. @f10 minus 1.7 EV adjustment
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – partial
Aperture priority

I hope you enjoyed the photos. Click on either one to see an enlargement.

Concho River – Mississippi Kite

July 19, 2011 by Bob Zeller

We thought we’d take a break this morning and take a drive to downtown San Angelo, and cruise a bit along the Concho River. It was really nice down there but a bit on the humid side. Not like up north, though, and it will disappear as the sun rises to it’s usual 100 degree mark. I was pleased to come across this Mississippi Kite, (Ictinia mississippiensis). This smallish raptor is beginning to show up more in increasing numbers in this area.

Mississippi Kite

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 500mm IS lens with 1.4 tele-converter – tripod mounted
1/1000 sec @ f9 – plus 1/3 EV adjustment
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – partial
Shutter priority

After spending time photographing the kite, we continued and came upon these two photo opportunities.

Great Blue Heron

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens
1/1600 sec. @ f5.6 – minus 1/3 EV adjustment
ISO 250
Lens focal distance 260mm
Metering – partial
Shutter priority

Cormorant and Turtles

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens
1/2000 sec. @ f5.6 – minus 1/3 EV adjustment
ISO 1000
Lens focal distance 350mm
Metering partial
Shutter priority

I hope you enjoyed the photos. Click on any one of them to see beautiful enlargements.

Tweaking My New Gallery and other news

July 18, 2011 by Bob Zeller

I have been busy loading photographs into my new on-line gallery, so I haven’t been able to find time to write a new blog article. So be patient, my dear readers, and I will have some new exciting tales of photographic adventures for you soon.

To update you on my gallery, here are the highlights. I first closed down my original web-site. Some of you may not even be aware that I had one. But that site was from where I imported the slide shows that I had on my blog originally. Combining my blog with my new image collection does the same that my big web-site did, but in a more simpler way.

My new gallery has the best of my best images. You can click on my gallery link either from the button at the top of this page, or the link on the right side. There you can look at the photographs, click on them for an enlargement and more information about the image. You can also select Portfolio, then Collections, and see slide shows of my different categories.

Another nice feature that I think you will like is FREE E-CARDS. That’ right, I said free. You simply click on the image as I explained. Then underneath the enlargement you will see a tiny “e-card” logo. Click on that, type your little message, and send an e-card to anyone you wish, for any occasion, using my photograph, free of charge. You can begin to use that service immediately.

To make a purchase, click the “buy” logo under the enlargement, and you will be shown options such as size, paper type, and price. Or you can forget the whole thing and just look at the photos. 🙂

My annual calendars won’t available in the gallery. I will have them for sale separately, again at 20.00 including shipping. The 2012 edition is currently in production and they should be available around the end of August. The demand was so great last year that I want to make sure that I have enough. I still do business the old-fashioned way. You trust me, and I will trust you with an “e-handshake”. Just mail me a check for 20.00, and I’ll get one in the mail to you. For quantities of more than two, contact me by e-mail or by phone, 325-944-1839, for adjusted pricing.

Now I must get back to adding more photos to the gallery. By the way, you can keep up with the additions, by checking back once or twice a day.

Great Horned Owlet II

July 15, 2011 by Bob Zeller

Before I forget, please note my new on-line photo gallery. I think you will like it. Click this link PhotoGallery, then add it to your favorites. 🙂

I apologize for the confusion in yesterday’s post about the link.

You probably have seen my previous post about the young Great Horned Owl. Yesterday morning we took a little drive through Spring Creek Park, and we saw the little creature again. This time he/she had roamed into an area of trees that were “owned” by a bunch of Northern Mockingbirds. They were chasing him, and actually physically bumping him when ever he lit on a tree branch. He couldn’t sit still for a minute, before one of the mockingbirds ran into him, trying to knock him off of his perch. I managed to get this photo, plus a few others, before I decided he had enough to contend with, without having to fear me also.