At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images created on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For May we chose an image from our Texas Birds Workshop created by Carolyn Johnson. We hope you enjoy Carolyn’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to May 2022 ‘s featured photographer – Carolyn Johnson
The Story …
The bronzed cowbird was on the perch near the cactus and I was focused on him. The green jay came in and I saw him mid air. I kept the focal point on the cowbird and just kept pushing the shutter button.
At 30 frames per second, you can hardly miss!
This photo happened because of the Sony A1. I was on a photo outing with Artie Morris. He explained all the manual settings to me on an outing to photograph pelicans. The camera has an amazing dot that tracks the birds’ eyes. This feature took all of my frustration out of wildlife photography. In the past, images were never as sharp as I wanted them to be.
Now I can’t decide which mages to delete because they are all good.
Having a gimbal on the tripod also helped. It makes all the difference. I can no longer hold the weight of a longer lens like I used to.
I decided to send the image of the green jay and cowbird to Bay Photo to get a metal print. Tom mentioned that he liked Bay Photo and especially the metal prints. When it arrived, I liked the result so much that I had 9 more metal bird prints made.
They arrived yesterday and I have them all over my kitchen table to figure out a good layout.
EXIF Data:
Sony A1 with a 200-600 mm lens , shot at 571mm
F6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 2000
Manual Mode, Spot Focus
About Photographing Birds in South Texas
I liked both ranches. The owners were so careful with details and knew exactly what to do to get the birds there.
My favorite bird was Darth Vader – the bronzed cowbird. I loved when he was doing his mating dance. He has the most fabulous color of blue on his wings.
I had never shot from a blind before. I live on 4 acres in the shrub oak in California. My son in law has a back hoe. I think a blind is in my future.
Tips for Bird Photography:
Don’t be afraid of using high ISO settings. In the past higher ISOs would create grainy and pixelated photos. The new technology has made it possible to shoot at high ISO settings and still get great photos. I use Topaz Denoise on all the photos I take with high ISO settings.
On Carolyn’s Horizon
Eagles in Chilkat, Alaska
Roseate Spoonbills in Florida
Galapagos Islands
We are headed to Nome Alaska next with a small group to photograph musk oxen and arctic birds. After that we are headed to the South Dakota Badlands and Glacier National Park.
We have 2 spaces available on our Bears and Glaciers Workshop. It will be prime time for Spring cubs July 11-16 click here to learn more.
Welcome to summer and thanks for reading our posts!
Tom and Cree