By Mia McPherson, on May 18th, 2012%  Snowy Egret - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural, low light Yesterday I posted a Snowy Egret in flight in what many bird photographers would call good light and the image had wonderful dynamics because of the action of the bird.
This Snowy Egret image was taken just after the sun had risen above the horizon in about the same location as the egret image I posted yesterday but at a completely different time of the year, September of 2008.
This image conveys a very different mood but both Snowy Egret images have wonderful appeal for me.
Mia
More Snowy Egret images
By Mia McPherson, on May 17th, 2012% I was photographing at Fort De Soto’s north beach on May 30th, 2008 when I had a very cooperative Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) start fishing in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico right in front of me.
 Snowy Egret about to land - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 185mm, natural light, not baited People have nicknamed Snowy Egrets “Golden Slippers” because of their yellow feet, this image really shows off those yellow feet.
I have a very nice series of images of this Snowy, all of them photographed with me sitting on the sand instead of laying on it like I do for smaller shorebirds. I still had Sandy Pants at the end of the day though.
Love that beautiful snowy white plumage against the rich blues of the Gulf!
Mia
*I pre-scheduled this post because I am away, please feel free to share this with your friends & family!
More Snowy Egret images
By Mia McPherson, on May 14th, 2012% Some images remind me of the wonderful day I had when I created a certain image, this photo of a Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) in breeding plumage photographed at the north beach of Fort De Soto, Florida is one of those files.
 Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 220mm, natural light On the day I photographed this heron there was a sea fog that burned off very rapidly once the warmth of the sun’s rays touched it. I was in great company, Adrian Burke and I had met at the north beach parking lot and there were birds, birds and more birds that day. Even though I have culled any bad images from the folder for that date it is still brimming with images I haven’t yet processed.
I was sitting in water up to my bum in the middle of a small tidal lagoon when the Tricolored walked by, it was stalking prey on the shoreline and not paying much attention to me at all. I like how it looks like the heron is trying to sneak past me in this frame even though I know it could have cared less about the sopping wet person with one big eye watching it walk by.
This was taken right at the end of the photo session and it was a great feeling to have filled almost all of my memory cards… and the memories in my mind of that morning too.
Good light. Good Birds. Great company, what more could this woman ask for?
Mia
PS: If you look on the right sidebar you can see an image of me photographing this same Tricolored Heron.
More Tricolored Heron images
By Mia McPherson, on May 11th, 2012% While looking through my archives a few days ago I came across two images, one of sand dunes at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida and the other of sand dunes on Antelope Island State Park in Utah. I remember that I took both images because I loved the sky, the vegetation on the dunes and how they both make me feel so connected to these two locations that I am deeply attached to.
 Sand Dune at Fort De Soto in early morning light - Nikon D70, handheld, f6.3, 1/160, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 70mm I created the image above while walking Fort De Soto’s north beach early in the morning of July 20, 2007, the sun had crested the horizon and had just begun to light up the dunes. Although Fort De Soto has many dunes covered with beautiful Sea Oats, in this image I liked how the Sea Purslane hugged the dune and how the tips of the plants seemed to glow with the early morning light. The sunlight had not yet lit up the surface of the Gulf of Mexico but had started to light up the tops of the storm clouds hanging in a bank off of the coast.
When I look at this image I can smell the salty air, the sand under my feet, the breeze ruffling my hair and the warmth of the sun’s rays warming my back.
Fort De Soto County Park is one of my favorite locations to photograph birds, scenery and clouds. More of my thoughts about Fort De Soto can be read here ”My Love Affair with Fort De Soto“.
 Sand Dunes on Antelope Island State Park, Utah - Nikon D200, handheld, f11, 1/500, ISO 400, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm I was camping on Antelope Island State Park when I photographed the image above the evening of March 30, 2011. I thought the sky was captivating with the swirly, layered clouds against the warm tones of the sand and the yet to green up Sagebrush and Rabbitbrush that grow on the oolitic sand dunes there. So very different from the dunes at Fort De Soto but they are equally appealing to me.
Antelope Island State Park is another of my favorite locations to go to photograph, it seems I always find something to catch my eye and tug at my heart there. I recently did a three-part series of articles I titled “Wild and Wonderful – Antelope Island State Park” on the scenery, the wildlife and the birds. I could not fit it all into one article.
Just two simple images from two different locations that whisper “home” to me.
Mia
By Mia McPherson, on May 8th, 2012% Getting “Down & Dirty” is a way of being at eye level with your subject which brings the viewer into the bird’s world and it can make the image feel more intimate too. Achieving those low angle perspectives can be quite messy and/or uncomfortable depending on the habitat.
 Resting Semipalmated Plover - Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/750, ISO 250, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light The day I took this Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) image I had spotted several different species of shorebirds resting on the sand of Fort De Soto’s north beach, the morning was cool and many of the birds had fluffed up their feathers to conserve heat.
I didn’t want to disturb the resting birds so I knew that my approach would have to be very slow and that I had to get low to the ground. I was about 40 feet from the birds when I dropped down on my belly and began to leisurely move forward on the sugar sand using my elbows and legs to push & pull myself in the direction of the birds all the while being careful not to get the sand on my lens or camera. With my backpack on my back, and the lens sticking way out in the front I may have looked like a weird hunch-backed lizard or a very skinny, long-nosed Loggerhead Turtle.
The birds didn’t care so neither did I.
It probably took me over 20 minutes sand crawling to get close enough to the birds to fill the frame without causing them alarm and with each push forward in the dry sand some of it would creep into the waist band of my pants plus the front pockets would fill up too. After I was through photographing the shorebirds I put myself into reverse sand crawling which pushed sand up into my pant legs. By the time I felt like I could stand back up without flushing the birds I’d pushed through a lot of sand.
What happens when you stand back up after sand has crept into your pants?
First, know that you have gotten a free dermabrasion session and your skin will feel baby soft. Second, grab that extra set of clothes you brought (I hope you know to bring them), head to the shower and rinse off before putting on those clean clothes or your ride home in those sandy pants will feel like your clothes are lined with emery boards!
Oh, and when you do stand up and shake off the sand you kind of feel like Pigpen in the Charlie Brown cartoons, remember the clouds of dust that appeared every time he moved? Maybe I am showing my age?
Mia aka Sandy Pants
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Photographing a Tricolored Heron from a tidal lagoon
Focusing on Wildlife Contributor
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