fog

A Short-eared Owl in a fog

By Mia McPherson, on February 9th, 2013%

Short-eared Owl in a fog – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up

Isn’t this Short-eared Owl lovely with her big yellow eyes? It had been a while since I had seen a Short-eared Owl and I was quite surprised when I spotted her on top of some snow-covered Rabbitbrush late last month along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park. It was a very foggy morning and the ground was covered in snow, the snow helped to brighten the scene some but I still had to increase my exposure compensation to +1.0 in order to expose her well in camera.

This image may be a bit high key for some people’s tastes but for me this image is a window showing a small portion of this owl’s world.

Mia

More Short-eared Owl images

Barn Owl on a foggy morning

By Mia McPherson, on January 24th, 2013%

Barn Owl in flight pano

Fog can add a moody feel to images and yesterday there was plenty of fog at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. There were a few Barn Owls hunting for food and I captured images of this one as it flew towards me. The fog created the white background and there was just enough light to get a catch light in the eye.

Barn Owl flying in fog

With the whites in the owl and the fog I fell fortunate that the owl’s form stands out subtly from the background.

Barn Owl in flight on a foggy morning

I love the almost heart-shaped facial disc that Barn Owls have. These images are shown in the order that I created them, after taking the image above the owl turned east and I lost sharp focus.

Barn Owl searching for its prey in the snow

I mentioned in my recent post “Barn Owls and Harsh Winters” that the owls here are struggling because of the bitter cold we have been experiencing and how the heavy snow on the ground makes it hard for the owls to locate prey and I wanted to share this image of the Barn Owl after it dove into the snow to locate prey. I wish the owl would have been facing us because I can’t be sure the owl did locate the prey through what looks to be 8-9 inches of snow that is still laying on the ground. When I blow this image way up I think I see traces of blood on the bill so maybe it did get the prey.

The owl was in the snow for over 5 minutes then it lifted off to rest on the side of a small hill, through my lens I could see this owl shivering, the temp was around 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the next few days temperatures are going to be warming here and even though some snow is predicted to fall I am hoping the warmer temps will melt some of the snow and make it easier for the Barn Owls to locate their food. I hope so because the Barn Owls are struggling to survive now.

Mia

*All images taken with a Nikon D300, f6.3, ISO 640, shutter speed of 1/1000 to 1/1250, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Roseate Spoonbills in a sea fog

By Mia McPherson, on January 9th, 2013%

Roseate Spoonbills in a sea fog – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/180, ISO 400, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 250mm, natural light

One very foggy May morning I came across a small flock of Roseate Spoonbills in a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto’s north beach and photograph them for about 15 minutes before they flew off to find food. The fog muffled the sounds of the waves of the Gulf of Mexico rushing onto the shore just beyond the sand dunes you can see behind these two birds and the fog felt great on my skin that very warm morning. The adult Roseates were mostly resting but the juvenile pictured above began to preen while I laid in the tidal mud observing and photographing these large, pink wading birds.

Photographing in fog presents challenges in determining exposure, aperture, shutter speed and ISO, for this image I used a lower ISO because I wanted as much detail as I could achieve and while that gave me a low shutter speed the juvenile Roseate wasn’t moving quickly and that helped to get sharp images. This image did have a small amount of Noise Reduction applied to everything except the preening juvenile Roseate Spoonbill to smooth out some of the noise I could detect prior to post processing.

Mia

More Roseate Spoonbill images

A Winter Inversion along with -10 degrees Fahrenheit

By Mia McPherson, on January 5th, 2013%

A few of my non-Utahn friends have asked me what an inversion is after I have mentioned it, this image might help to show what an inversion can look like.

Tooele County, Utah – Inversion at sunrise

Inversions here in the Salt Lake City area happen during mid-winter. It is not pretty and it can be very unhealthy. I took this photo this morning as we headed to North and South Willow Canyons in Tooele County, Utah to look for birds to photograph. If you squint your eyes and look just to the right of the sun you can see the Oquirrh mountain range which is all but hidden in the haze.

From Wikipedia:

One of the most significant weather events in Salt Lake City occurs in mid-winter, when temperature inversions sometimes form, resulting in cold and extremely foggy, hazy weather in the city while the surrounding mountains enjoy warmer temperatures and sunshine. Temperature inversions are extremely unhealthy and can occur weeks at a time, and are most pronounced in the heart of winter, although may occur in other seasons to a lesser extent. Humidity is only high enough and temperatures cold enough for fog to occur in the heart of winter, although haze and smog can be found year-round. Inversions occur when strong areas of high pressure park themselves over the Great Basin. It usually takes a cold front to force out or break down the high pressure. Consequently, inversions are very rare in spring and fall, when the atmosphere usually takes on a progressive pattern, with fronts moving through frequently.

It was very cold this morning when I took this image at -10 degrees Fahrenheit, it was bone-chilling to say the least.

These nasty inversions can create challenges for bird photographers when photographing birds in flight that have the inversion layer behind them because the sky can have some weird hues to it.

Salt Lake City actually has five seasons, winter, spring, summer, fall and Inversion. Okay it is not truly a season, but it ought to be.

Did I mention it is not pretty?

Mia

Images of Christmas Past – Happy Holidays

By Mia McPherson, on December 25th, 2012%

The port of Burnie, Tasmania – Christmas Eve day 2007

Yesterday I took a stroll down memory lane, actually I looked for images I have taken either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in my files but in a way that is taking a stroll down memory lane.

In 2007 I was onboard a cruise ship crossing Bass Straight from Melbourne Australia to dock in Burnie, Tasmania. Even though it is summer during Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere Tasmania is far enough south for it to be cool. The water was such a deep royal blue that I wanted to jump ship just to feel it on my skin. I went inland from Burnie on Christmas Eve to visit a rehab facility for animals and birds, many of them were native but a few exotics stuck out, like Water Buffalo, Camels and different types of deer.

I loved seeing Tasmanian Devils, Quolls, Black Swans, Wallaby, Wombat, Kangaroos and Emus. Ok, maybe not the Emus so much but that was because when I was taking a photo of a Wallaby an Emu snuck up and pecked the UV filter on my lens and scared the snot out of me. Imagine all of a sudden seeing a huge beak and two big eyes through your viewfinder as the beak crashes into the glass! I am just glad I had the UV filter attached otherwise it would have been expensive glass that got beaked.

After getting back on board ship we headed out to make the crossing to the South Island of New Zealand across the Tasman Sea and spent Christmas Day on the open water.

A foggy Christmas Day 2008 – Roseate Spoonbill

Christmas Day of 2007 started off very foggy at Fort De Soto County Park’s north beach. Fort De Soto is open on Christmas day which I adored because quite often I would have the north beach to myself. It was a time to soak in the beauty, to relax and reflect on the year that was coming to a close. The friends I had made. The sights I had seen. And the birds of Florida that enchanted me.

The light wasn’t the best when I photographed this Roseate Spoonbill foraging in the tidal lagoon north of the foot bridge but I kept the file any way as a reminder of Christmas all by myself sitting in the waters of the lagoon surrounded by Wood Storks and Roseates.

Snow (sand) Man – Florida Style 2008

Floridians don’t let the lack of snow stop them from creating the Florida Snowman out of the white sugary sand found at Fort De Soto. This one is decorated with a Sea Urchin on its head, a Mangrove seed pod as a staff and a Leopard Crab as pet. Ingenuity, yes, that is what it is.

Six months after Christmas I made my mind up to leave Florida and move back out west, the west had called to me softly for years while I lived in Florida. The mountains, the big sky, four seasons, snow, fall colors and wide open spaces. After Christmas the western U.S. wasn’t calling to me softly, it was talking long and loud.

A Regal Bald Eagle – Christmas Day 2009

Christmas of 2009 found me in the state of Utah. I had mountains, 4 seasons, plenty of birds, big skies, deserts, plains, gorges, marshes, lakes, rivers, valleys and plenty of Red Rocks. AND I had the Great Salt Lake close by!

I made new friends and felt a wonderful peace wash over me. I was back where I belong. In the west. Because of my photography I have met the most fascinating people in real life and those who have become friends over the internet that share my interests in nature, birds and photography.

Christmas Day 2009 started foggy at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in Davis County, Utah. The sun wouldn’t give up though and it broke through the fog to allow me to get close up images of a majestic 4-year-old Bald Eagle perched on an old post.

Spending time with a best friend in nature is the best Christmas present to me.

Common Merganser – Christmas day 2010

Christmas Day of 2010 came and it was spent again at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area photographing Pied-billed Grebes, Ruddy Ducks and this Common Merganser. The water looked golden because the dried stalks of Phragmites were reflected on it. We pretty much had the place to ourselves for the first few hours. Yes, that is Peace on Earth to me.

Male Northern Harrier in flight – Christmas Eve day 2011

Christmas Eve day of 2011 was spent on Antelope Island State Park and while the island wasn’t all that birdy or critter the causeway had some Northern Harrier action going on as we went to leave. The “Gray Ghost” was hunting near the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake with the snow-covered Wasatch Mountain Range in the background.

What will Christmas Day 2012 bring? I don’t know for sure but it is going to be a white one and I’ll be spending time in nature enjoying the companionship of a best friend. I can’t ask for a better gift. So while other people are just starting their day and opening their presents I’ll already be enjoying mine.

Mia