July 30th & 31st 2022
| LOCATION: Flamborough | WEATHER: Sunny, with a some cloud, but hot |
Not too much to say - it was a pretty slow day where birds are concerned, but a few bugs gave me a few shots.
Tip of the Day: (Birds) Just like any other wild animal, birds have a heightened sense of awareness. They probably know you’re lurking around even before you see them. Fortunately, there are a few tactics you can try to minimize your chances of scaring them away. First, wear something that doesn’t attract attention. You can wear camouflaged hunting clothing or keep it simple with a muted, neutral-colored shirt and pants. Remember that bright colors aren’t just distracting, but birds can also misinterpret them as a sign of danger. Steer clear of brining along any gear that could alert them.
July 27th - 28th 2022
| LOCATION: Innerkip/Drumbo | WEATHER: Sun and cloud and not too hot |
I read some reports about a couple of locations that might have a Red-headed Woodpecker. I have seen them many times in the past, but so far this season they have eluded me. So researched a couple of spots where I might one, and along with Tim, headed out on day1 to the first spot. Almost immediately we had 4 of them flying back and forward, so managed a few shots and was really happy. We decided to head over to the other spot that was about 15km away, and would you believe it ... there was another 3 birds there as well.
Next day I headed back down on my own to an area closer to Drumbo, but habitat wise was pretty impressive, so I was curious as to whether an early morning visit might yield a few decent birds. Unfortunately on the bird side of things it was pretty quiet, but on the insect side it was pretty good.
Next day I headed back down on my own to an area closer to Drumbo, but habitat wise was pretty impressive, so I was curious as to whether an early morning visit might yield a few decent birds. Unfortunately on the bird side of things it was pretty quiet, but on the insect side it was pretty good.
Tip of the Day: The way to get a detailed macro photo is to use focus stacking. For this, a large number of photographs, each focused on different regions of the insect, are combined to create a sharp photo. Sometimes, you may need to take hundreds of pictures. It takes hours to create a single photo, but the result is worth it. The Garden Spider above was a 24 image stack.
July 24th - 26th 2022
| LOCATION: Close to home - Blair etc | WEATHER: Summer :) |
Not a bad day with a few decent sightings.
July 22nd & 23rd 2022
| LOCATION: North Dumfries | WEATHER: You guessed it ... sunny and hot |
Quite a nice day with a decent variety of species showing up - both birds and bugs. I was really happy with the Grasshopper Sparrow that sat nicely for me. Funnily enough it wasn't at Grass Lake where I normally expect to find them but near the quarry next to Blair.
** As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title
July 20th & 21st 2022
| LOCATION: Gravel road near Blair | WEATHER: Mainly sun (again) |
 Northern Bush Katydid | As you can see from the month, bugs are taking prominence - basically because birds are not as active and are harder to find, and the opposite is true when it comes to insects, so I keep macro lenses close to hand, and will continue to do so for the month or so. My preferred time for getting out looking for insects is just as the sun gets up and the temperature is still a little cool. This is when insects are still not as active. Another added advantage is the light is better somewhat. I still look for birds, and I almost always setup the Merlin app to "listen" for birds, while I am looking for a few "creepy crawlies" , so that when I get back to the vehicle I can see if there is anything interesting on the avian side of things. |
Tip of the Day: Macro photography bugs are most easlily found near lakes, ponds, marsh areas and tall grasses. Overgrown fields with a nearby water source are also perfect.
July 18th 2022
| LOCATION: Grass Lake area | WEATHER: Sun, sun & sun |
Today I went back to the Grass Lake area - I like this general area as there are so many spots along the gravel roads and alongside some of the swamps and wetlands. Grass Lake itself has superb prairie type habitat where lots of bugs and birds can be found. Today the highlight was finding a Marsh Wren that came into the open for a few seconds - I had been looking for one of these guys all season, so I can now check him off my list so to speak.
Tip of the Day: Insects can dart around a lot so you will need to be patient. However, after just a few minutes you will even be able to predict where they might land and get good at following their movements. This is where the magic happens. Once you can get in since with their habits, you can create some pretty amazing pictures.
July 17th 2022
| LOCATION: Grass Lake area | WEATHER: Mainly cloudy, but muggy & hot |
The dull lighting today was perfect for photographing birds, so I headed to Grass Lake to see what I could find. Surprisingly it was quite birdy today and I spotted lots of birds, and managed to even photograph a few as well. Highlight for me was the Scarlet Tanager, who was one of 4 birds foraging together in the same corner of a woodlot next to a swamp. Once or twice one of them would venture close so I was able to get a couple of decent frames.
While hanging around some of the swampy areas I also managed to find some butterflies and some dragonflies. Highlight in this genre was the Baltimore Checkerspot ... a FOS for me, so I was delighted .
While hanging around some of the swampy areas I also managed to find some butterflies and some dragonflies. Highlight in this genre was the Baltimore Checkerspot ... a FOS for me, so I was delighted .
July 14th & 16th 2022
| LOCATION: Blair/Kitchener | WEATHER: Mainly sunny & hot |
Today was a bug day ... and they were a little hard to find for some reason, but it's the nature of the bug .. so to speak, I suppose.
The one insect I did have fun photographing was the leafhopper. He was tiny and no more than 1/8" long tip to tail, so for this I brought the little fella home and set it up in my "studio" layout in my garage. I managed to get him sit still and so I was able to use my 65mm MP-E lens, set at 5x1, and did a 15 image stack, which I then processed in Photoshop to create the final image. Each image of the stack was taken 0.125 mm apart over a total distance of 2mm (approx).
For lighting I used two flashguns, each with a diffuser, triggered remotely and automatically.
The camera & lens were mounted on a Wemacro motorized rail, to provide that 0.125mm incrementation.
The one insect I did have fun photographing was the leafhopper. He was tiny and no more than 1/8" long tip to tail, so for this I brought the little fella home and set it up in my "studio" layout in my garage. I managed to get him sit still and so I was able to use my 65mm MP-E lens, set at 5x1, and did a 15 image stack, which I then processed in Photoshop to create the final image. Each image of the stack was taken 0.125 mm apart over a total distance of 2mm (approx).
For lighting I used two flashguns, each with a diffuser, triggered remotely and automatically.
The camera & lens were mounted on a Wemacro motorized rail, to provide that 0.125mm incrementation.
Tip of the Day: Exposure with tiny insects can be quite tricky, especially when you’re shooting inside of a poorly lit bush or other flora. That’s why a lot of insect photographers carry an external flash unit, and they bounce their flash onto a reflective surface so it’s evenly distributed by the time it hits the actual insect. Never shine a flash directly at an insect while photographing it. Chances are it will overexpose the shot, and you’ll get an unusable result.
July 13th 2022
| LOCATION: Kitchener | WEATHER: Mainly sunny with cloud and a tad cooler |
...later :)
July 12th 2022
| LOCATION: Kitchener area | WEATHER: Sun and cloud, hot |
A local day - I headed out to some waste ground close to home that I have found that can have a great flying insect population. The area is populated with lots of flowering weeds and plants eg thistles etc, so a great habitat for butterflies, dragonflies & damselflies.
Tip of the Day: With Macro photography one of the best ways to create an image that your audience will connect with, is to make eye contact with your subject through the lens. Depth of field with macro can be very slim, so by focusing on the eye will make your image stand out.
July 1st - 11th 2022
| LOCATION: SW Ontario | WEATHER: Mainly sunny and hot |
It happens every now and again .. I procrastinate and don't keep the blog up to date, so here yet again I am almost two weeks behind, so rather than try to remember individual days I thought I wou;d just put a gallery of images taken in that time slot.
Now that birds are more difficult to find many of us nature photographers switch to photographing insects. In many ways bug photography is almost as much fun as finding and photographing birds. (almost :) )
** As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title
Now that birds are more difficult to find many of us nature photographers switch to photographing insects. In many ways bug photography is almost as much fun as finding and photographing birds. (almost :) )
** As always ... click on any image to show full size. Also by hovering your cursor over any image will provide a title
