Sunday evening I gathered my family up and we went to the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades. This is a place I frequent often in the winter months (when I can anyway). It is a great place to go because it is the dry season. The dry season brings in all the birds and alligators like to warm up in the sun. As a photographer I tend to take things slowly and will often sit down and wait for something cool to happen. Most of the time I end up just sitting in the grass with nothing to show for my patience. This becomes more difficult when I have my family with me because they tend to get bored... Especially the 2 year old who just walks around and says "another bird.... funny looking"...
This day I did get lucky because I encountered something different. The first photo is of an anhinga doing a dance. It was strange, and to my sons credit, funny looking. Still, it made for a different image. 
As I made my way around the trail my wife comes to me and points out some babies in a nest (it is always good to have a spotter). The good news; It was feeding time! I have mentioned this in the past but it is important to return to the same place as often as possible because you just never know what you will find.
VERY cool!!! Seriously, after following all your photography adventures (and as much as I use my crappy camera)... I'm really wanting to indulge in a "real" camera. It's going on the wishlist!! lol Time to start researching. Any suggestions on a good camera to start on that won't break the budget?
ReplyDeleteOf course I have suggestions... :-)
ReplyDeleteNikon D3100 with 18-55mm lens $594.95
Canon T2i with 18-55mm lens $769.95
Sadly, when you step up to a DSLR it can get expensive fast. These are the entry level DSLRs from the to main manufacturers. I would recommend getting a 70-300mm lens as well which would add about $130.00.
I hope this helps and it also gave me an idea for a future post. Thanks and I am very glad to hear from you!
Wow! I love the anhingas..!
ReplyDeleteThe second one would make a great Mom's or Dad's Day card....
Wow. What incredible photos. Did you have to get very close to them? Or are these taken with a zoom lense?
ReplyDeleteFor the first shot I used my 80-200 f2.8 and was close enough to frame the bird properly. The second shot... Well, I was not as close as I would like to have been for sure. I used a 300mm f4 with a 1.4 teleconverter which on a full frame camera puts the focal length at 420mm f5.6. This still did not get me as close as I wanted and I had to do some cropping in post. Not my first choice but to get any closer I would have needed a larger lens or the ability to fly as this was out over the water. Additionally, the teleconverter cuts down on the light coming in and the sharpness of the photo. But I was still happy with this one.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we photographers are limited by our equipment but it is up to us to try and find alternatives.
Thanks for the question!