Multiple Trips to the Bashakill Wetlands

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 400, f/6.3 @ 1/640s Manual exposure.

Two weeks ago, I took two trips to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area with my brother. I was really hoping to see a lot of ducks and waterfowl that were still migrating through our area. We spent most of our time on Haven Road and on the trails around Haven Road. We were seeing a lot of different species of ducks. Mostly Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, Wood Ducks, and Hooded Mergansers. We were also seeing plenty of Canadian Geese. I only managed a few photographs of the ducks because they were normally so far away. There were a lot of people on Haven Road walking around, so most of the wildlife kept its distance. 

Canon T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/1000s Manual exposure.

After being there for over an hour, I noticed two big white birds in the water very far out in the distance. After I looked in my viewfinder I realized that they were Mute Swans. After about twenty minutes to my surprise, I noticed that they were flying towards us. They flew directly in front of me and then looped back around and flew back away from Haven Road.

Canon T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/1000s Manual exposure.

I was using my Sigma 150-600 mm lens at the time, and I was hoping it would be the first time that I could test it out. To my surprise, I had a hard time focusing the camera on the swans when they flew by. I was quite upset because I thought that I just missed my best opportunity. After I had a chance to figure out what my problem was I realized that one of the slide buttons on the lens had been accidentally moved. So, the lenses operating system thought I was shooting on custom instead of the standard mode. I have not set up custom yet on the lens, so the camera was probably having a hard time focusing because the lens was not functioning properly. Some photographs were still good enough to include. I wish they could have been a little more crisp but I was still quite happy with the end result.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 200, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure.

I also managed to get a photograph of some Canadian Geese chasing each other. It was a long way off, but I will include the image slightly cropped in. I was also very pleased with the photograph that I took of a Red Wing Black Bird on a cattail. I really didn't think anything of the photograph when I took it but upon review of my images from those trips I was rather surprised. During those trips the Bashakill was great, and I was very happy that I was able to see everything that I did.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure.

We also took a shorter trip to Lake Superior State Park. I did manage to take some shots of ring neck ducks that were in the pond. They were doing their best to avoid me, but I did manage a few shots before they swam off. We also got to see a Bald Eagle do a fly over but I did not manage to get any photographs. 

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/640s Manual exposure.

Overall the trips that we took two weeks ago were great and I was very pleased with the photographs that I was able to get. I hope everyone enjoys the photographs. Until Next Time.

More Photos from Trip

I decided I would post a few more images form my trip to Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary from last week.  I went through my pictures again and decided to post on of the duck photographs from the trip.  Also I got a photograph of a what I think is a Coopers Hawk.  But I'm not sure.  So if any one can identify it from the photograph I would appreciate it.

I'm hoping to get out at least once this week before I go back to school at the end of the week.  While I'm at school I will probably talk more about techniques and maybe some equipment and stuff, because I have less opportunities for photographs.  Hope you enjoy the photographs. 

Bashakill Mallards

My trips to the Bashakill were not as good as I planned but they were fun.  Everyday there were plenty of waterfowl and other birds, but the fog in the morning and then bright sun in the afternoon made it a challenge.  I noticed that in my shots a lot of the water is overexposed but I still think they are good shots.  I decided I would post some of my mallard photographs because I got more of them than anything else.  Most of my photographs were of the female mallards but I did get a few shots of the male.  I had a hard time with the male because the green head for some reason was always real bright or discolored due to the bright sun.  Also because of the fog in the morning some of the pictures were very dull.  I was very happy that I got a shot of the female mallard flapping her wings.  I was surprised that I actually got the shot.  It could have been better if the male mallard was not cut off the edge of the photograph and the water was not overexposed but I like it a lot. 

Overall though I was very happy with my shots and I believe that the photographs show the true beauty of the female mallard, even though she lacks the color that the male has.  I will be looking over more of my photographs in the next few days and posting more of my photographs from my trips to the Bashakill.  Hopefully now that I am back at school I will be able to get out a little on weekends and try and do some type of photography.  Enjoy the photographs, and please comment or send me questions.