On Saturday the 14th of September 2019, my girlfriend and I went out to find a new spot to photograph. We tried a few places, but really nothing good. One place was next to water, a big lake. Probably Lake Lanier since that’s the big lake around here. But there were plenty of people there launching boats and it wasn’t really what I was looking for.
That being said, on the walk around we did hear a woodpecker. And between the both of us, aided with new cheap binoculars we picked up during this outing, we spotted it and I managed to snag a photo.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @428 - 1/800 Sec - F8 - ISO 2500
Not the best since it was facing away from me, but you can tell what it was. And it was the first woodpecker I’d taken a photo of. Good enough.
Eventually we ended up far up north and bored that we contacted one of my sisters that lives up there. And decided to hang out for the day while her car was getting worked on. As we drove up to her house I caught a flash of a HUGE bird gliding around, bigger than any I’d seen before. As soon as we parked I made haste to grab the camera out of the back and run up the road to get pictures while I could. Vultures, I’m fairly confident.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @500 - 1/640 Sec - F8 - ISO 160
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @500 - 1/640 Sec - F8 - ISO 125
Turkey Vulture is what I identified them to be later on. Again not very good photos, it had really clouded up as the day went on. Also getting a bird in flight is really difficult to expose for on the fly…. heh… on the fly.
Anyway.
We played Pokemon, wandered around for a while. Eventually went to the nearby botanical garden. They had a lot of cool nature art. But also a rule about commercial photography, which I’m not 100% sure what would count as. If I was selling photos of their work, sure that makes sense. Not allowed. But just being posted on a website where you could buy a print from, technically? Again. Not sure, not willing to take a risk. Also they aren’t all that interesting to be fair.
So the big lens stayed in the car, and I took pictures just for fun.
Until we witnessed the circle of life right before us.
A hawk had flown in to the trees towards the back end of the garden. All I had on me was the full frame with a wide angle lens, but I went over to see what pictures I could get anyway. As I got to the end of the walking path the hawk moved. Gliding through the woods to a big pile of leaves up in the tree.
Canon 5D Mark II w/28-135mm @135 - 1/125 sec - F5.6 - ISO 160
Man the noises we heard. Pissed off squirrels, birds raising hell about the attack. Seemed like everything in the area was making some noise to try and warn every other creature around. The hawk continued to attack, using it’s wings to keep balance while it pinched and thrashed with claws. I didn’t know what kind of nest it was attacking at first. But would soon find out.
I had my girlfriend run back to the car and get the big lens, thinking she could go around the side of the front entrance building since we were next to the service road they used. I didn’t want to miss this.
She got back just in time, as the hawk had gotten it’s prize from the attack and moved off to another branch to dig in.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @350 - 1/800 Sec - F6.3 - ISO 3200
Didn’t expect to see the guts of a squirrel that day. But damn it was amazing to watch.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @400 - 1/320 Sec - F8 - ISO 3200
A Red Tailed Hawk, I would later identify. Although looking at the image, no duh. His tail is red, not so much the shoulders as I had seen before.
I was happy, sad that the squirrel had to go. But as I mentioned, circle of life.
But we aren’t done yet, on the way away from the hawk was a path up above an amphitheater, with plenty of flowers along the walk. Now we turn our attention to a subject much smaller than the hawk. One I had only recently photographed for the first time, and poorly. But now was an opportunity for another chance.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @350 - 1/1600 Sec - F6.3 - ISO 500
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @350 - 1/1600 Sec - F6.3 - ISO 500
The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, several of them too. All females that I was able to get a picture of. Since they don’t have the obviously named ruby throat.
They are so quick, that sounds obvious to anyone that’s ever seen a hummingbird. But to try and get one in the sights of a big lens, attached to a body with a crop factor you really have to be quick about aiming. And predicting where they would go next. I honestly don’t remember if I was handholding or using the tripod like a monopod. I don’t remember what I was brought when we were watching the hawk.
All I know is these next photos are something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life. The little girl almost looks like she’s smiling.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @ 600 - 1/800 Sec - F11 - ISO 2000
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @ 600 - 1/800 Sec - F11 - ISO 2500
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @ 600 - 1/800 Sec - F11 - ISO 2500
This next one is one of the first ones I took when I found out what was buzzing about so quickly. But it’s absolutely my favorite of the day. Having the shutter speed cranked up so much I could capture a relatively frozen moment with this bird.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @300 - 1/1600 Sec - F6.3 - ISO 200
Phew. Yup, that cemented the day as it couldn’t be better. Got to witness so much that wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t just go outside. All of it spontaneous.
As we left and went to the car there was still one more thing for me to take a picture of, and there’s no way for me to know that it’s the same bird. But a hawk was gliding above around on the thermals, and I finally got a picture of a bird in flight almost directly above me, and have the colors turn out good.
Canon 7D w/Tamron 150-600mm @300 - 1/1600 Sec - F5.6 - ISO 160