Nature at Boundary Bay, Canada - First photos of 2014

[FlyingSquirrel]

I’ve always been a bit of a loner. I never had any friends with the same interests as me, and I’ve always shot photos by myself (and will continue to do so often). However, recently I decided that I’d like to share the excitement with other photographers, network, learn of new locations, and learn from others that have more experience than I do. So I joined a nature photography group in my area.

The group leader posted our first outing about a week before its scheduled date of Friday January 3rd; we were to head up to Boundary Bay, Canada. I could not pass up such an opportunity to view wildlife and learn things, so I did some quick planning and requested the day off from work.

Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area supports conservation of habitat for year-round, migrating and wintering waterfowl populations, as well as fish and marine mammal habitat. It consists of intertidal salt marshes, mudflats, and open water marine habitats, and is a premier wildlife viewing area. Of particular interest are migrant Snowy Owls, Bubo scandiacus. People sometimes travel hundreds of miles for the opportunity to see “Snowies.”

Attending group members ranged from birders with binoculars and point and shoot cameras, to hobbyists with various levels of gear, up to pros with big rigs.

We met up in the morning and loaded our gear into two vehicles like a jigsaw puzzle, then it was off for the 3 hour drive to the location. Packed into the backseat like a sardine with several other people, the trip was long and uncomfortable.

While checking through at the border crossing, our driver pointed out to the agent that the people in the in car behind us were in our group. The agent asked if he should harass them a bit, and we joked that it would be ideal, but only if we can get out and photograph it.

Not long after crossing the border, we arrived at Boundary Bay. We all donned the appropriate gear and set up our equipment. During setup, I checked the 500mm glass, and decided I should remove a bit of dust. A gust of wind came by and I promptly dropped the microfiber lens cloth onto the sandy, muddy ground. Luckily only one side touched the ground and I was able to use the clean side to carefully wipe the lens. From this, I learned to bring two microfiber cloths, and to be more careful, especially with wind.

As we arrived at the dike trail by the tidal marsh, blustery conditions battered us with freezing winds. However, the light was gorgeous; a warm sun filtered between passing clouds, creating a variety of photographic options.

Walking along the dike trail, we came across herons, waterfowl, hawks, eagles, and small songbirds. Passersby informed us of some long eared owls further down the trail. As we continued that way I worked on spotting birds in flight through the 500mm, as well as focusing on them. The strong winds and harsh conditions, as well as the heavy equipment I was carrying, made things very challenging, to say the least.

Coming upon a cluster of people, we realized we had found the long eared owl. To our disappointment, the owl was deeply positioned within a twiggy bush and no clear shots were possible. I even went farther than anyone else by laying on my stomach to check all possible angles. One hole allowed a clear face shot from the side, with one twig across the ears. Better than nothing, so I created the image.

Turning my attention from the (scarce) wildlife, I photographer various trees and stumps in the coastal fields. Moving on, I tried for an overhead eagle flyby. Later, I was treated to a flock of tiny birds, called bushtits, feeding on seedheads in superb light with perfect backgrounds. While the rest of the group stood on the dike with tripods extended, shooting down, I approached carefully to the edge of the marsh and used a stump as my support, working the subjects at their level, from within the plants.

Next, we finally spotted a Snowy Owl, however, to our dismay, it was 300 feet away on top of a building. After some obligatory “memory captures” we moved on, feeling defeated. I will not share the photo of the owl, because I feel it contributes nothing to the thread and does not do the subject any justice.

We made our way back to the starting location, as the sun got lower. Following a trail through a marsh allowed us a closer look at the outer shore, and views of landscape opportunities. While the group photographed with the sun to their back, I shot into the sun, because I liked the way the plant stems were backlit by the warm rays of the sunset. Then, I turned around to photograph the grand Mount Adams under stunning light.

Shortly after it was too dark to get usable photos, a large, light colored shape magically appeared out of the marsh and gracefully swooped in loops around us. It was a stunning Snowy Owl. Next, another appeared. As we watched in awe, these majestic birds hunted the marsh. At one point an owl got in a scuffle with another bird, perhaps an eagle. Suddenly, a Short Eared Owl flew past us in an arc. Throughout this two minutes of excitement, I foolishly attempted to photograph the birds. Using ridiculous ISO settings and useless autofocus, I tried with all my heart to capture something. Later, I thought about what had happened, and learned something important. Sometimes, it is best to submit to reality and simply enjoy the experience, as opposed to constantly fighting what is going on. In other words, I should have immersed myself in the majesty and beauty of the owls, instead of wasting my time trying to “get the shot.”

When home, I was overcome by excitement and was forced to ingest the photos and go through all 500+ of them. At that time, I was not happy with what I saw. It seemed that 90% of the images were out of focus or improperly exposed. The photos that, on location, I thought were going to be amazing, were in fact not amazing on the computer (again, due to focus issues, exposure, or other factors). However, the next day, I reviewed everything again. I realized that the overwhelming feeling of disappointment was due having had to delete some of the photos I had the highest hopes for. After getting over that, I returned my attention to utilizing what I had left (and what I had learned). I then realized that some of the remaining photos were, in fact, very much to my liking, and after some time in the digital darkroom, I have a set of photos which I feel are very strong and even which break outside of my typical style.

From the hundreds of deleted photos, I learned the following:

1. Sometimes I get lazy and do not follow the best practices that I know I should, for example I do not want to get out the wireless shutter release and set it up. If I would just force myself to ALWAYS do this when I should, and pay attention to other techniques and details, I would have more keepers.

2. I need to work on panning, and tracking birds in flight, as well as exposure for moving subjects and changing light. I need to think faster and adjust settings more rapidly and accurately.

3. As noted before, I need to sometimes just accept that things didn’t work out, and fully enjoy the experience of seeing and being, instead of trying to get impossible shots.

Overall, the trip was a very exciting step forward, presented some great memories and learning opportunities, and I came away some photos that I really love.

All photos were shot with the Canon 7D and 500mm f4 IS II, some with the 1.4 extender. Some were hand held, and some used tripod. Manual exposure mode was used in all cases; I rarely, if ever, use anything other than Manual mode.

While processing these photos, I read a few tutorials, learned some new things, and practiced these new techniques and skills.

Please view at 100% full size for the best detail and sharpness (when expanded in the viewer, hit "F" to expand to 100%). I am posting at slightly larger sizes than I usually do, so hopefully you have a larger monitor and can put your browser in full screen mode.

C&C welcome and appreciated.

P.S. - I also worked on my writing and storytelling skills in this thread. Although it is a relatively long thread, it is much more condensed and succinct compared my most of my past trip reports.

Flock of waterfowl flying



Long Eared Owl portrait



Lone stump in field



Bald Eagle



Bald Eagle



Tree and stump



Bushtit, feeding



Backlit plants at sunset



Mount Baker sunset

[Downrigger]

I need to sometimes just accept that things didn’t work out, and fully enjoy the experience of seeing and being, instead of trying to get impossible shots.

Right on!

Great set, many lovely subjects and ideas well-realized, nice sharing of lessons learned.

[Manfred M]

Hmm - I'm in Vancouver for most of next week on business. I wonder if I'll have enough time to check out this area; if I stayed at a hotel in Richmond, near the airport rather than downtown, this might work... Something to think about...

[Stinky]

Great set. The Bushtit is wonderful. Great lessons learned and I agree. Recently went to a wildlife reserve and thought I had a bunch of great shots. When I got home, I was not happy with many. Same as you need to use the remote shutter release and tripod for me. Thanks again for sharing.

[Otavio]

Very nice shots, Matt!

[IzzieK]

Beautiful shots to go with a beautiful story and lots of lessons to learn too...

[FlyingSquirrel]

Thank you all for the comments. Glad you liked the photos and writing.

[rawill]

Well lots of detail in the leadin to the shots.
Something there for us to ponder.

I was told once that you need one hundred new players to have any chance of getting a champion in the elite ranks, in the sporting field.

I was also told that in buisiness if the tenderers got a 10% strike rate they were happy.

How that translates to how many shots we need to fire to get "good keepers" I don't know.
Take it for what it is, just a comment to ponder.

And I often wonder if instead of focussing on the "duds", pun intended, we should spend more time on our "keepers".

And in my view, those of your keepers that you have posted are very very good.
The first one, is very clear and sharp.
The birds in the air are clear and sharp, well taken, to my eye.
Love the colour of the last two.

You should be well pleased.

[tbob]

Both the pictures and the narrative are well done. I think you did rather well despite your disappointment over the missed shots. From the description and the shots I think you were on the lookout for photo opportunities not just concentrating on birds. A very good thing to always do

[ShaneS]

Lovely set of shots Matt - the backlit plants and bushtit portrait really stand out for me but I would be tickled to call any of these mine.

I enjoyed narrative and your lessons learned have been made by me too many times to count, unfortunately

[Mike Buckley]

I don't fully appreciate photos of birds, so I'll only mention that the last two images are my favorites.

I'm actually surprised that you got so many images of such high quality from just one day's outing. Try to be appreciative of what you were able to keep rather than disappointed in the number of images that aren't keepers. If you promise to do that I'll promise to follow my own advice for once about the same.

I also worked on my writing and storytelling skills in this thread.

That was immediately apparent in the first couple of paragraphs. Continued discipline and improvement might serve you well some day when you have to write your own text for a magazine piece.

Although it is a relatively long thread, it is much more condensed and succinct compared my most of my past trip reports.

Absolutely. And that makes it so much more enjoyable. Well done!

[Digital]

Matt, nice set of images.



Bruce

[JBW]

Hmm - I'm in Vancouver for most of next week on business. I wonder if I'll have enough time to check out this area; if I stayed at a hotel in Richmond, near the airport rather than downtown, this might work... Something to think about...

Downtown would be good for Stanley Park. Richmond (Steveston) gives you two of the most photogenic Buddhist temples In N.A.
B

[FlyingSquirrel]

Thank you all, very much, for your comments and feedback. I'm happy to see that my photos and writing are being well-received and enjoyed.

Trevor, thank you, and I agree, it is always best to go shooting with an open mind, and take whatever you can get, instead of limiting yourself with tunnel vision on one subject. Congrats on over a thousand forum posts!

Mike, thanks for your encouragement. I will do my best to focus on the keepers, as opposed to the trash bin shots. It is difficult to do, however, because I have such high standards for myself, and am in such a rush to catch up on everything photography related, and on my portfolio, considering I wasted the majority of my "young" life on tv, video games, and low self-esteem. Had I started (and continued) what I am doing now, when I was a teenager, I would already be a professional photographer. There are some empowering and positive ways of looking at this, however, and I remind myself of them whenever I can.

I just reread my OP for the 5th time, and this time I noticed a number of blatant typos. Apparently I was quite tired when I wrote this and "proofread" it. LOL. I need an editor!

[deetheturk]

Great set of images Matt,i like a few others think the Bushtit is superb,well captured!
If i was being a bit nit picky it would be about your Long Eared Owl,not being a bird guy i can only assume that it gets its name from long ears? I think if you had not cropped so tight?or taken a step or two back? we could of seen its long ears! Apart from that, a job well done!

[FlyingSquirrel]

Great set of images Matt,i like a few others think the Bushtit is superb,well captured!
If i was being a bit nit picky it would be about your Long Eared Owl,not being a bird guy i can only assume that it gets its name from long ears? I think if you had not cropped so tight?or taken a step or two back? we could of seen its long ears! Apart from that, a job well done!

David, thank you for your comments. I agree about the owl, however the entire remaining portion of the head, ears, and body were obstructed by branches. So, I cropped in to the only part of the photo worth showing, which is the face/eye. I hope to have future opportunities to photograph owls, with a better view and bg. Thanks again!

[Nancy Moran G]

OMG, I can't wait to take such 'disappointing' photos. These are excellent and a great variety!
Love the story too. When I read #1, I said, yup that's me. Then #2, and 3, and said, yup that's me too!
Look forward to more.
Nancy

[NorthernFocus]

....I should have immersed myself in the majesty and beauty of the owls, instead of wasting my time trying to “get the shot.”

Very good, Grasshoppa...

When home, I was overcome by excitement and was forced to ingest the photos and go through all 500+ of them. At that time, I was not happy with what I saw. It seemed that 90% of the images were out of focus or improperly exposed. The photos that, on location, I thought were going to be amazing, were in fact not amazing on the computer (again, due to focus issues, exposure, or other factors). However, the next day, I reviewed everything again. I realized that the overwhelming feeling of disappointment was due having had to delete some of the photos I had the highest hopes for. After getting over that, I returned my attention to utilizing what I had left (and what I had learned). I then realized that some of the remaining photos were, in fact, very much to my liking, and after some time in the digital darkroom, I have a set of photos which I feel are very strong and even which break outside of my typical style.

Gee, this just sounds like an average day of shooting

Well what you poste here make for an excellent set, Matt. Along with the narrative I feel like I visited the place myself. Given you description of the situation you ended up with a nice shot of the owl. From a technical standpoint you can't get much better than the bushtit shot. And the shot of Mt.Baker is crazy good.

You're making the most out of that gear to be sure. All you need is available hours to spend in the field.

[FrankMi]

I can't add anything to the comments already posted so I'll just sit here, appreciate the results, and be thankful that you've posted them for us to see. Thanks Matt!

[Brownbear]

Hi Matt,

Amazing set, gorgeous light, so sharp and beautiful detail in the juvenile bald eagle. I adore the owl (beautiful abstract crop and that eye). My favourites are the bush-tit and the back-lit plants.

Thank you for sharing your story, especially enjoyable and extra special to me as I hope to make a trip out there soon and I would be thrilled to come back with a set of images like this.