Photographing Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine Falcon In Flight

camera settings: f/8, 1/2000 seconds, ISO-400
Single Point AF AI Servo

Peregrine falcons are probably my most photographed birds. I simply enjoy watching them. Photographing them in flight is a big challenge though, as they are not only very fast, they are the FASTEST ANIMAL on earth. They could dive up to 200+ mph when taking their prey. Oftentimes, my camera and lens is not fast enough to focus on them. The happiness however, of capturing them in flight is un-explainable, no words could describe, haha!!!

Lately however, I have learned some strategies when photographing birds in flight. That is to observe their behavior. When birds are perched on a cliff and on a tree, I watched them til they poop, which is a signal that soon they will leave and fly.  I prepare then my camera to be able to catch them in flight.

Sometimes, when I see them flying, I aim my camera at them, even it has difficulty focusing right away because of their fast speed. I however, still continue to follow them with my camera because I know there is a chance they could slow down, or find a place to perch, where my camera would have greater chance of focusing. Patience on following them while they are in flight until the camera and lens focuses do pay off. :)

Peregrine Falcon About to Perch

camera settings: f/8, 1/2000 seconds, ISO-400
Single Point AF AI Servo

Upper Yosemite Falls

Below is the view of Yosemite Falls from the Valley Floor.

YOSEMITE FALLS FROM THE VALLEY

While all the pictures that follow below are from the trail above the Valley Floor. Let's hike up....

UPPER YOSEMITE FALLS TRAIL

 View of Upper Yosemite Fall With Half Dome from Upper Yosemite Trail

At Home With The Redwoods

In my previous posts, I shared some of the trails within the majestic ancient redwood forest and the gigantic redwood trees.

Redwood Highway ( parallel to the coast)

But Redwood National and State Parks is not all about the redwoods, despite the main attraction of course are these ancient tall trees. Right next to the redwood forest is the Pacific Ocean, and there is an amazing diversity of life that exists here.

Wildflowers Along Del Norte Coast, Redwood National Park

The diverse ecosystem here is recognized as both a World Heritage site and an International Biosphere Reserve. These designations reflects worldwide awareness of the parks' resources as irreplaceable, and as such they must be safeguarded. One may complain that the ocean here seldom reflects the blue color from the sky. Especially during the summer, the ocean here is as gray as it can be. The greyness is due to the dense coastal fogs.

So Much "Me" Time and Joy of Capturing Osprey Family

So much "me" in the above picture. :)  Probably  the very reason why I hardly have the motivation to write or update this blog since I don't know when is because I am spending so much time out of the doors. I hardly have time to look at the pictures I captured. I hardly have time to get to computer when am home. I have been so busy in such a very joyful way, enjoying so much me time outdoors. Haha!

Anyway, let me share with you my most recent joy. It is this joy that motivated me to spend some time sitting down to enjoy the pictures I took. Since I have been drawn to birding last year, I kept on wishing to catch an osprey with a fish. It's not at all easy, but no wish, no carrot on the stick to keep us going. Since finding the joy in birding, I had been doing a lot of yoga exercises to strengthen my shoulders and back because of the heavy weight of the camera + fast telephoto lens I carry in my backpack when we hike. Yesterday was finally my lucky day. I was able to witness male osprey bringing fish to his family. Here are some of the pictures of osprey from yesterday.

osprey with fish