Parrot Crossbill

I am very happy with this photo of a female Parrot Crossbill (Loxia pytyopsittacus/Grote Kruisbek). It is an iconic bird species with a massive bill, designed to open-up pine cones and eat their seeds. They come down to the forest floor once or twice a day to drink. This winter flocks of Parrot Crossbills are present in The Netherlands. Previous invasions were in the winter of 1887/88, 1982/83, and 1990/91.

* Canon EOS 7D, 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f5, 1/250s; tripod.

Barn Owl II

Continuation of my Barn Owl project (see also December 2013). This is the ringed ♂.

* Canon EOS 7D, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 200 mm; ISO-400, f9, 1/125s; tripod; 2 flashes.

Noordsvaarder

Impression of the Waddensea (Noordvaarder) on a cloudy misty day. Nice closure of a weekend Terschelling hoping on a face-to-face encounter with  a Merlin (Falco columbarius/Smelleken).

* Canon EOS 7D, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 170 mm; ISO-100, f14, 1/30s; intentional camera movement.

Hello 2014!

I want to open the year 2014 with an early morning photo, showing frosty grass, and a midday photo already pointing to spring with an early Bumblebee!

Busy times, and a major change in my personal life; 12 days ago I reached the respectable age of 50 (but I still feel very young, and I even don’t look that old in the mirror!) and 2 months ago I started with a new job as a lecturer in computer science. I like my new work very much, it‘s challenging, and creates a lot of positive energy. However it is also a major switch and I still need a lot of preparation time for my lessons. Because of that, I expect that I have to slow down a bit with my photography. But as you all know nature photography is part of me, so stay tuned. I have a few interesting plans for this year and new interesting uploads are definitely coming up!

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 120 mm; ISO-200, f16, 1/10s; tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/25s; -0.3 stop; tripod.

Bye 2013!

Last sunrise of 2013. Let's see what 2014 will bring!

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm/f4 @ 20 mm; ISO-50, f16, 1/3s; 2 stop ND hard gradient filter; tripod.

Barn Owl I

The evening before Christmas Eve I was sitting in a barn. It was scary. Outside the deserted cowshed a wind with gale force was blowing, and inside I saw this dimly lit, spooky, almost surrealistic scene with a Barn Owl (Tyto alba/Kerkuil) as the protagonist. For the 1st photo I fired a flash (actually 2); the 2nd photo was made with a LED torch. Which one do you prefer?

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 300mm/f4; ISO-400, f8, 1/60s; tripod ; flash.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 300mm/f4; ISO-1600, f4, 1/10s; tripod; lit by LED torch.

Reflection

The end of the year is a good moment for reflection. For me 2013 was an eventful, sometimes troubled, but above all an instructive year. I learned a lot, and made a few bold decisions. Amidst the many changes that impacted me, nature photography was a constant factor. It always helps me to fully enjoy life. I wish all my friends and blog followers many ‘gold’ moments in 2014!
Today I photographed this shy and alert Teal ♂ (Anas crecca/Wintertaling) during one of the rare moments of sunshine.

* Canon 7D; 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f5, 1/320s; tripod.