Aechmophorus

[wildlightphoto]

Aechmophorus is the genus name of two grebes (family Podicipedidae) found in western North America, the Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and the Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii). These were formerly considered conspecific but were split in the last few years.

Outward differences include the extent of black on the bird's head, and the bill coloration. Western Grebe has more black, extending below the eye, and a greenish-yellow bill. The black cap of the Clark's Grebe does not extend below the eye, and the bill is more orange-yellow:





Technical stuff: I wanted land or vegetation behind the birds reflecting in the water to avoid a glaring bright reflection of the sky, so in order to get close enough to the birds with this background I needed to be in the water looking back toward shore. The kayak seemed the most suitable tool, being small, easily maneuvered and close to the water's surface.

I also chose early morning for these photos so that the light would be at a low angle and the water's surface would have a minimum of ripples. As it turned out the morning hours also had the best quality light because our brief respite from forest fire smoke ended in the morning hours, and because the lake is popular with many people with paddle craft. I was in the water by 7:30 AM and headed for home by 9:30 AM

Camera equipment: R8/DMR, 560mm f/6.8 Telyt, shoulder stock
Exposure: 1/2000 sec @ f/6.8
Location: Lake Natoma, near Folsom California
Date: 06 July 2008

All comments welcome

[fernando_b]

Doug,

excellent images. BTW, were you alone in a kayak with that stuff? Master of masters!
Fernando.

[topoxforddoc]

Doug,

Another one of your excellent wildlife shots. I don't know how you have the patience to do this. Still, at least you only had the older 560 telyt. What do you do with your paddle, when you have the DMR ready to shoot? Do you have a waterproof casing for the DMR?

Charlie

[stuny]

Doug -

Both are up to your very high standards. The Clark's grebe looks as though he's wearing a cheap rug, and the details are wonderful. Hopefully, the other grebes won't make fun of him.

[wildlightphoto]

Thanks all for your comments. The kayak is a single-seater, so I'm managing the camera and paddles simultaneously. It has a relatively large open cockpit so I can get the camera out from under the forward deck fairly easily. When using the camera the paddles are balanced across the lip of the cockpit (and I have a spare paddle stowed aft). When I'm not using the camera it's stowed under the forward deck on top of my legs, protected from the occasional drip of water from the paddles.

Photographing a moving target from a moving kayak is tricky! What I usually do is allow the kayak to drift slowly closer to the bird. The trickiest part is setting up the kayak's drift so that the bird is more-or-less in front of me so I don't need to turn to the side, I'm on the "good" side of the light, and the kayak drifts into position for the backgrounds I want... then hope for the correct posture before the kayak drifts too far or turns too much.

[TONTONTINTIN.123]

Dough, two excellent shots.

[imported_marc]

Doug,

Nicely shot. But didn't you use a SL, Novoflex combination for kayaking ( story related to picture Anna's hummingbird august 2006 )?

Greetings,

Marc