Alpenglow Images » pelican http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog Landscape and Nature Photography by Greg Russell Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:00:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 A visit to Bolsa Chica wetlands http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/2009/12/a-visit-to-bolsa-chica-wetlands/ http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/2009/12/a-visit-to-bolsa-chica-wetlands/#comments Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:00:19 +0000 Alpenglow Images http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/?p=256

The last two posts, I’ve shared sunrises from Bolsa Chica Bay and wetlands near Huntington Beach.  Although I didn’t plan it this way, yesterday morning my friend Mark and I went out there to see if any birds were active.  We arrived before dawn, and were able to photograph a pretty sunrise before walking out on the bridge to photograph passing birds.  I think it has been just about a year since I’ve visited Bolsa Chica, and at least that long since I’ve made an outing to just photograph birds.  It felt a little awkward, but good, to be “back in the saddle again.”

I’m still in the process of editing images, but here are a couple of my favorites from yesterday.  The Kestrel was taken with Mark’s 800/5.6 + 2x converter; with the 1.6x crop factor on my 30D, that’s 2560 mm focal length!  I don’t know if it will blow up for a big print, but I am happy to have been able to add a Kestrel to my portfolio.

American Kestrel, Falco sparverius

American Kestrel, Falco sparverius, December 2009

Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, December 2009

Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, December 2009

]]> http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/2009/12/a-visit-to-bolsa-chica-wetlands/feed/ 1 Biology exposure http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/2009/07/biology-exposure/ http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/2009/07/biology-exposure/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:49:31 +0000 Alpenglow Images http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/?p=15

A few months ago, my friend Nikki over at Golden West College in Huntington Beach contacted me about using one of my images on the cover of their introductory biology lab manual.  The manual is finally done, and I couldn’t be any happier with the result:

Front_cover_new

I was very happy to have an image appear on this lab manual, but I’m also very happy with Nikki’s choice of photos.  I’ve been living in southern California for almost 7 years and the Brown Pelican has been one of my favorite birds since I moved out here.  To watch them fly is to watch pure grace.  The way they skim the water, just inches from its glassy surface is–to me–poetry.  As a photographer, I’ve spent many mornings standing on the bridge at Bolsa Chica Wetlands with Pelicans fishing all around me.  Its sometimes very satisfying to put my camera down, enjoying the moment.  The Pelican you see on the cover of the lab manual was photographed at La Jolla Caves in La Jolla, CA–a location well-known to bird photographers.

We’re lucky to see these magnificent birds at all.  In the early 1970s, pesticides like DDT severely threatened the future of these birds.  Fortunately, conservation measures were able to bring them back from the brink of disaster.

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