These images may mean more to me because of my love of this bird, and the process of getting the images, rather than any unusual photographic quality per se, but I thought I'd go ahead and post them.
My wife and I went up to Maine in September, hoping to get some Loon photos. As part of my Ophthalmology training many years back, we spent 10 weeks at a cabin on East Pond, near Waterville Maine, and fell in love with the Loons there. It was just so peaceful listening to their calls late at night.
We rented a cabin on Raymond Pond (Sebago Lakes area), which had a couple of kayaks available for us to use. We went out one afternoon to investigate, leaving our gear at the cabin. We were concerned about potential water damage, and also didn't know if we'd even be able to find or approach the Loons. Well, we came across a juvenile and adult, and they let us get surprisingly close! So I paddled back to shore, put my camera and lens (100-400) in a ziplock bag, and headed back out, hoping to find them again.
Once again I was fortunate, and this pair of Loons tolerated my presence for a half hour or so, and I quickly shot a couple of hundred frames. It was a bit of a challenge keeping my gear dry while I paddled to stay in position, keep up with them as they swam around, and also keep the sun at my back.
But it was a glorious experience - the weather was crisp, the sun was warm, the birds were cooperative, and all was well with the world! After a half-hour or so, they decided they'd had enough, and dove underwater, resurfacing a hundred yards or so away. I paddled back to shore and started downloading my images.
Here's a few of my favorites (all with the Canon 1D Mark 2, 100-400 Lens, ISO 400, f/8, 1/640 to 1/1600 second):
My wife and I went up to Maine in September, hoping to get some Loon photos. As part of my Ophthalmology training many years back, we spent 10 weeks at a cabin on East Pond, near Waterville Maine, and fell in love with the Loons there. It was just so peaceful listening to their calls late at night.
We rented a cabin on Raymond Pond (Sebago Lakes area), which had a couple of kayaks available for us to use. We went out one afternoon to investigate, leaving our gear at the cabin. We were concerned about potential water damage, and also didn't know if we'd even be able to find or approach the Loons. Well, we came across a juvenile and adult, and they let us get surprisingly close! So I paddled back to shore, put my camera and lens (100-400) in a ziplock bag, and headed back out, hoping to find them again.
Once again I was fortunate, and this pair of Loons tolerated my presence for a half hour or so, and I quickly shot a couple of hundred frames. It was a bit of a challenge keeping my gear dry while I paddled to stay in position, keep up with them as they swam around, and also keep the sun at my back.
But it was a glorious experience - the weather was crisp, the sun was warm, the birds were cooperative, and all was well with the world! After a half-hour or so, they decided they'd had enough, and dove underwater, resurfacing a hundred yards or so away. I paddled back to shore and started downloading my images.
Here's a few of my favorites (all with the Canon 1D Mark 2, 100-400 Lens, ISO 400, f/8, 1/640 to 1/1600 second):
