The Motivation Behind “Feathered Hope”

Regular readers of the blog have heard this story before, or at least a portion of it.  If you have, I apologize in advance, but it’s one that I never tire of telling.

Print:  "Still Watchful"
Artist: Ken Schram
Date:  8/25/2012

One quiet Saturday morning in late August I was kayaking with my camera in Wisconsin's beautiful north woods when I came upon this magnificent juvenile bald eagle perched on an overhanging branch. Having hatched earlier this spring, the "baby" is now nearly as large as his parents. With the sun cresting the top of the trees and the golden rays of light falling upon his pin-feathered face and chest, he is content in the new warmth brought to this chilly fall morning.

Completely lost in the moment, I drift silently in my kayak on the windless lake. Raising camera to eye, I hear the soft whir of the lens that brings this beautiful creature into focus and then there he is in all his glory. As I watch motionless through the viewfinder he slowly turns his head to observe this strange one-eyed newcomer and it is then that the glint of the sun sparks in his eye. Click.

A few more minutes pass as I watch him and he me before it's time for me to go. This is his house after all and I certainly don't want to overstay my welcome. While brief, the experience has moved me in a way that's difficult to describe. I've certainly photographed bald eagles before, but on this quiet and tranquil morning our interaction seems meaningful in a way I can't quite comprehend. Dare I say "spiritual"?

Several hours later, still riding the high experienced from the special encounter, I sit at my desk and review the morning's photos on my computer. While still 4 or so years away from reaching his mature plumage of white head and tail, he is no less majestic than a full grown adult. His young brown eyes are so deep and intense as he stares back from my computer screen that suddenly I feel as if I'm back on the lake and "in the moment" once again. I can't help but post some images online and share the experience.

The following week I return to the lake hoping to recapture that high, but my young friend is nowhere to be found. I'm blessed with the opportunity to photograph one of its parents, but begin to assume that junior has left the nest and begun his own journey in the wild. If only my assumption could have been proven true. Instead, I learn from a friend who lives on the lake that this beautiful creature is no more. Just days after our interaction, a resident found the young bird floundering in the water dazed and confused. He was transported to an incredible group of caring and dedicated people at Raptor Education Group, but despite their best efforts he eventually succumbed to the effects of the West Nile Virus.

I'm stunned. Despite having read that as many as 40% of new eaglets won't survive their first winter, I still can't believe it. His parents worked tirelessly all summer to care and provide for this young one. He survived the perils of learning to fly. He had grown into a regal young adult only to be taken out by a tiny insect carrying a deadly virus. I can only think, "What a waste!".

But does it have to be? ….

While not affiliated with the organization, my wife and I had been familiar with the work of Raptor Education Group for some time and had been looking for a way to support their cause. We made the occasional monetary donation and did what we could to help spread the word of their heroic efforts through social media, but considering our love of bird kind and the respect we held for this organization, it never seemed like enough.  Now more than ever we were determined to find a way to take this seemingly senseless event and turn it into something positive. As it turned out, the answer we were looking for was in the title I'd given the image.

Originally titled "Watchful" in reference to the intense gaze this young eagle cast my direction that wonderful morning, that label seemed somewhat inappropriate after learning of his demise.  It didn't take long, however, to realize that despite no longer being of this earth, his gaze would always fall upon anyone having the opportunity to enjoy this one "click" I was so blessed to capture during his brief life. So for me, and hopefully you as well, he remains "Still Watchful".

To learn more about the “Feathered Hope” project, please visit us at http://www.FeatheredHope.net.

-Ken

Winter Fog

This wintery scene could have been captured this past week here in Wisconsin.  This image, however, was taken in December 2010.

My apologies for my hasty “disappearance” from the blog for the last couple of weeks.  My wife and I have launched a new projected which is near and dear to our hearts and it’s care and feeding have been rather intensive on top of the regular holiday hustle and bustle.  The project’s name is “Feathered Hope” and its purpose is to help raise awareness and financial support to the efforts of Raptor Education Group, Inc (REGI) located in Antigo, WI.  REGI is a wildlife rehabilitation center focused on providing public education and conservation of our native wild birds in addition to caring for, and ultimately releasing, injured and orphaned wild birds.  They are an incredible group of people and we’re hoping to be able to help them out through both social media awareness and financial support generated through the sale of some of our limited edition wild bird prints.

If you’d like to learn more about the project, you can visit the site at http://www.FeatheredHope.net.  Tomorrow I will share the inspiration behind the project.

Feathered Hope

After much planning and preparation, my wife and I are very proud to introduce a new project we're calling "Feathered Hope".   We both take great enjoyment from photographing wild birds and have been searching for some time for a way to "give back".  "Feathered Hope" is the result of months of planning and discussions and we're really excited that the day is finally here where we can announce it to the world.

We will be offering our very best wild bird photos for sale as original 20" x 30" limited edition, hand-signed prints.  The proceeds of each sale are being donated to the non-profit Raptor Education Group in Antigo, WI to help support in the rehabilitation and release of injured and orphaned wild birds.

The introductory offering in the "Feathered Hope Series", titled "Still Watchful", is now available to the public with more offerings to be released in the coming months.  You can read more about the project at our new web site http://www.FeatheredHope.net.  If you like what you see, please take a moment to share with friends and family to help us get the word out.

Thank you for your support.
-Ken

The Hunt for the Snowy Owl

I love photographing birds and especially birds of prey.  I find them to be beautiful and fascinating creatures.  While I’ve captured images of numerous hawks and eagles, I have only 1 image of a great horned owl in my collection as most owls and I tend to keep different schedules.

I recently watched an excellent episode of “Nature” on PBS titled “Magic of the Snowy Owl” (full episode here).  It follows the plight of one breeding pair of snowy owls in the Alaskan tundra and features some simply stunning cinematography.

Clip from “Magic of the Snowy Owl”

One of the things that I learned during this broadcast is that is the juvenile owls that occasionally find their way into our neck of the woods.  When food sources are scarce in their native homes, these young and less skilled hunters make their way south in search of easier meals.  There have already been reports of Snowy Owls spotted in southern Wisconsin again this year and I’m hopeful that I’ll find myself among the lucky few to frame one within my camera viewfinder.

While I can watch the local bird spotting web sites and take variations of the numerous country roads on my way to the office each morning, Lady Luck will undoubtedly play a huge role in any success I might have.

Have you ever seen a snowy owl?  Were you lucky enough to photograph it?

My Indoor Vacation

While I had big hopes to spend some quality time with my camera during my vacation last week, a whole week of crumby weather coupled with a nasty cold kept me indoors most of the time.  In addition to catching up on the “honey-do” list, I was able to finish reading Moose Peterson’s “Captured” which I started a few months ago and added some nice new blogs to my RSS feeds.

One of the big takeaways from Moose’s book is the need to understand and appreciate the behaviors and biology of your wildlife subjects.  For anyone that’s spent any time at all in the field this is something you’ve already come to appreciate simply through observation.  For example, if you’re trying to capture an eagle as it launches itself from a tree branch, you may be interested to know that a high percentage of the time it will lift it’s tail and “relieve” itself just before taking flight.  A nice cue to be aware of and one that you’d eventually pick up on through personal observation.

Personal observation can be augmented by the observations of others as well, and that’s what I had in mind when I started scouring the web for new blogs to add to my blog roll.  If you enjoy bird photography, do yourself a favor and take a look at “Feathered Photography”.  Ron Dudley is a retired high school biology and zoology teacher living in northern Utah and sharing his love for photography.  In addition to some great images, Ron also is kind enough to share some of his personal observations on the behaviors and biology of the subjects he photographs.  You’ll also find some great tips to help improve your own images.

What other online resources to you find helpful to your wildlife photography?

The Making of “Still Watchful”

Yesterday I shared a reprocessed version of a photo I took this last summer of a juvenile bald eagle.   While I loved the original image, I wanted this version of the image to really accentuate the magnificence of this bird and convey a sense of loss that I felt when I learned of its demise.

Here is a copy of the original image.  The eagle is perched among the tangles of a dead branch in the morning sun.  There is a nice catch light in its eye as well as nice lighting on is head and stomach with a strong shadow cast by an out of frame branch across its chest.  As many of the branches are without bark the light is reflecting and appears a little hot, detracting from the main focus – the returned stare of this incredible bird.

With that in mind, I wanted the background to disappear.  The branch in the foreground was important to convey the surroundings of this wild bird, but I wanted to make it gradually fade into the background and leave you with that incredible expression. 

Here are the steps I took to reprocess the image:

1. From within Lightroom, right-click on the image and “Edit In > Edit in Adobe Photoshop CS6…”
2. Ctrl+N to create a new layer positioned above the original image.
3. Shift+F5 to fill the new layer with solid black
4. Add a new “Reveal All” Layer Mask to the new black layer
5. With the Layer Mask selected, reduce the opacity until you’re able to see the original image through the black layer.
6. Set the foreground color to black and then select the brush tool to begin painting the bird at 100% opacity as well as some of the foreground branches.
7. As you paint, you’ll see more of the background show through the black layer.  I paid particular attention to the edges of the bird to be sure I didn’t allow any of the green foliage to show through.
8. When I had most of the image showing through the layer mask I then reduced the brush opacity to around 30%, set the brush color to white and changed the opacity of the layer mask back to 100% before tracing around the edges of the subject.  This allowed me to “clean up” any areas where I was too aggressive and made for a smooth transition from black to the colors of the subject.
9. Using this same technique, I made multiple passes along the tree branches, especially toward the ends where I wanted the branches to fade to black, until I was satisfied with the results.  If at any point I got too “heavy handed”, I simply changed the brush color to black and “undid” the wrong.
10. When I was happy with the results, I saved the file and returned to Lightroom where I applied some additional exposure adjustments and used the spot removal tool to eliminate a few more hot areas in the branches.

And that’s it.  The end result is what I feel is a much more dramatic and compelling image without the additional clutter.

What do you think? Which of the two images do you prefer?

Still Watchful

Earlier this summer I shared an experience I had with a juvenile bald eagle while kayaking a local lake.  It was one of those rare and beautiful mornings where everything seemed to be “right” with the world.  The lake was quiet, the warmth of the morning sun was at my back as it crested the trees, and this magnificent, majestic bird sat quietly in front of my lens until I decided to it was time for me to go.  It was nothing short of a spiritual event that I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to replicate ever since.

It was only days later that I learned from a resident of the lake that this incredible creature was no more.  Having been transported to the Raptor Education Group Inc. after being found floundering in the water, a lethal fever brought on by the West Nile virus took it’s life shortly after despite the best attempts of the staff at REGI.

Life is full of events where we as humans try to find meaning where often there is none to be had.  That doesn’t mean, however, that these events are without purpose and that is what drove me to reprocess this photograph for a special use.

In the near future I will be making this print available for purchase with all proceeds being donated to the Raptor Education Group  Inc. to help support the miracles they perform for our wild friends each and every day.   Keep an eye on the blog for additional details or send me an email and I’ll be happy to let you know when and how you can get this beautiful print while supporting an incredible cause.

You Bugger, you!

While I love most opportunities where I’m able to put my camera in my hand and lose myself for awhile, sitting on a quiet lake in my kayak and enjoying the wildlife is at the top of the list.  That is until the wildlife starts teasing!

Meet Mr. Kingfisher.  His job is to do his absolute best to be sure I never obtain a decent photo of him.  And boy-oh-boy is he good at his job!

I’ve been on the lake that he calls home enough times now that I’ve observed and pick up on his flight patterns and behaviors.  He has a triangle-shaped route on a particular bay that I like to sit in because it’s the same area in which the eagle nests.  The above shot is of Mr. Kingfisher on the first point of his triangle just before the sun rose which allowed for a nice silhouette, but too dark for an an detail.

After some adjustments in Lightroom I was able to get some detail back, but I’m still too far away for the 500mm.   Seconds later, he was off to point number 2 of the triangle.

His next perch on the lake is one where I could be right next to him and still not get a decent “wildlife” photo of him.  He likes to sit on the top of a particular dock post to keep an eye on “his bay”.

Here you can at least tell it’s a kingfisher, but not the most pleasing of scenes.  It’s his 3rd point of the triangle that would offer the best natural scene, a tree branch extending out over the lake about a foot off the surface.  So far he continues to evade me despite my best efforts.  It’s become a game between us; me trying to get the photograph and him trying to avoid it.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not frantically chasing him around the lake, but I have sat quietly for HOURS trying to get that one photo.  No joy.

To date, this is my best shot of Mr. Kingfisher as he moved from point 2 to 3 of his triangle.  See the laughter in his eye?  Some day, buddy. Some day.

Title This…

Trouble. And in my road.

I’ve always wondered why you start to see (and smell) road-killed skunks lining the sides of the roadways this time of year.  Now I have a better understanding.

One evening last week I took a drive through the country to enjoy and photograph some of the fall colors.  As the sun dipped below the horizon I set off for home, but was delayed by this “striped woods kitty”.  I saw it come up out of the ditch and then spend the next 5+ minutes meandering from one edge of the highway to the other.  I was able to pull over into the passing lane and tap my brakes to warn approaching traffic while I rattled off a few frames of my smelly new friend.  While I have no idea what was driving the curious and very indecisive behavior (“I’ve got to go this way. NO. The other way. No that’s not right either. It’s this way.”), it became pretty obvious as to why so many get run over. 

Play in the road and you’re going to get hurt!

If you can explain the curious behavior, please use the comment space below to enlighten the rest of us.  If you have a funny title for the image, you can use the comment section for that too.

Reporting a “Banded” Bird

Last week I photographed a banded Trumpeter Swan in the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage.  I spent a little more time researching and found a page on the US Geological Survey web page where you can report banded bird sightings.  I did my civic duty and submitted the information that I had and now wait patiently to see if I get any type of response.

Have you ever reported a sighting of a banded bird?  Did you receive any information in response?

More on the Turtle-Flambeau

Last Friday I mentioned I made my first trip to the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage.  It’s been a trip I’ve wanted to make all summer having heard of the abundant wildlife and acres upon acres of serene waterways to navigate.  While scouring the web for more information on the location I came across photos of eagles, osprey, herons, bear and even a moose!  With the kayak loaded up and camera gear stowed I departed around 5 am for the 2 hour trip north with dreams of the incredible photos to come.

I hadn’t paddled too far into the flowage when I began to realize just how difficult those “incredible” photos would be to come by.  It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of wildlife.  Within minutes I’d seen a Bald Eagle fly over head, a Northern Harrier investigating the marsh grass and a Great Blue Heron fishing along the river bank.  The challenge was the pure vastness of the location.  Even with my wife’s 150-500mm Sigma lens, all of the subjects seemed MILES away.  As I mentioned in Friday’s post, “stealth” wasn’t necessarily on my side either.  Sneaking up the river between lanes of marsh grass just teaming with ducks and other waterfowl proved to be almost impossible.  Never the less, I took my time and kept my eyes pealed for opportunities.

And then there was the “bear”.  From what seemed to be miles away, the sharp contrast of this big black object caught my eye.  Even after putting the glass on the “critter”  I could neither confirm or rule out that what I was seeing was indeed a black bear.  As I continued weaving back and forth through the marsh grass, my mind was trying to convince me that the black object was moving.

“Look! Now it’s standing in the middle of the channel.”  Right. Well it’s me that’s moving, not the big, black, bear-like tree stump.  I have to admit it did have me going for a while though.

After passing “bear channel”, I found myself in some shallow, densely vegetated waters that made peddling pretty much impossible.  By now the wind had picked up too just to make things even more difficult.  I did manage to spot a large flock of Canadian Geese hanging out on the drift wood and a pair of Trumpeter Swans, one of which was banded with a yellow band sporting “72N” in black letters.  I did a little research trying to match up those numbers, but no luck.  So, if you had a hand in banding Trumpeter Swan 72N, he/she and it’s mate seem to be doing just fine in the quiet waters of the Turtle-Flambeau flowage.

After getting myself “unstuck” I decided to head back to the slightly more wind protected area that I had passed through earlier in the morning.  It was shortly after that another movement caught my eye and I captured a photo of this coyote bouncing down the opposite shoreline.  Soon after it turned back into the land and was gone from sight.

By this point I was starting to see a pattern.  All of the wildlife I was seeing seemed to be on the OTHER side of the flowage.  After a quick stop to stretch and check out one of the many campsites along the river, I ate my lunch and then once again snaked through the marsh grass to the other side of flowage.  I thought maybe if I just sat still for a while something would come within range of my lens. 

It wasn’t long after when I saw the Bald Eagle appear above the tree line and land in a tree (you guessed it) on the OTHER side of the flowage!

There is NO question that the wildlife is here.  There is also little doubt that they have the space and freedom to avoid those of us visiting this incredible wilderness if they so chose.  Perhaps one would have had better luck with a full blind over the top of  their kayak, but even then you should be prepared to invest a significant amount of time and conjure up all of your luck before you find yourself in a position to get quality photos.

 

 

 

So did I ever get within range of a critter to get a decent photo?

As a matter of fact I did.  This American Coot was kind enough to surface within my range and hung around long enough to pose for this photo.  Thank you.

In summary, it was a great trip despite not coming home with any “wall hangers”.  Paddling through this vast wilderness it wasn’t too difficult to imagine what it was like through the majority of the north woods a few hundred years ago.  Due to the incredibly windy conditions that day I only managed to cover just a fraction of the area that I had hoped.   I guess that just means I’ll have to go back again .

Do you have any experience with the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage?  Can you recommend particular areas better suited to wildlife photography?

From the Fog

It’s an early autumn morning and the there is a hint of winter when you draw a breath of cold air into your lungs.  The heat is escaping from the lake and its covered in a think fog.  Off in the distance you can hear the call of a loon.  Gradually the call gets closer and closer until you can see the faint outline emerging from the fog.

Suddenly the cold isn’t as noticeable and you sit quietly just concentrating on the beauty of the moment.  Life is good.

A Day on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage

Earlier in the week I used a vacation day, got up before dawn and drove two hours north to the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage.  The above images is of a Northern Harrier skimming above the marsh grass looking for a snack.

This was my very first trip to the flowage and I concentrated my efforts to the area designated as the “volunteer quiet area”.  It’s an incredible place and pretty challenging photography terrain.  Snaking through the many “S” bends of marsh grass in my kayak I could often see birds up ahead just waiting to have their photos taken – a great blue heron, this northern harrier, bald eagles, even a pair of trumpeter swans.  The challenge was getting close enough to get the photo, however.  Despite volunteering my version of quiet, the thousands upon thousands of ducks resting just off the “beaten path” in the tall grass weren’t having any of it.  With an explosion of wings every 10 or 15 minutes as I quietly paddled/coasted myself along, the vast majority of the other flowage inhabitants took their cue and made their own exits to less accessible venues.

Later in the morning the wind REALLY picked up which might have helped me out in the “noise department”, but wasn’t doing me any favors in the kayaking activities.  It was so rough that I could have had a bald eagle sit on the front of the kayak and not gotten a photo of it either because of being tossed about or the spray landing on the lens.  As a result I ended up leaving a whole lot of wilderness unexplored.

While I doubt a return trip is in the cards yet this fall, this is definitely a place I’d like to investigate further.  Have you been on the flowage? Any advice on where to concentrate one’s efforts in search of birds and other wildlife?

Swimming “Lummox”

According to Wikipedia ….

“The North American name "loon" likely comes from either the Old English word lumme, meaning lummox or awkward person, or the Scandinavian word lum meaning lame or clumsy. Either way, the name refers to the loon’s poor ability to walk on land.”

While I had a general knowledge about the loon’s inability to travers land, it wasn’t until I captured this image that it became painfully obvious why.  Look how high on the back their legs originate!   One thing is for sure, however.  Neither “lummox” nor “clumsy” are words I’d use to describe them when their in the water!

Eagle Eye

While I’m still reeling from the news that this beautiful boy succumbed to West Nile Virus only days after taking this photo, I did capture something interesting that I thought I would share.

The second photo captured the bird’s nictitating membrane sweeping across its eye.  This see through membrane is found in birds to help moisten, clean and protect the eye – especially while in flight. 

Here’s a few more interesting “Eagle Eye” facts:

• The eyes of a full grown adult eagle are approximately the same size and weight of an adult human’s.  Their eyes occupy the majority of their skull cavity.
• An eagle’s retina contains 600,000 cones per square millimeter.  That’s 4x more than a human allowing for incredibly sharp vision.
• While the human eye can see 3 primary colors, eagles can see 5.
• With the ability to rotate their heads far beyond the range of a human, eagles have a 270 degree field of vision.
• A young eagle’s iris is dark brown and eventually turns a bright yellow as they mature. Later in life, the iris turns a silver blue color.
• An eagle can spot a fish in the water from a distance of 3 miles.  It can spot other eagles in flight from as far as 4 miles away.

Where can I get a camera lens that can do that?

It’s Friday!

Time to fly! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Title This…

If you read yesterday’s post, you’re probably still recovering from the “cute overload”.  Here’s just one more shot of the little loon trying to prove that maybe its not so little after all.

Cute as a Loon

Yesterday’s post offered well wishes to the juvenile bald eagle I photographed last week as evidence suggests it may now be on its own.  There is still some bird bonding happening on the lake, however.  I spent a fair amount of time photographing a loon and her two chicks – one of which was about as cute as they come.

This little one seemed to like the kayak and kept getting me into trouble with Mama Loon when it would wander to close to the scary “photographer thing”. 

Doesn’t appear to be too afraid of me though, does it?

In fact, I started to think it was showing off to its new “friend”.

Yeah, you’re cute…

… but I don’t have any fish.  I’d surely give you one if I did.

Alright! Alright! I’ll go find some minnows or something. You win! You win!

Empty Nester?

Last week I shared the image “Watchful” featuring a juvenile bald eagle I photographed while kayaking.  While I can’t be completely positive, I believe the bald eagle in this photo is its mother. 

I spent some time on the lake this past weekend and while I crossed paths with Mrs. Eagle a few times, her youngster was no longer in residence during my visits.  With her “chick” now nearly as large as she is, it’s entirely possible that its fate is now in its own wings.  Once they leave the nest, young eagles are left to learn to hunt and survive entirely on their own.  Their first fall and winter is a very critical time as its been estimated that as much as 40% of the young won’t survive.

Godspeed little one and great job, Mom.

Update: The ink was hardly dry on this post when I learned of the true fate of the young eagle photographed last weekend.  Lori, the owner of Wausau’s Wild Birds Unlimited, informed me that the young eagle was taken to Raptor Education Group in Antigo with West Nile virus.  Unfortunately the disease was too far advanced and they were unable to save it.

Rest in peace little one.

Watchful

A glance at the calendar reminded me that summer is rapidly giving way to fall which helped me to decide that I was taking Saturday morning off to spend with my camera and kayak.  What a phenomenal morning it was, too! 

I got up early and returned to a chain of lakes that my wife and I had frequented one time last summer in the Harrison Hills area.  That was the first trip that our cameras got to go along for the ride and I remembered there being a fair amount of wildlife including loons and a bald eagle nest.  As it turned out, my memory was correct as I saw both loons and bald eagles again on this trip.

I can’t recall the last time I had such a relaxing morning.  As the sun was came up over the trees, not a ripple was to be seen on the lake and the only sounds were those of the screeching juvenile bald eagle and the beautiful calls of the loons.   What a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning!