...and in SoCal, Summer is the slow season for capturing rare or uncommon species of birds...but that doesn't mean there are no subjects for wildlife photographers as even common species sometimes make great models. Today's posts make good examples of this as all of these species are common or year-round species. I've been working on reducing noise by shooting at slower shutter speeds and feel like I'm making progress. Hope you enjoy.

I know the last photo has no birds...but it was taken during a birding survey last week, and I thought it is worth sharing. I watched as the crab used its large pincers to slice away a long strip of flesh, maybe 1-1/2" wide, from the ray's bottom. Three more crabs were waiting their turn at the ray, fighting for priority when this one finished.

As usual, all were shot using a Nikon D500 attached to a Nikkor 200-500 zoom, handheld, using Auto-ISO but otherwise shooting using Manual. These were all taken over about a week's time as multiple locations.

jak

..

...and in SoCal, Summer is the slow season for capturing rare or uncommon species of birds...but that doesn't mean there are no subjects for wildlife photographers as even common species sometimes make great models. Today's posts make good examples of this as all of these species are common or year-round species. I've been working on reducing noise by shooting at slower shutter speeds and feel like I'm making progress. Hope you enjoy.

I know the last photo has no birds...but it was taken during a birding survey last week, and I thought it is worth sharing. I watched as the crab used its large pincers to slice away a long strip of flesh, maybe 1-1/2" wide, from the ray's bottom. Three more crabs were waiting their turn at the ray, fighting for priority when this one finished.

As usual, all were shot using a Nikon D500 attached to a Nikkor 200-500 zoom, handheld, using Auto-ISO but otherwise shooting using Manual. These were all taken over about a week's time as multiple locations.

jak

..

...and in SoCal, Summer is the slow season for capturing rare or uncommon species of birds...but that doesn't mean there are no subjects for wildlife photographers as even common species sometimes make great models. Today's posts make good examples of this as all of these species are common or year-round species. I've been working on reducing noise by shooting at slower shutter speeds and feel like I'm making progress. Hope you enjoy.

I know the last photo has no birds...but it was taken during a birding survey last week, and I thought it is worth sharing. I watched as the crab used its large pincers to slice away a long strip of flesh, maybe 1-1/2" wide, from the ray's bottom. Three more crabs were waiting their turn at the ray, fighting for priority when this one finished.

As usual, all were shot using a Nikon D500 attached to a Nikkor 200-500 zoom, handheld, using Auto-ISO but otherwise shooting using Manual. These were all taken over about a week's time as multiple locations.

jak

..