Venezuelan Troupial, Curacao

Venezuelan Troupial, Curacao ~ September 2019

I love to travel to places where I can look for and photograph "new" birds and other wildlife.  Many times, air travel is involved, so this post will mainly address that, although the thoughts discussed here can be applied to any time you need to pack a suitcase and/or haul gear around. 

Travel can make taking along photography gear a challenge.  I like to take along equipment that allows me to photograph birds (=big telephoto lens) as well as landscapes (=heavy wide-angle lens), in addition to other types of photos that I might take, such as macros.  So not only do I pack lenses, I need to bring a camera body, batteries, a battery charger, and SD cards too.  That's what I would consider the bare minimum.  But it is that essential gear that I DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES check-in to go in the aircraft's cargo hold.  I've seen how the baggage handlers toss around suitcases while loading and unloading the plane, and that's all I need to know to convince me to always take my essential gear in a carry-on camera backpack, so I am in control of where it is at all times.  If the airlines loses my checked-in bag, at least my trip won't be ruined by my not having my most-essential gear. Also, in case you are not aware, airlines do NOT cover damage or theft to electronic or photographic equipment.  Since I'm not a pro, I do not insure my equipment as it is not cost-effective (any quote I've gotten has been in the neighborhood of $500/yr.!).  You can bet that, if I'm ever asked to check my carry-on camera backpack, I'll be very emphatically resistant to doing so!

To keep my camera backpack from becoming too uncomfortable to carry for long periods of time, such as walking around an airport, I do carefully pack additional items that I feel will be either well-protected in my checked bag, or that I could live without if they got damaged.  In trying to protect some of my gear, I've found it to be a challenge to be able to pack all the other items, such as clothing, that I may need on my trip!  When I've flown Southwest, which has a generous baggage policy, I was previously not that concerned with how I packed.  But lugging around too much luggage can also be very tiring.  On one recent birding trip, I tried the "rolling" method of clothes packing, as it helps to maximize suitcase space by reducing gaps that are created by folding clothes.  I also tried to utilize every bit of spare space with small items, such as stuffing socks in shoes, a hair brush in a water bottle, etc.  However, I found this method a bit stressful, as each time I unpacked and then packed again, I had to "rebuild the puzzle" if I could even remember how I packed each item originally -- it was time-consuming.  So I did a little googling to see if others had other packing methods that might work better.

Here's what I found that has become my new "go-to" packing method: Vacuum storage bags.  You place a stack or two of clothes in a bag, seal it, and using a vacuum hose or hand pump, remove all the air from the bag.  When done, you will have GREATLY reduced the volume of the bag contents!  I bought a set of bags, that included a small hand pump, from Amazon and tried them out.  WOW.  I'm a believer.  You can check out the actual bags that I bought for more information, but there are many different ones available.  I highly recommend getting a set with the small pump, because you'll need to use it again when you pack to come home from your trip.  It only takes a couple of minutes to use the air pump, but it's more fun to use a vacuum because it works so fast.  BONUS:  You can use the extra bags to store things like winter blankets, comforters, clothes, etc., to free up closet space.  Anyway, here's the link, to be followed by some before/after pics:  Vacuum Bags w/pump. 

A couple of stacks of clothes to be packed:
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The size of the bag to be used:

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After the bag has had the air removed:

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As you can see, the volume of the bag's contents have been shrunk down considerably!

The caveat to this method is, since you will be freeing up space in your suitcase, you will be able to add even more "stuff".  So you will have to make sure that your suitcase isn't too heavy once done!  If you don't have one already, a small hand-held luggage scale is very handy to make sure you don't have an unpleasant (and expensive) "over-sized bag" surprise when you check your bag at the airport.

On the way home from my last trip, I had a connecting flight at Chicago's O'Hare airport.  I've never had to walk so far in an airport as I did there.  To make matters worse, my gate changed 3 times before my flight, so I had to walk even more.  In addition to my camera backpack, I also bring a laptop bag with me so I can download my photos at the end of the day, and my laptop is another item that I never check-in!  My camera back-pack will actually hold my laptop, but not only does that make it heavy but I feel my laptop is more secure in its own padded bag.  Well, with all that walking after a 4+ hour flight, I was pretty exhausted. With that in mind, after I got home I set out to figure out what other thing I could do to make hauling around my non-checked in items a bit easier for future trips!  

Here's what I found as a solution:  A very compact folding luggage cart!  The item dimensions and other features (the one I ultimately bought has a 70 lb. capacity) would work out very well, from what I'd read in the item description.  As soon as it was delivered, I tried it out with my camera backpack and laptop bag.  YAY!  This will work.  As soon as I check my suitcase in, I'll whip this baby out and put my camera backpack and laptop on it and can either push or pull it - life will be so much easier!  And when folded up right before I board the plane, the cart would even fit in the laptop compartment in my camera bag, OR I could strap it to my laptop bag prior to stowing it in by my feet in the aircraft.  Here is the link to the cart that I found, followed by a couple of photos demonstrating it in action:  Compact Folding Luggage Cart.

Handle fully extended, camera backpack and laptop bag bungee'd onto cart:
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When folded up, cart is small enough to fit with another carry-on item, shown here with my camera backpack:

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In summary, I hope the above gives you some ideas towards making traveling with photography -- or any other -- gear more comfortable, economical, and practical!  If you have any of your own tips to share, please comment on this post!

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (BRMBR) is a favorite birding area of mine, and so when I had read that a barn owl, and possibly more than one, had been sighted in the last few weeks, I figured that that was something I needed to check out.  I had yet to see a barn owl in the wild, so my interest was certainly piqued!

I set out to BRMBR, and on the way I stopped at Willard Bay for a quick stop.  I was rewarded with sightings of several bald eagles. The lighting was pretty dismal but I was still pleased to get fairly close shots.

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While at Willard Bay, I also saw a Merlin (small falcon), and some Mule Deer.

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On to BRMBR.  Another of my goals is to get a good shot of a Ring-necked Pheasant. I've seen them several times but they see me first, and off they go into the brush.  This time, I lucked out a little. There were several females in a field; the one male was hunkered down behind a tree, and there was no way to get a good shot.  But I hadn't ever gotten a shot of the female, so was happy to do so.

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Also seen this day were Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Goldeneye ducks, Least Grebes, Great Blue Herons, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, and Tundra Swans.

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And - Barn Owls!

I saw 3 Barn Owls this day, which was very exciting.  I was especially pleased to get lots of photos of them!  I've recently learned a few things about Barn Owls, and they really are quite remarkable hunters.  Of all owl species, they have the most sensitive hearing of any of them, and in fact, can hunt solely by sound.  In addition, they do not make any sound when flying.  This explains why they are very successful hunting voles and mice that are hidden under brush, for example.  

The following shots capture a flight sequence of this skillful hunter.  I had seen the owl briefly, then it dropped into the reeds, out of sight.  So I trained my camera lens on the spot where I thought it would pop up. 

I didn't have to wait long.

The action started as soon as I saw the owl emerge.  Here I employed a technique known as "spray and pray" -- firing off a rapid succession of shots and hoping that they would be in focus!  I recently fine-tuned several auto-focus settings on my camera to prepare me for such an opportunity.  And I was curious - since the owl was not close, would I be able to see good detail, and whether or not it caught something?

Yessss!!!  

(A moment of silence for the mouse, please...)

Normally the owl captures its victim with its talons, so I'm not sure what is happening here.  I think it's safe to call this, "the kiss of death"!

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I was extremely pleased to have caught this action!  While animal static "portraits" tend to be easier (although have their own challenges) I think wildlife photography is most satisfying when you get to capture the animal doing something that displays its natural behavior.  

I saw two other owls after this one and got some additional shots, which made it a very good day indeed.  Do you think I will stop trying to photograph them now?

Happy Trails,

Suzanne

On December 22nd, a sunny but cold day, I wanted to get out of the house so drove to Antelope Island. It had snowed a little bit over the last week, and the weather report said more was coming.  I haven't done a lot of nature photography lately, and recently have been missing it a lot, so took advantage of a day of sunshine.

I looked into bird counts and it didn't look promising; still, you can never fully anticipate what you'll see.  In fact, being surprised with something unexpected is one of the things I love most about nature photography.

I did see a few birds, however: 

American Pipit Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk) Junco

It's not typical to find smaller forms of wildlife out in the open, so I headed for an area that had a few trees.  I figured I could use the trees as a blind and hopefully find some birds to photograph before they noticed I was there.  I stopped when I reached the treeline, and listened.  Less than a minute had passed when I heard some rustling around in the nearby phragmites.  I poked my head around a tree and saw about half a dozen ring-necked pheasant take flight.  Away from me.  Well!  At least I had found some birds that I would be very happy to get shots of.

However, the pheasants had something else in mind.  I could hear them rustling around again in the phragmites, but I could not see them.  So, I turned back to the trees.  The moment I did, I looked directly at a ball of fur in a tree!

I knew then that I had discovered a porcupine!

Fur ball in a tree! a.k.a. Porcupine!

I had heard that there were porcupines on the island.  So I wasn't totally surprised, but I was really happy to find one, as the only other one I had seen was in Alaska, several years ago.

But, though I was excited to see one, what I really wanted to do was photograph one.  So I circled the tree beneath where the porcupine was resting, and it was apparent that it had no intention of letting me see its face; I couldn't make out any features at all.  I figured I would just take another few shots to document that I'd found one.

Looking for a face

Wait a minute -- I thought I had seen a form with dark fur a minute ago?!  What the....

There was a second porcupine in the tree!

Not 1, but 2 porcupines in the tree

How exciting!  But once again, I lamented not being able to see any of the porcupines' features.

So I continued walking, trying to find the pheasants.  I walked by another tree, and could not believe my eyes. 

A third porcupine!

#3!

I could get even closer to this one, but met the same dilemma - this porcupine, too, was curled in a ball and showed no interest in the exasperated photographer. 

Still, I was pretty delighted - 3 porcupines!  Even if I didn't get photos, I was encouraged that I had been able to find them, and hoped that I could return and try my luck again another day.

I kept walking, and once again the pheasants heard me before I could find them, and they flew away again, much further away this time.  I looked around for other birds but didn't see or hear any, so started to walk back towards my car. 

One more surprise awaited, in the next tree that I approached.

Porcupine #4.

And this one was awake, and moving around in the tree.  YESSSSSSS!

The first thing I typically do, when I encounter wildlife, is fire off some "just in case" shots -- in case the animal flies or runs away.  So I approached the tree and hoped like crazy that the porcupine would not be frightened and scamper down the tree and be gone.  So, some of the following shots are less than stellar as they fall into the aforementioned category of "just in case"!

Porcupine #4 awake and on the move!

Starting to climb down the tree

I can see its face!

Climbing down - those claws come in handy!

OMG! OMG! OMG! Can't believe I'm getting these shots!

Not sure what it's going to do - climb back up the tree when it sees me? Or keep coming down?

Getting shots of its whole body now! I'm beside myself...

I'm behind it now. It looked like a tribble!

The porcupine has landed! I can't believe it, I really can't believe it!

I'm really just amazed that this is happening.  Now that the porcupine has reached the ground, I can't believe it is less than 15' away from me and doesn't seem bothered.  Something else occurs to me.  What is that thing that porcupines do with their quills?  

Hmm.

I sort of recalled that porcupines can't really "shoot" their quills...or maybe they only do that when they feel threatened. 

Allrighty then -- I won't be threatening the porcupine.  Check.

But truly, it is only interested in eating.  I talk to it as I walk around, taking shots from different angles, to let it know I'm there.  As I found out later, porcupines are rather near-sighted, so it probably didn't see me very well.  Still, I'm sticking to the quill-avoidance protocol, and don't want to alarm it in any way.

Time for a snack, then!

These next shots were fun as the porcupine was backlit in them.  I call these its "Pomeranian look".  

By this time, I was concentrating on getting some better shots, including taking some close-ups.  It soon became apparent that this porcupine had some, well, issues.  For example, I could see that it had mange on its face and front legs.  Also, its left ear appeared to be missing or severely damaged.  It did not have an even distribution of quills either.  Still, I was delighted to have it as my subject!

Bison poo = porcupine delicacy?

As is my usual practice, I try to not be too greedy with the amount of time I spend with wildlife.  I don't want to negatively impact it by causing it any stress, for example.  So when the porcupine decided to saunter off to continue foraging, I told it goodbye.  

I hope you enjoyed reading about my porcupine photoshoot!

Happy Trails!

~ Suzanne

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While visiting Circle B Bar Reserve near Lakeland, FL, we came upon a family of 3 Sandhill Cranes out for a stroll.  The challenge was to get a shot without a photographer in the background.  I moved to the left until there were only the birds in the frame.  The cranes did not seem bothered, probably because they are used to many visitors to this preserve.