http://web.me.com/shawncarey/index.htmlShawn Carey new blog & photos.enscarey@avfx.comCopyright 2009 Shawn Carey2010-07-12T22:00:30-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:51:36 -0400scarey@avfx.comNone2010-07-12T22:00:30-04:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/16f6f83937bf8d26e3d772f9cf8c6411-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/16f6f83937bf8d26e3d772f9cf8c6411-14.html#unique-entry-id-14To say I have been busy over the past several months would be an understatement. Work, home and the many bird related projects I am always working on keep me plenty busy thank you. However I’m not complaining, I like to keep active and all these different projects are what drives me and keeps me on the go!

So here’s an update on some of the things I’ve been working on along with a few new photos and now even some video which I have been playing around with.

Earlier this year I was one again helping take care of the AV for two Mass Audubon events and presenting my photography. Both events were VERY good and I would recommend them to anyone next year.

In March I was at Mass Audubon Annual Birders Meeting which took place at Bentley University in Waltham. Then in early April at the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay “Cape Cod Natural History Conference” where I presented the first look at the Piping Plover portion of the shorebird video that Jim Grady and I have been working on for the last two years. More on that later. This is a conference that every year I post on this very web site and to other web sites to encourage people to attend. With many of the workshops I teach I am often asked by people (photographers) where to go to photograph birds and other wildlife in Massachusetts and New England. While I do know many places that are worth spending time to try to photograph and I am happy to share much of that information. Just look at some of my other Blogs posted over the last year. That said one of the things I always tell people is to attend the two above mentioned events. They may just be the two BEST places to begin for good information. For starters if you want to photograph birds you will meet many bird watchers. Who in turn can tell you some of the best places or “hidden gems” to see many of the birds you may want to photograph. Then it is up to you to do your homework or n this case your field work to see what is a good tip.

As for the Cape Cod Natural History Conference......well that is packed with all kinds of GREAT information on many topics all found on Cape Cod. Want to know where to see Gray Seals, whales close to shore, Fowler’s Toads or Spadefoot Toads? And that’s just for starters. The bottom line is if you want to be a better wildlife photographer you need to know more about the subjects you are going to photograph and yes I know the answer to all the species I just listed.


Fowler’s Toad
Canon Mark IIN, Gitzo tripod, Arca Swiss Ballhead
Canon 1800mm Macro with Canon Twin Flash: f16 @1/250, ISO 250]]>scarey@avfx.comNone2010-03-04T21:46:57-05:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/a7d7651783b001aa02ebdac22da108e9-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/a7d7651783b001aa02ebdac22da108e9-12.html#unique-entry-id-12 Hello everyone and thanks for checking in on my Blog. As always I’ve ben busy with many projects over the past several months and spent some time in Florida in December and January. While I was there I did my share of photographing birds and other wildlife and even found some time to squeeze a gallon of fresh orange juice. I picked all the oranges one day and then the next I cut and squeezed all them. Nothing like fresh OJ!


Photo of me just after squeezing a gallon of fresh orange juice.

Wish I could say Florida was as much fun as that orange juice but sadly the weather was not good.....in fact it was down right nasty! This was not only the coldest time I’ve spent in Florida over the twenty years I’ve visited the Sunshine State but it’s my understanding it was and continues to be one of the coldest winters on record. Lucky me!

One of the more interesting things I did was to rent a cabin at Myakka River State Park over five nights the first week of January and that’s when things were the COLDEST! Got down into the low 30’s or colder each night. These cabins were built in 1939 and are made out of Palm Tree logs so keeping you warm was not part of the plan back in the late 30’s. However it does have a bathroom, full kitchen, small eat in area and one large room with two beds, fireplace, sofa and table with four chairs. The only thing I had to heat this large room was an air conditioner / heater unit that I would “BLAST” on high all night to maybe get that room up to 50. Even though it was cold each night I must say I really enjoyed the cabin and would recommend them to anyone spending time in the Sarasota area and interested in the outdoors. It gave me a chance to photograph at Myakka RSP and not have to leave the park at the end of the day. However on the third day good friend and fellow photographer Dr Karl Z flew into Tampa where I picked him up and we spent the next three days photographing. While we did spend some time at Myakka RSP we also made a trip to Sanibel Island to try our luck at ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Venice Landfill and Ft De Soto State Park in St Pete.


Cabin #4, built in 1939.

This was Dr Karl’s first real photo trip to Florida so for him I think it was like being a kid in a candy store. Lucky for us we had good weather each day Karl was there and had some nice birds to photograph. Some of the highlights were a pair of Limpkin chicks at Myakka. Osprey’s on Sanibel Island and Wilson Plovers at Ft De Soto just to name a few.


Shawn Carey and Dr Karl Z. at Ft De Soto State Park, St Pete, Florida, January 2010.

As for some other highlights during my trip to Florida I spent a fair amount of time at the Venice Landfill which is actually in Nokomis and part of Sarasota County. I know what some of you are thinking: “What the hell are you doing at a landfill”?

For starters because it’s a landfill it attracts many scavengers looking for a free meal. This brings hundreds of vultures, dozens of Bald Eagle, Wood Storks and many other birds. It also has very large open fields which provide good habitat for Killdeer, Sandhill Crane, Glossy Ibis and on the edges where the fence line is located you can see many Loggerhead Shrike. In one small area alone there were four hanging around at any given time. As such I made Loggerhead Shrike my target bird to photograph at the landfill. It was easy enough to get a photo of almost any of the four sitting on the fence wire but that was not the shot I really wanted. However before I tell you what I did to get a better photo I have to fill you in on another “wildlife photographers secret or trick”.

First to help illustrate my point I’ll ask you if you have ever seen Penn and Teller? These guys are amazing, two really COOL magicians but one of the neat things about these two is they often show you how the “tricks” are done. So how does this apply to me and photographing a Loggerhead Shrike?]]>scarey@avfx.comNone2009-11-25T22:13:28-05:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/8e4c76b4425eb7e45df4f21aa24f41de-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/8e4c76b4425eb7e45df4f21aa24f41de-9.html#unique-entry-id-9If you are interested in photographing birds and other wildlife in Massachusetts then I suggest you start with a Mass Audubon Sanctuary. There are three that can offer some of the best bird photography here in Massachusetts all from the relative comfort of a “observation blind” or “photo blind”.

In my first Blog I talked about two of them located less then a hour from Boston. The Visual Arts Center (Canton, Mass) and Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary (Marshfield, Mass.) and the photo blinds they have available.

The information listed below is part of a handout I have for people that attend my photo workshops I teach for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The third location I recommend checking out in this series is Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary located on Cape Cod. So pack your camera gear and get ready to take some great photos from one of these locations!


View of inside the observation/photo blind.
Note cameras resting on beanbags.

Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Wellfleet, Mass (Cape Cod)
May – August, possible September
Best time for Kingfisher late June through early August.

Many people that work at or volunteer for MAS Wellfleet Bay WS are friends and I have been teaching photo workshops for them going back several years now. This is a wonderful sanctuary and at most times of the year can offer some photos of one thing or another. However back in 2006 before I was to teach a three-day workshop with fellow photographer Eric Smith we cleared some Phragmites (an invasive species of plant) that is growing around the edge of the Goose Pond and was blocking the view from a small blind that over looks this pond. For many years this Phragmites was so tall and thick you could not see anything from this blind. Now after four years in row of going in and removing each stalk piece by piece, grabbing it and ripping it out (you MUST wear work gloves when trying this) by the roots so as not to grow back, it’s now some what under control. At least the area in front of the blind is under control. This will require a yearly “cleaning out” in front of the blind but now offers the chance to photograph one of the most difficult birds there is to get a photo of, Belted Kingfisher.


Kingfisher (adult, female)
Canon Mark IIN
Canon 600mm w/1.4x
1/640 @ f8.0]]>scarey@avfx.comNone2009-10-17T15:29:37-04:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/39e57d5ac589d5a512ff0ae735244d82-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/39e57d5ac589d5a512ff0ae735244d82-8.html#unique-entry-id-8Baxter State Park in Maine. Mike has been going to Baxter to photograph moose for over 30 years and Andy for over 20 years! If anyone knows where to find a moose it’s the tag team of Andy and Mike, these guys know the drill.

Baxter State Park current size is 204,733 acres and was a gift to the state of Maine by Governor Percival Baxter in 1931. The highest mountain inside the park is Baxter Peak at 5,267 feet.

I would drive up with long time friend and fellow hawk watcher Steve Anderson and a new friend and wildlife photographer Dr. Karl Zuzarte. We departed very early Friday morning October 9, at 5:30 AM and made the 5.5 hour trip arriving at 11:00 AM. Andy and Mike had departed the night before and were already in the park waiting for us. There was no cell services or so we thought. Turns out Karl was somehow able to get reception on his I-phone. The weather seemed to be in our favor on the way up however as luck would have it by the time we arrived it started to change for the worst. Overcast conditions soon changed to a light mist then some rain, not exactly what we wanted for photography. However we made stops at many of the ponds looking for the elusive “life” moose for me. Around 2:00 PM we made a turn towards Daicey Pond and on the left side in a marsh right next to the road was female moose enjoying the afternoon feeding in the water. As we exited the vehicle Karl and I grabbed our cameras and much to our delight this moose cared less that we were standing no more then 40 feet from her as we clicked away, frame after frame. I HAD A LIFE MOOSE! Better yet I was able to photograph the first moose I had even seen. As a wildlife photographer we like to say “it only takes one” and lucky for us we had our moose. Within ten minutes there was a crowd gathering to see this moose and photograph her as well. For Karl and I we quickly filled 4 gigs of images and were on our way to find Andy and Mike and maybe even Bull Moose.


Steve with female moose in background.

About 30 minutes later we found Andy and Mike but would not see another moose until the following morning. We made our way to our camp site at Nesowadnehunk Field Campground where we had two lean-tos. By this time the rain had picked up but with Steve being the ever experienced camper he had all the “things” we would need to make our camp site as comfortable as possible. Colemen stove, lantern and all cooking utensils plus a large tarp to pull down off the front of the lean-to where we were able to place the picnic table under and have a nice dinner. Two nights of sleeping out doors in temps around 30 were just fine as we hunkered inside our sleeping-bags.


Steve and Karl with female moose directly in front of them only 40 feet away.


Shawn and Steve at lean-to camp site.

Click here to view more photos from Baxter State Park]]>scarey@avfx.comNone2009-08-26T21:41:29-04:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/7745baef8d795798d84b44ed22dfb01f-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/7745baef8d795798d84b44ed22dfb01f-7.html#unique-entry-id-7So what does a “Bird Photographer” do when there are few birds to photograph? Well last Saturday morning at Plymouth Beach there were few birds even gulls to be seen let alone photograph. With that in mind I put away my 600mm lens and brought out my Canon 180mm macro lens and attached my twin flash unit and walked onto the bay side into the “flats’. The following morning, Sunday, armed with only my 28-135mm lens I walked the beach side this time looking for an unusual photo or something that might be “Outside the Box” (if there is such a thing) for me. While I do enjoy macro photography I really only dabble in it and it is after all a entirely other world of photography. You would be amazed at what you can find on a beach while searching for a “nice photo” or something interesting like a Periwinkle Snail and Hermit Crab I found the first day. On the other hand just walking the beach and only having a 28-135mm lens is another story. I spend so much time photographing birds and other wildlife I’m not so tuned into photographing the “everyday” or just what happens to be in front of me. Lucky for me that both afternoons provided many shorebirds, terns and gulls to photograph and that brought me back to “The Box” and my comfort zone.


Black Tern
photographed lying flat on the ground for “birds eye view”.
Canon Mark IIN with 600mm and 1.4x

With no birds on Saturday and walking the beach on Sunday I must admit it makes you look at and think about what you are seeing then you look for an interesting subject or something that just catches your eye. As I walked the beach two things stood out, one that I found to be sad the other hopeful. The thing that disturbed, upset and made me sad was the amount of plastic things I found washed up on the beach. Plastic cups, cans, bottles, bags and on and on. I do not remember one time that I have tossed even a single piece of trash onto the ground for others to pick up, it just would not cross my mind. To be fair I guess it’s possible that some of this trash may have blown out of a persons hand while they were on a boat and could not retrieve it. But it’s just not possible that it’s the case for everything I saw. What the hell are people thinking? Please don’t answer that question. I have seen people and I’m sure you have as well that think nothing of throwing their trash on the ground (or water) where ever they are, just toss it....no big deal who cares, besides I don’t live here and someone else can clean it up. Just once I would like to see one of these people made an example of. How about one year in jail or every Sunday for a year they have to walk a local park or beach and pick up trash for six hours! By the way this would still not make me happy but it would be a start. Also please note I make it a practice than when I go out to photograph or watch birds I always pickup at least one piece of trash, usually it’s more. In fact in Florida every year I make a point to spend 30 minutes at one of the locations I photograph that is just a little remote and I remove all the disguarded beer can and bottles I find in this lagoon, it usually amounts to one bag of trash.



Plastic cup on beach.

Okay enough of that rant now what was it that I enjoyed about my walk on Plymouth Beach? There were in fact a few things. For starters Plymouth Beach is doing well, and what I mean by that is consider the fact that just a few short years ago what had been a thriving Common Tern colony had been abandoned, thankfully it is now it’s the largest Common Tern colony in Massachusetts with over 4000 nesting pair, 400+ Least Terns and I believe 20+ pair of Piping Plovers! WOW! That is good news for these birds. With all the pressure on costal waterbirds they do need all the help they can get and that help is only going to come from people that care enough to protect the habitat they need during nesting season and for roosting (resting) as well as places they can feel safe during both north and south bound migrations. The limitations on access by SUV’s and other changes that have been put in place over the years has resulted in VERY good things for all bird life that use Plymouth beach. However as you know this comes with some rather vocal opposition. People that feel they have the right to drive their SUV onto the beach some wanting no restrictions at all and some (possible many) that care less if any birds were on or in need of using the beach. I grew up on the shores of Lake Erie and from Presque Isle State Park which has miles of wonderful white sand beaches. There are no SUV’s to be found on any of these beaches and I can not think of any person I know in Erie that would think this would be a good idea.
]]>scarey@avfx.comNone2009-07-30T21:49:06-04:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/4d7aceddb2737ca078417cbd736c3d64-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/4d7aceddb2737ca078417cbd736c3d64-6.html#unique-entry-id-6I must say it has been a rain filled summer so far, it seems that every other day the forecast calls for “cats & dogs” falling from the sky. For a wildlife photographer this is not exactly what I want, however you make the best of it and try to get out on the days when the sun is shining and with some luck you have a subject to photograph.

A few highlights from the past two months can be view on my Summer Photos gallery have been Piping Plovers, Green Heron, Chimney Swift nest, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Box Turtle, and a trip with Norman Smith as he banded Ospreys this week.

An update on our shorebird video is all good news. Last month we were able to get some VERY good video footage of two Piping Plover nest one of which we made two return trips. The last of which yielded one hours worth of footage of four Piping Plover chicks less then two day old. Plus this weekend Jim Grady and I are off to Plymouth Beach to get some additional video for this project and later in August I hope to be at Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay for even more video footage. If all goes well we may be able to start editing all of our interviews, bird footage as well as other b-roll footage by late November.

That’s all for now, hope you are enjoying your “soggy summer”, if not just think of how much snow we will have in a few short months and that might make you feel just a little bit better. Then again maybe not, for you I say just enjoy my Summer Photos and maybe August will be not so wet.

Until next time take care.

SPC


Box Turtle (baby)
Canon Mark IIN with Canon 180mm macro with Twin Flash


Canon Mark IIN with Canon 180mm macro with Twin Flash
]]>scarey@avfx.comNone2009-06-02T20:52:39-04:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/011a7e69a74526ac9629b55ed5db2707-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/011a7e69a74526ac9629b55ed5db2707-5.html#unique-entry-id-5
So what about our trip to Cape May two weeks ago? Well we had hoped to go there last year but time did not allow so 12 months later Jim and I were able to pack our bags and all our gear and head South on Friday, May 22 bright and early for the 400 mile trip. Jim’s father joined us for this adventure and at 7:15 AM we were on the Mass Pike and then heading south into New York State and finally on to the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey arriving in Cape May about 2:30 PM.

]]>scarey@avfx.comNone2009-05-03T21:18:00-04:00http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/3757dfc2e88a43dfb4c6ebfdc0da5f25-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://web.me.com/shawncarey/page14/files/3757dfc2e88a43dfb4c6ebfdc0da5f25-0.html#unique-entry-id-0(Rapidweaver) is I must say very easy to use, at least for me. I’m not afraid of using a computer but that’s because I just dive in head first and start “poking around” and reading the manual, imagine that reading the manual to figure something out, now that’s a novel idea. Anyway after many hours and a lot of changes it is what it is! Like I said I’m still making changes and who knows you may check back in tomorrow or next week and the color scheme may be completely different.

Semipalmated Plover]]>