Into the Wind
With a wind blowing from the southwest off of Humboldt Bay, this kite turns to face the setting winter sun while looking for voles in Arcata Marsh....
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With a wind blowing from the southwest off of Humboldt Bay, this kite turns to face the setting winter sun while looking for voles in Arcata Marsh.
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Dec, 2015Views
1058
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Awards
People's Choice in kites Photo Challenge
Winner in Fantastic Wings Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Virtuoso
Genius
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at "Mount Trashmore" at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, a wild area that was able to be restored from a condemned landfill. It is now a grassy plateau overlooking freshwater ponds and Humboldt Bay, and this kite has been returning there to hunt every so often since it was a juvenile.Time
I shot this photo just after 4PM. During the shorter winter days, that is around when the California vole becomes active for its evening foraging session, and when the White-tailed Kites begin to search the grasslands for a meal.Lighting
Only natural light is at play here. There was broken cloud cover at the time, and the sun was shining through a gap in the clouds to directly illuminate the kite.Equipment
This was taken on a Nikon D800 with a Sigma 300-800mm zoom, handheld.Inspiration
On my first visit to the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, I was captivated by an aerial battle between two White-tailed Kites that were having a territorial dispute. When I began pursuing wildlife filmmaking, I kept returning to watch them hunt and get into scuffles with other raptors, and I ended up following a population of them for a year to make a documentary short. This kite is one of two children raised by the pair that nested in the pines at the marsh three years ago, and it still returns to its old hunting grounds occasionally.Editing
I made basic adjustments to the color balance and contrast curve, then cropped the image for composition.In my camera bag
For photographing birds, I almost exclusively use the Sigma 300-800mm zoom mounted on a Nikon D800. Unless I'm going to be shooting a stationary or slow-moving subject, I find that shooting handheld allows me to track fast/erratic subjects better than when using a tripod.Feedback
Learning about prey activity helps a lot with photographing predators. By watching the raptors around Humboldt Bay hunt, I've become familiar enough with the voles' activity that I can often predict when and where I'll be able to get a good view of the kites, harriers and owls that hunt them. As long as there is plentiful prey, White-tailed Kites will often return to the same areas to hunt, and are usually willing to come much closer to a photographer that's already waiting quietly nearby when they arrive at their hunting grounds.
