Lori A. Cash Photography Blog

This past Sunday I spent the afternoon photographing at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. As we were driving over the bridge to Chincoteague Island it started lightning. I was lucky that the rain held off, and I was able to photograph a range of species. Some of the species I photographed includes black-bellied whistling duck, mallard, green heron, bald eagle, black skimmer, muskrat, least tern, short-billed dowitcher, lesser yellowlegs and killdeer. The black-bellied whistling duck is a new species for me. I have wanted to photograph this bird for a long time but never encountered the duck before. The black-bellied whistling duck is usually found in Florida and Texas, but I was lucky to see and photograph this duck at Chincoteague.

I was forced to use a higher ISO due to the cloudy skies and was able to maintain a high enough shutter speed using an ISO of 640 and 800.

Photo1: Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 800, 1/500, f/8, + 2/3 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Photo2: Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 800, 1/250, f/8, + 1 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Tags: avian photography, bird photography, birds, black-bellied whistling duck, Chincoteague, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, ducks, Virginia, wildlife photography

Chincoteague ponies are found on Virginia’s Eastern Shore at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The ponies are owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department who has a grazing permit that allows the ponies to stay at the refuge. Legend states that the ponies are descendants of Spanish Mustang horses that were shipwrecked off the Virginia coast in the 16^th Century. The ponies can be any solid color or pinto patterns.

The annual “Pony Round-up” or “Pony Swim” is held the last Wednesday and Thursday in July.  The Pony Penning auction continues to provide money for the upkeep of the ponies. Each year thousands of people flock to Chincoteague Island to watch the Pony Penning and enjoy the Firemen’s Carnival.

Photo1: Chincoteague Pony, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 400, 1/1000, f/8, -1/3 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Photo2: Chincoteague Pony, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 800, 1/60, f/8, +1 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Tags: Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Chincoteague Ponies, Eastern Shore, Virginia, wildlife photography

Today we had a CNPA outing to the northern end of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We were hoping to see the nesting skimmers and least terns, but they were nowhere to be found. They had been there as recently as last week, but there was none on the beach this morning. However, we did see a few willets, black-bellied plovers, gulls and sandpipers. I did manage to find one photogenic ghost crab with a claw full of sand. Here are a couple of images from this morning.

Photo1: Willet, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 400, 1/1000, f/8, +1/3 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Photo2: Ghost Crab, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 400, 1/500, f/8, + 1 1/3 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Tags: bird photography, birds, ghost crab, Outer Banks, Pea Island NWR, willet

Again this year, I will be leading several children and family friendly photo programs during the Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival held November 9-14, 2010 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I will be leading these three programs: Introduction to Digital Nature Photography for Children at Island Farm, Introduction to Digital Nature Photography at Sunset (both Saturday, Nov. 13th) and Introduction to Digital Nature Photography on the Beach (Sunday, Nov. 14). These programs will give participants a chance to learn basic digital nature photography while exploring and photographing the diverse scenery, birds and flora. Participants will be introduced to the digital camera including basic techniques and tips on how to see the nature around them through the camera’s eye. The cost will be $20 with two children 12 and under accompanying paying adult for no charge.  

The first program I will be leading is on Saturday afternoon from 12pm-2pm at the Island Farm on Roanoke Island. Then later that day I will lead another program at the Pea Island’s NWR North Pond Trail at sunset from 3pm-sunset (around 5:30pm). The third program will be on Sunday morning at the beach across from the Pea Island NWR visitor center from 8am-10am.

For registration and more information about the Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival, here is their website. If you know of any children that are interested in learning about digital nature photography, this would be an excellent way to introduce them to photography.

Tags: Children Photo Programs, Outer Banks, Wings over Water Wildlife Festival, workshops

Just a reminder that there is still space available for our Lighthouses and Seascapes weekend workshop for March 19-21, 2010 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The cost of this workshop is $350. We will have a Friday evening orientation, photograph all day Saturday and photograph until noon on Sunday. Registration is offered online at the below link using PayPal or by check or money order.

Please click here for more info on this workshop.

Tags: lighthouses, Lighthouses and Seascapes Photo Workshop, North Carolina, Outer Banks, seascapes, workshops

Dan Waters and I will be holding a Photography Basics for Beginners Workshops this Saturday, February 20th, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There will be both in-the-field and classroom sessions. This workshop is geared towards anyone that has a camera and is interested in taking better photos. 

Registration is offered online at the below link using PayPal or by check or money order. Since, the workshop is less than a week away, please email me at lori@lacphoto.com if you like to register and pay via check or money order.

Please click here for the link to the Photography Basics for Beginners Workshop.

Tags: Outer Banks Photo Workshops, workshops

Here are a couple more images from my recent trip to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. It was a cloudy morning when I took the below images. Therefore, I increased my ISO so that I would have enough shutter speed to stop the action of the birds actively feeding in the water. In this one spot at Merritt Island I was able to photograph a variety of birds such as American avocets, tricolored herons, willets, and marbled godwits. I am pleased that I got many good images from this trip.  

Photo1: Tricolored Heron, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 500, 1/250, f/8, +2 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Photo2: Marbled Godwit, Canon EOS 1D Mark III with Canon 500mm IS lens and 2x teleconverter, ISO 640, 1/320, f/8, +2 2/3 exp comp, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Tags: bird photography, birds, Florida, marbled godwit, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, tricolored heron

Over the New Year’s holiday I had spent some time down in Florida photographing birds at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Viera Wetlands. It was a fairly successful trip. Unfortunately, I did not get to spend as much time at Merritt Island since the drive was closed one afternoon due to an accident on the drive. At Merritt Island, I enjoyed photographing some American avocets. I would have preferred them to be in breeding plumage, but nonetheless, I finally got some avocet images. This is a new species for me. Below are two of my favorite images from Merritt Island.

Hope everyone will have a peaceful, healthy and prosperous new year.

Photo1: American Avocet, Canon 1D Mark lll with 500m IS lens, 2x teleconverter, ISO 640, 1/320, f/8, +2 2/3 exp comp on a cloudy day, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley head.

Photo2: Great Blue Heron, Canon 1D Mark lll with 500m IS lens, 1.4x teleconverter, ISO 1000, 1/250, f/5.6, +2 exp com on cloudy day.

Tags: American avocet, bird photography, birds, Florida, great blue heron, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

I have not been photographing much lately. Hopefully, I will pick it up with the new year. This picture is from my trip to Elizabeth City last week. I was at the waterside when I photographed this sailboat leaving the harbor. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.  

Tags: Elizabeth City, North Carolina, sailboat, sunrise

For those of you who are on the social networking websites, you can now join me on Facebook.

Also, become a fan of the Outer Banks Photo Workshops on Facebook.

Hope to see you there.

Tags: facebook, news