Tag: point reyes national seashore

Shorebird

Marbled Godwit, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a marbled godwit hunting at Drakes Beach.
Hunting in the Surf at Drakes Beach

This photo was taken last Saturday at 5:10PM, which was 35 minutes before sunset.  As with the bluebird photo of a few days ago, there was a strong color cast caused by the low sun.  This time I left the color correction for middle gray, but disabled the color correction for black/white.  That’s the opposite of what I did with the bluebird.  If I had left the correction for black/white the water would have been very blue.  The color correction for middle gray was small and this looked slightly better to me.

Song Bird

Western Bluebird at Sunset, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a western bluebird roosting near the Pierce Point Ranch buildings.
Western Bluebird

If I like a photo enough to print or post on the web one of the first things I do to get it ready for use is a color correction step to identify any color casts.  Actually, I do two steps. The first step neutralizes color casts in the blacks and whites and the second does that in the middle grays.  Photos taken during normal daylight hours don’t normally have much of a color cast.  However, there is usually some color cast and I almost always remove it.    Of course, the time around sunrise and sunset is another story.  I still do the color correction steps, but rarely remove the color cast caused by the sun being low in the horizon.   To get that color cast is why we get out there so early and stay out there so late.  This bluebird was photographed as the sun was disappearing below the horizon.  I have not removed the color cast in the above image.

I thought it would be interesting to show what this photo looks like after neutralizing the color cast caused by the setting sun.  Here’s the same photo as above, but with the color cast completely removed.  The photo now looks “more normal” because we usually see bluebirds in normal daylight.

Photo of a western bluebird roosting near the Pierce Point Ranch buildings.
Western Bluebird at sunset with complete removal of color cast caused by the setting sun.

There is a third photo below.  It looks more like the first photo, but it isn’t the exact same image.  After I did the color correction steps described above I toggled the black and white correction and the middle gray correction on and off and found that I preferred the look of the image with black and white color corrected, but with middle gray not corrected.  Note how the white breast compares in all three photos.  Obviously, correcting for middle gray had the most effect.  Personally, I think I prefer the third image.

Photo of a western bluebird roosting near the Pierce Point Ranch buildings.
Western bluebird at sunset with blacks and whites color corrected, but not middle gray.
Tule Elk

Favorite Spot To Photograph Elk; Point Reyes National Seashore

photo of tule elk cow at sunset.
Tule Elk Cow at Sunset; Tomales Point Elk Preserve

I took this photo during the last hour of the day on the side of the road just before the Pierce Point Ranch complex.

The mile or so before the ranch complex is my favorite place in the Seashore for the end of the day.  The reason for that is that I can usually find some elk crossing from the west side of Pierce Point Road to the east side of the road then.  It’s easy then to position your car close to the elk and with the car between the setting sun and the elk.  The backgrounds are usually clean also.  Close-up photos like the above are easy there then.

Shorebird

Sandpiper, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a sandpiper checking the remains of a shellfish for something to eat.
Sandpiper, Point Reyes National Seashore

When I go out to Point Reyes to photograph wildlife I usually concentrate on the ranch lands and other open lands of the Seashore.  One day last month I stopped at Drake’s Beach and watched some sandpipers and marbled godwits hunting for food as the waves retreated.  Things were pretty quiet (few people) so I grabbed my gear and headed down there.  Unfortunately for me, some people walking the beach came a little too close for most of the birds and they flew down the beach.  However, a few remained.  This guy came closest.

Limantour Beach is known for shorebirds.  Pat Ulrich has had a lot of success there.  It’s a long way from my usual areas, but I’ll have to check it out.