3/23/2019 - 3/24/2019
I had big plans this last weekend. After a lot of back-and-forth conversations, I finally locked in plans to shoot some more duck pics. I have very few shots, and I would be meeting up with Brian Zwiebel to go to Metzger Marsh in Ohio. Brian is quite the photographer, and I was looking forward to the opportunity to shoot with him. We settled on plans and would meet on Sunday morning.
It was a long week, and I had plans Friday night; so, I got a late start Saturday morning. I only had time to run to Eagle Creek Park for some shots. Given the late hour and clear skies, I felt lucky to get any shots. I managed a few shots in the harsh light. The ice skating pond was full of Ring-necked Ducks and Red-winged Blackbirds. Eastern Bluebirds were numerous and calling. As a matter of fact, everything was calling, and I spent a few minutes just listening to all the bird calls. It's nice to see the Tree Swallows back. It was even nicer to find a cooperative one. With all the bluebird and swallow pics I took that morning, it was a very blue themed day.
Saturday evening, I made the trip to northern Ohio in preparation to meet Brian early the next morning. I'd never been to Metzger before and was excited to shoot someplace new. I met Brian for breakfast in the morning, where we discussed the plan for the day and some tips on camera settings. From there, we headed to the marsh. It was an interesting experience. This was only the second time I'd put on waders, and I headed out into waist-deep water to get to our shooting location. Brian got the decoys deployed and helped me setup next to a muskrat lodge. The whole experience was a blast. Ducks would fly in, and I would do my best to get some shots. Frankly, I'm not real good at it. I could use a lot more practice with shooting birds in flight. I'm also not used to shooting from a tripod. At times, I was just watching them fly by, because I knew I was not going to get on them in time. The weather was very overcast all morning, and that did not help. The autofocus on the camera struggled a bit, and the images suffered some noise issues with the higher ISO. I like the speed and weight of my Nikon setup for this type of photography. I'm not super-comfortable with the setup though, and I think that did not help. Regardless of how the photos turned out, it was a great time. I look forward to trying it again, someday.
Thanks for reading,
Mike