Tag: Charleston Fineart Photographer

Nikkor Z 400mm f2.8 TC at Magnolia Garden

I try to be spontaneous when I can!

So when my good friend and amazing photographer, David Archer, messaged me the other morning to let me know he was heading over to Magnolia Gardens, I took a break from the computer and zipped out the door to join him.

Although it was a beautiful morning, we didn’t get any prize-winning photos. But we had a beautiful day and a fun time catching up. PLUS I got to play with his new Nikkor Z 400mm f2.8 TC! What an AMAZING lens!!! I also captured some images with the Nikkor 500mm f5.6 PF + FTZII, as well as the Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8 + Nikkor Z TC-1.4x.

WARNING: Not for Sensetive Viewers

After capturing a beautiful proposal at White Point Gardens, I had a few extra minutes. So I decided to stay and photograph the famous Black-crowned Night Herons. I wish I hadn’t!!!

During each hot and humid Charleston summer, the live oaks in White Point Gardens (also known as Battery Park) become the nesting grounds for Black-crowned Night Herons. Seemingly unafraid of the public, they start acting like they own the place, making them easy to approach and photograph. Even though the park is said to be haunted, the night herons don’t seem to mind. In fact they nest in the very trees that the pirate Stede Bonnet and his men were hanged from!

In all my years photographing wildlife, I’ve only ever witnessed one other occasion so brutal and violent. While I was wandering around, a major disturbance began unfolding overhead. A mother decided to reject one of her chicks. Ejecting it out of the nest, pecking it to near death in the branches, and then pushing it out of the tree…the poor chick plunging to certain death below. The mother then returned to tend to it’s other chicks as if nothing had happened.

Why do birds reject babies? The main reason is to enhance the survival probability of her other chicks. It’s believed that the mother senses something is wrong in the development of that chick. Or they realize they don’t have the resources to raise all of their young successfully. Eliminating one mouth to feed is their only solution.

Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to witness such a seemingly violent act. But such are the laws of nature! Fortunately, I was able to ease the conflict in my soul by photographing a few other herons peacefully preening as the sun began to fade.

(Nikon Z9 + FTZII + 500mm PF)

500mm PF Animals Birds Black-crowned Night Heron Charleston Fineart Photographer Charleston Nature Photographer Charleston Stock Photographer Charleston Wildlife Photographer Chris & Cami Photography Egret Heron Nature Night Heron Nikkor Nikon Nikon Love Nikon Pro Nikon USA White Point Garden Wildlife Z9

Boone Hall Plantation

I had the privilege of being at Boone Hall Plantation after hours this weekend. It was neat to basically have the place to myself…so peaceful and beauituful without all the tourists running around. 🙂

(Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 24-120 f4 S)

Avenue of Oaks B&W Black-and-White Boone Hall Boone Hall Plantation Charleston Fineart Photographer Charleston Nature Photographer Charleston Stock Photographer Chris & Cami Photography Historic Charleston Historic Plantation Monochrome Nature Nikkor Nikon Nikon Love Nikon Pro Nikon USA Oak Alley Z9

Wildlife Workshop with Kiawah Island Photo Club

This week I had the great pleasure of working with the Kiawah Island Photo Club as their instructor during a private Wildlife Workshop that was held at the Center for Birds of Prey!

Under the care of Stephen Schabel (Director of Education), we had a fantastic time learning about these amazing hawks, falcons, kites, storks, kestrels, vultures, and owls. It was very rewarding for me, helping everyone figure out the best settings and techniques to capture these beautiful creatures. But the most amazing part was seeing the wonder and awe on the participant’s faces as they experienced these majestic birds up close and personal!

After a fun day together, we all set our cameras down and enjoyed an insightful behind-the-scenes tour of the operating rooms and rehabilitation facility.

Many thanks to Kimberly and Gordon from the Kiawah Island Photo Club, as well as Mandy, Stephen, and Katie from the Center for Birds of Prey for organizing this fabulous program!!!

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Abdim's Stork American Kestrel Animals Asian Brown Wood Owl Avian Avian Conservation Center Barn Owl Bird Birds Birds in Flight Birds of Prey Center for Birds of Prey Charleston Event Photographer Charleston Fineart Photographer Charleston Nature Photographer Charleston Stock Photographer Charleston Wildlife Photographer Chris & Cami Photography Crested Caracara D5 D500 Eurasian Eagle Owl Falcon Feather Harris' Hawk Hawk Kestrel Kiawah Island Photo Club Kite Merlin Nature Nikkor Nikon Nikon Love Nikon Pro Nikon USA Owl Peregrine Falcon Raptor Red-tailed Hawk Spectacled Owl Stork Turkey Vulture Vulture Wildlife Yellow-billed Kite

Shem Creek Infrare & Aerial Photography

By commission of a client of mine looking for artwork to go in her new home, I went out to photograph some images of Shem Creek a few weeks ago.

The original request was for some of my fineart infrared photos. For those I use a special camera. It’s a Nikon Coolpix A, which is a compact rangefinder camera with a large DSLR sensor in it! The camera has been converted to see IR light by a company called Kolari Vision. It was a beautiful day and I got some great Infrared shots, which the client ended up hanging as 40×50 Acrylic prints in her home.

If you have an old digital camera you don’t use much and would like to convert it to Infrared, here’s the link: https://kolarivision.com/?ref=74. For a $10 OFF discount, use Coupon Code “chrissmith” at checkout.

While I was there, it was just too perfect a day not to fly the drone. I just couldn’t resist!!! 🙂

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