La Chua Trail Photo Shoot

La Chua Trail - Rick Du Boisson

Saturday Jan 10th, 2009:

What a perfect day to stroll along the La Chua trail with your camera and a telephoto lens! Blue skies, temp around 30C, and wildlife in abundance.

Thousands of sandhill cranes were to be seen, and heard, although the large crowd of humans - apparently the result of a story in the Gainesville Sun - kept them at a safe distance. However they were still close enough to clearly distinguish the pair of rare white whooping cranes. Close-up shots were possible, with a little patience, as the cranes flew overhead. It was good practice for photographing birds against a bright sky - I found that +2/3EV helped retain shadow detail but not burn out the sky and a shutter speed of 1/320s seemed optimal for allowing blurring of the wing tips, giving the sense of movement, and at the same time keeping the eyes in focus.

Paynes Prairie is relatively flat, but it has a vastness that reminds one of Africa. You may not think of this a great place for landscape shots, but actually panoramic shots can be quite impressive, especially if you can capture wildlife in the context of its environment.