By Ted Grussing
… the Cormorant leaps with both feet at the same time to propel itself along the water to gain speed and go airborne, just as the Kangaroo leaps with both feet at the same time to propel himself along the ground. All of my duck shots where I got them running on the surface to gain speed, show the ducks were laying them down one at a time and I guess I never bothered to check out Cormorants until I looked at the shots I took of them on Watson Lake last Friday … it was strange … they were using both feet at the same time to generate the awesome force they require to break free of the watery runway beneath them. The photo of the Cormorant shows him just about ready to put the feet back in the water and initiate another awesome push to accelerate to flying speed coupled with the forceful wing beats. Sometimes it took the fifty or more feet to achieve flight and you know there is a lot of energy expended in the process. Like ducks I try to only jump them once during an outing … they work hard for their food and no sense making them expend more energy than necessary.
The second shot is a scenic with a rock island in the foreground, the granite boulders on the higher shoreline and Granite Mountain in the background. I love that lake and there will be many trips back there. The Knot Yacht performed beautifully and I used both the electric and the Mercury outboard engines. This is definitely a whole new and exciting venture I am beginning. Being able to shoot the wildlife from water level adds a truly exciting new dimension to my shooting. :+) I was planning on mostly shooting Wildlife on this outing so left the MK IV with the 24/70 lens in the car and now wish I would have brought it as I had the 100/400 on the 1D X and you do not get much a field of view with that.
Had a beautiful flight yesterday morning and got some relatively close up shots of Robbers Roost rock out on the side of Casner Mountain. Looks like a neat place to get some great shots. I was going to fly again this morning, but it was raining; there is something special about waking up and listening to the rain come down and then rolling over and falling back asleep … sweet and I actually slept another hour.
So welcome to another week now underway … look for the beauty around you and share smiles with those you meet and greet … so easy to choose a good day. More airtime and now water time coming up …
Cheers
Ted
And in this journey over a thousand hills and valleys called life, he is wisest who
is patient where the way is hard, has faith when he does not understand, and carries
into the dark places the light of a cheerful heart.
— Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
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