Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of 630 square miles with an average depth of only 12 to 14 feet, which is incredible, because to stand on it’s shore, feels like standing on the shore of one of the Great Lakes. It is roughly oval in shape, about 40 miles from west to east and 24 miles from south to north. And for me, it was home to several Brown Pelicans and seagulls.
I know a lot of people don’t get that excited about pelicans because they are so common around the water, but I still think they are an amazing bird. I would have loved to get an action shot of one plunging into the water and coming up with a fish in its stretched out mouth, but alas, these pelicans were being very lazy while we there, and seemed content to just sit on the poles.
The best “action” shot I got, made it to the feature photograph spot. As you can see, he is stretching out one leg and standing on only one foot. That was about the extent of the action I could capture.
The seagulls on the other hand, proved to be active and somewhat comical. The gull that is shown floating in the water was actually hopping from spot to spot riding the waves and occasionally dipping under and coming up with a little minnow like fish of some kind. I managed to get this shot of him floating along and the waves hitting against him, which caused a splash of droplets to be caught in the air. The sun was bright and I was able to keep my shutter speed up high enough to freeze the water droplets in the air.
The other seagull shot was pretty comical. In the series of shots I took, the flying seagull was coming in from the right, about the same height as the one standing on the post. He caught the gull on the posts attention and he then turned to keep an eye on him. The flying gull buzzed the standing one and then kept flying off to the left. I had the D7200 on fast continuous shots, and was able to capture the photo shown. The flyer is directly over the standing gull, and the standing gull still has a sharp eye out for any shenanigans. A pretty cool shot if I do say so myself.
Then there’s the Great Blue Heron. They’re amazing, colorful looking birds. I just haven’t figured out if they are really as angry as they look, or if they are just all about the business at hand: catching fish and eating. My wife thinks they look like a grumpy old man…lol. No matter what the reason for the stern looks, they are fascinating to watch and to photograph.
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As always, get out there and experience your world. Leave me a comment about your photos and your experiences, and above all, Enjoy Our Wonderful World!
RM Goldsmith Photography 