Imagine sitting in a flat bottom boat, steeped in the winter chill. Temperatures in the teens render the fingers numb. Clasping the barrel of a 500 mm lens becomes a matter of will. Overhead, bald eagles swoop and soar, snow-capped mountains in the background.
“There is a majesty of being in that setting,” said Angela McCain of her trip to the Kachemak Bay wilderness area, Alaska. “You look up and there are eagles on the tops of every tree, literally hundreds of them.”
McCain, a Sugar Land physician specializing in rheumatology, was describing her other passion, bird photography. She discussed her pursuit of photographing raptors, birds of prey.
“Sometimes it could be dark and snowing,” she said of the Alaska trip. “I didn’t feel my hands most of the time.” McCain emphasized there are no guarantees a bird photographer will capture the elusive image sought.
“Nothing is a given in the bird world,” she said. “You could spend a lot of money and time getting there, and not get the image.”
McCain got the shot. Her equipment of choice included the Nikon camera, models D800 and D4, and 500 mm and 300 mm lenses. “These are my primary tools,” she said. “I use prime lenses which are a fixed focal length. The sharpness is better.”
The scientist in McCain is captivated by the dynamics of photography. “There is a relationship of light, speed, and how the camera functions,” she said. “You can’t just put the camera up to your eye and push the button.”
She said the interplay of shutter speed and aperture settings is key. “It is important to understand how these two things work together to create the image in your mind’s eye before you even start.”
As for capturing the beauty of an avian image, McCain said it takes preparation. She explained a shoot in a wilderness habitat for perching birds. “You have to groom a location,” she said. “Clipping and tweezing. Make a spot that attracts the bird to sit right there.” She added, “They have to have cover to feel safe so they don’t feel threatened.”
McCain said some locations might require a bit of assistance. “Food and water, a great place to sit - after that, everything is natural.”
The photographer pointed out the importance of observing a bird’s mannerisms and sequence of behaviors in order to anticipate the desired image. “You need to see it before,” she said. “See the bird do it. You need to learn to anticipate that behavior before it is going to happen.”
According to McCain, many species can be photographed here because Texas is a “major migratory route.” She said, “The Texas coast is where you want to be.”
The physician-photographer’s pursuits have taken her to British Columbia, Alaska, and Kruger National Park in South Africa. She’s not done. “A lot of birds have personality and colors that appeal to me,” McCain said, stating she would like to photograph Iceland’s Atlantic Puffins.
In Texas, she said the North Texas Prairie Chicken and the lekking ritual interest her. “The males gather. They fight, call, and sing to bring the females in,” she said. “The females pick in the bird world.” McCain said males have an orange air sac on both sides of the neck. They inflate the orange sacs during mating displays.
“Florida has some fantastic birding,” McCain said. The Hooded Merganser and Snail Kite are on her wish list. “The Snail Kite has a hook beak designed for reaching into a shell and pulling the snail out. They fly over the water, dive in, and pull the snail out.”
For the past five months, McCain has been printing and mounting her photographs in preparation for a local exposition. “I couldn’t stop,” she said. “From 24 images, it’s now up to 80.”
McCain’s fine-art photography will be exhibited at the George Memorial Library, Jan. 31 through March 18, in the Bohachevsky Gallery of the library, 1001 Golfview, in Richmond. A reception from 2-4 p.m. is planned on Jan. 31.
According to McCain, proceeds from the sale of her work will be split between three charities: Fort Bend Women’s Shelter, Texana Clinic, and Child Advocates of Fort Bend.
Resource: http://www.yourhoustonnews.com
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