Canon EOS-1D Mark III Autofocus Issues

Since the release of the new Canon EOS-1D Mark III camera, I've been reading complaints regarding its autofocus system. In particular, its ability to track moving subjects in AI Servo mode. I first saw these complaints on Naturescapes.net, but they have been popping up more and more on different photography web sites. Now, Rob Galbraith has written a comprehensive article on the autofocus issues that many users seem to be having with the 1D Mark III.

I'm not lucky enough to be able to afford a Canon 1D Mark III, but if you are, you should contact Canon if you are experiencing problems with the autofocus system. The more people report the issue, the more attention Canon will give it.

Newsletter Archive

If you're not a subscriber to the Beauty of the Wild newsletter, then now is your chance to catch up on what you've been missing. The entire newsletter archive for the past year has just been posted under the "Articles" section. The archive includes the latest newsletter highlighting more macro photography and some winning images from the 2007 Orange Audubon Society Photography Contest.

Please click on the "subscribe to newsletter" link, to make sure you get future updates sent directly to your inbox.

Lady Beetle Wallpaper

"Lady Beetle" taken at my parents' garden on June 2, 2007. This shot was produced by using a ring flash with manual exposure and a 150mm macro lens.

More macro photography shots can be seen in the June gallery.

This image is available for download as a desktop wallpaper in several resolutions:

Full Screen 1024 x 768   Full Screen 1280 x 1024
Full Screen 1400 x 1050   Widescreen 1280 x 768
Widescreen 1680 x 1050

June is Bustin’ Out All Over

South Florida is in the middle of one of the worst droughts in its history. The water levels of Lake Okeechobee are the lowest since the record was set in 2000. Palm Beach and Broward Counties are under Phase III water restrictions. Earlier in May, before the rainy season started, our skies were blanketed with smoke from the wildfires burning throughout the Everglades. These conditions have not been good for the traditional season of our nesting birds. There were fewer nests this year, and even fewer eggs that actually hatched. It’s even evident in the number of young birds that normally visit our backyard feeders at this time of the year.

The drought seems to have had an opposite effect for the birds in water controlled areas such as Wakodahatchee Wetlands. There the birds have had to contend with higher than normal water levels in these areas, as water managers pump more water into them to force the replenishment of the aquifer. Some Black-necked stilts at Wakodahatchee and Green Cay, have had their nests flooded out by high water several times. The success of nesting birds in South Florida depends on delivering the right amounts of water at the right time, and this just isn’t happening for many species this year.

One species that seems to be having a good year are Crows. At least is seems that way, because I’ve seen many more of them this year. They have been busy raiding the nests of grackles and blackbirds. For the second year in a row, they’ve also managed to tear up the nests of the Purple Martins at Wakodahatchee.

A bad cold and some rainy weather have kept me indoors for a good part of May, so I wasn’t able to catch the tail end of spring migration. Having missed all the Swallow-tailed Kite action this year and having had a rather poor migration season, has me longing for some better photography opportunities. We’re in June now, so there will be fewer different species to photograph. To keep me occupied this summer, I recently purchased a ring flash to use with my macro lens. I’m going to try to get some close-ups of insects. Hopefully I’ll have some successful shots that I can post in the gallery.

In the meantime I’ve been working on improvements to this website. Most of which have been invisible to visitors, like the upgrade to the gallery program. I’ve also been working on launching the Everglades Photographic Society website.

June marks the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season. An El Niño effect kept South Florida safe last year, but we have no such protection this year. Be prepared, and keep safe.

The Lusty Month of May

It’s not just a Lerner and Loewe song, but May usually marks the end of the migration season and the beginning of the full fledged breeding season. Of course here in Florida, many of our birds, like the Great Blue Herons, have been nesting since December; but still there are birds that produce offspring in May such as the Moorhens, Gallinules, Stilts, and Mottled Duck. Other birds, like the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck are just beginning to nest.

The extreme drought that South Florida is facing this year has placed a damper on our spring migration. I noticed fewer warblers then usual during April. The Swallow-tailed Kite activity in Everglades National Park is also slower than last year. At Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, there doesn’t appear to be any successful Red-shouldered Hawk nests. The drier conditions have forced many animals to move closer and closer to populated areas to seek food and water; like the Bobcats at Green Cay that have made the parking lot a regular place to hang out.

Hopefully these are not signs of a long term trend, and these populations bounce back next year. One of the goals of this website is to be able to keep track of the trends from year to year.

Thank you for the kind e-mails everyone sent me, after my car accident on April 1st. Most everything is back in order again or in the process of getting back in order. After a few doctors’ visits, it looks like my injuries are minor. We now have a new car, the newly redesigned 2007 Honda CR-V LX in Glacier Blue. Actually when I say “we” I mean my wife got the new car, I’m back to driving my old car, which she had taken over after our daughter was born. I’m pretty sure this whole thing relates to the Circle of Life somehow.

If you’ve been looking for something to watch on television, you didn’t have to look far this spring. There was the beautiful documentary on Planet Earth, on the Discovery Channel. Another great documentary on the Galapagos was on the National Geographic Channel. A new show called Spring Watch USA on Animal Planet. Finally there’s always the continuing series Wild Florida on your local PBS station.

The May gallery is now open. Enjoy.

No April Showers

The April gallery is now open. We've had little rain and a lot of wind lately, causing many of the migratory birds to travel over the west coast of Florida, instead of spreading across the state. I am still without a car since my accident on April 1st so it's kind of hard to get around to where the migrants are. Hopefully that can be rectified soon...

Common Kingfisher with prey

April 1st, 2007

Sorry about the quality of this picture, I am travelling and had to post from my laptop.

Our highly paid tour guide informed us of a location where we could get very close to a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). I insisted, through an interpreter, that the location should be as natural as possible. I did not want to photograph kingfishers that had been lured in by goldfish. I wanted a natural setting and natural behavior. Our guide insisted that the kingfisher was wild and that it was not feeding on goldfish. Sure enough we hit the jackpot and captured this Common Kingfisher feeding on blue fish.

Canon EOS 40D, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, Av, EC -2/3, Flash Off, Evaluative, ISO 400, Canon 100 to 400mm L @ 250mm, One-shot AF