Photographing Birds
from a Kayak on
the Morro Bay Estuary
The Morro Bay Estuary, located on the Central Coast of California, is one of my favorite places to take wildlife pictures from a kayak. I use Fuji S2 Pro and Nikon 200 cameras with a Sigma 500mm (720mm) lens.
The best time to take bird pictures from a kayak is early morning (this can depend on how early you want to get up and the time of year) to catch the warm back lighting from the east. Around high tide is best. You do not want to get stuck in mud at low tide.
Since I do not use a tripod to capture a sharp focus, I will generally set a higher ISO speed around 800 to 1600 (1/1000th to 1/3000th) in order to get the faster shutter speed. The birds in flight are moving fast and you have to react instantly to get that rare bird picture. There isn’t time to use a manual focus or to a tripod.
I keep my digital cameras from getting wet by placing my camera between my legs, then I place a bath towel on top of the camera. By placing the camera on the towel I can wrap the towel around the camera to protect it from the moisture.
If you have questions, feel free to contact Garry Johnson.
Elegant Terns
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Great Egret in Flight
Long Billed Curlew
Western Sandpipers
Western Sandpipers
Marbled Godwit
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