Galapagos Day 7/Volcano Hike and Peurto Villamil Beach Walk

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This Whimbrel was photographed in soft, misty light with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6. This tame bird gave us many good chances. We first spotted it swallowing a small octopus. Sorry: no photos of that :).

Galapagos Day 7/July 12: Volcano Hike and Peurto Villamil Beach Walk

After a late breakfast at 6:30am. we made a dry landing at the pier in Peurto Villamil. Most of the group took a bus ride and a hike to the top of the Sierra Negra volcano and were fortunate to see the caldera when the clouds and the mist cleared. With my left hip syill bothering me, a stubbed toe, and a cramped left calf I opted for a beach walk with Michael Yessik and Christine Doyle. We were scarcely 50 yards from the wharf when we came across two young male Yellow Warblers battling on the road. They seemed to be locked in struggle to the death at one point but both eventually flew off seemingly none the worse for wear.

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Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, 25mm Extension tube, and the EOS-1D MIV. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/6.3. We tried in vain to create a good image of the two birds tumbling through the air a foot above the dirt road…

Juan had told us about a wetlands boardwalk near the Iguana Crossing Hotel. We found it easily. We spotted a distant flamingo but our only photo opps were with some White-cheeked Pintails.

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To create this tight head portrait of a feeding drake White-cheeked Pintail I lay down on the boardwalk with the Canon 800mm and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop set manually: 1/640 sec. at f/8 in cloudy bright conditions.

After our visit to the mangrove lagoon, I walked back along the beach in “soup from a stone mode.” Below are my favorites from that walk.

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This Marine Iguana blur was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC handheld at 215mm and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/4 sec. at f/45 in Tv mode for complete control of shutter speed. I took lots of these and kept only one 🙂

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This something-out-of-nothing image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens handheld at 235mm) and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/16. I created lots of horizontals and lots of verticals. Both worked and were pretty much interchangeable.

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Patterns in wet sand was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens handheld at 135mm with the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/800 at f/11. Good images are where you see them 🙂 Note the Rule of Thirds image design.

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And finally, one for the whimsically minded: Marine Iguana painting on pink wall 🙂 This image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens handheld at 169mm with the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 100. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3. (I eliminated a window on the right frame edge with a series of Quick Masks.

After lunch, we began the long navigation to Puerto Ayora so that we could all get a good night’s rest before our day with the tortoises. Both Denise and I did lots of Photoshop with some of the participants on the voyage.

Shopper’s Guide

Here is the gear that I used that afternoon at Urbina Bay:

Canon 70-200mm f/4 l IS lens
Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body

And from the BAA On-line Store:

Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head

If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our Shopper’s Guide

Chas Bristo

May 5, 2011 at 2:23 pm

There is little doubt that this is considered the most remarkable places in the World to travel to. Trust me, save your money and spend 5 weeks here. You will remember it!