Discover a Slough Near You - Neary Lagoon, Santa Cruz, CA

Nestled in the middle of Santa Cruz is a gem of a lagoon where I spent the best part of a year photographing the wildlife.   I went almost every day for seven months, missing only 4 days, to sit patiently with the Great Blue Herons, the Wood Ducks, Mallards and many other species. 

There was also a very special resident of Neary Lagoon, a huge domestic goose the park workers lovingly nicknamed Uncle.  I asked Mary and Susan, two of the park employees, why they called him Uncle and they shared this story with me.

“When the Mallards have babies, they often have 8 to 12 young.  Unfortunately not many survive due to the predators that live in the lagoon.  Once Uncle arrived, we noticed that he would choose a mother mallard with her ducklings and stay with them until the babies matured, chasing off anything that might threaten them with his loud honking and flapping of wings.  He took his responsibilities very seriously and so we christened him Uncle”.

Uncle, the nurturing old gander, got ill one day and although staff tried to get him help, he passed away and is buried on a sloping knoll under the shade of a tree in the park.  I have included one of my favorite photos I took of him when I got too close to his adopted family.

One story I want to tell you about is the time I got locked in the park after dark.  I was photographing a Great Blue Heron, following him from one part of the park to another.  Herons can stand still for hours to fool the fish into thinking they are safe.  I had to learn to sit just as still with my camera ready to snap the shot once the heron speared his target. I would often spend 6 to 8 hours with the Great Blue Heron, willing myself to become invisable to him. In time he would forget I was there.

Well, I got the shots I wanted but totally lost track of time. I headed up the path by the Water Treatment Facility only to find out the fence was closed and locked.  The fence that was well above the top of my head by two feet or more.

I knew I would face the same scenario if I tried to get out of the park using the other exits, and besides, my car was parked in the lot just off Bay on California St.  I didn’t want to have to walk from the Chestnut or Blackburn street exit all the way up Laurel Street to retrieve it.

I carefully wiggled my camera and pack through the opening in the fence (wishing I was still the same size I was in my younger years) and the decision was made.  I had to scale the fence to retrieve my gear. Placing the toes of my shoes in the holes of the fencing, praying it was a sturdy fence, I started my climb.  I was able to flip over the top.  Climbing down was easier than climbing up.  I certainly made sure that after that I carried my cell phone and left before park closing time.  I have to say though, climbing that fence made me feel like a kid again.  However, I certainly don’t recommend it to anyone else.

But I do recommend visiting Neary Lagoon and getting to know the wonderful park staff.  The floating walkways are easier on the joints than walking on cement or even hard packed ground.   It’s a little less than one mile to walk the park so a few times around will help keep you fit and give you lots of photography material.

Technical information for photographing in poor light.

I know I said I wasn’t going to go into detail about the technical aspects of camera settings but, as is my prerogative, I changed my mind. Those interested in learning more about camera settings please continue reading.

I am not a snob when it comes to people who choose to set their camera on auto as today’s cameras are designed very well and you will get a good photo.  However, I wanted to learn how to fully understand my camera and so I always choose what settings to use.

ISO is a term that people who used film will find familiar.  It referred to the speed of the film and in digital cameras it defines the sensitivity of the image sensor to light.  The higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive the sensor is to light and therefor the less light you need to capture the image. I would start at ISO 100 for bright light.  I would increase my ISO settings as the light starts to fade ending up at the highest number my camera allowed.  However, a high ISO setting will cause your images to look grainy.  In another blog I will talk about how to remove the grain using software such as Photoshop and other programs. 

I would usually have my camera set on Aperture Priority mode (AP) because that allows me to control the aperture (also called F-stop). The aperture is the opening through which light passes inside the lens.  The more open the aperture the more light hits the sensor. Wide open translates to the lowest number or F-stop your lens will allow.  It also controls depth of field but again, I will discuss that in depth in another blog.  When I am shooting in poor light, using AP is important as that allows my lens to gather the most of what little light is there.  I will set the F-stop on the lowest number – that’s 2.8 for my favorite wildlife lens. One draw back is that at a setting of 2.8 not everything will be in crisp focus.  Using this technique all you have to be careful of is making sure your shutter speed doesn’t become too slow.

Shutter speed is another very important setting to be aware of.  Some photographers set their cameras on Shutter Speed priority instead of Aperture priority.   The shorter your shutter speed, the faster the shutter opens and closes.  If you want to freeze action, like a bird in flight, then you want your shutter speed to be fast. A slow shutter speed will cause motion blur and while motion blur can be pleasing in some situations (which I will discuss in another blog), it is not optimal if you want crisp action shots.  I rarely shoot under 500 (1/500th of a second) while photographing birds in flight, or surfers and often go faster depending on what look I am trying to achieve. I try to keep my shutter speed over 1000 when shooting birds of prey.

However, when shooting in AP, your shutter speed is determined by your ISO setting and your F-stop setting.  If you are new to photography, you will find this information confusing.  I know I did but if you practice it will soon become second nature to you.   One thing to remember is that using a shutter speed under 60 (1/60th of a second) usually results in a blurry photo.  Use a tripod if you want to shoot at slow shutter speeds as it will cut down on the vibrations or camera shake shooting at low speed causes.

I learned all about ISO, Aperture and Shutter speeds photographing the ducks that fly in and out of Neary Lagoon and I can’t think of a better place to practice. Please make sure to say hi to the park employees.  They keep Neary in pristine condition and are tireless in educating people who visit the Lagoon.

Download the movie