Preston Ballard: Final Project

By Preston Ballard, The Break Free Program Participant

Spiny Orb Weaver
This photograph was taken on the first day out with my Camera, I was struggling to find much to photograph and was getting a little bummed out. Luckily for me, Florida is loaded with all sorts of interesting spiders. I found this Spiny Orb Weaver hanging between two pine trees with some very colorful leaves in the background. Capturing this photograph on my first outing with the Olympus gear was really good proof of the capabilities of the camera

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
100mm | 1/100s | F5 | ISO 320
White Ibis
A species that can often be seen roaming the neighborhood foraging in people's yard, their natural habitats often get overlooked, and many people probably do not even know what their habitat looks like. While kayaking on a local river, I spotted a group of white ibises foraging and preening in the mud. This particular bird was relaxing next to some Cypress Knees and I thought that captured the environment very well.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
218mm | 1/640s | F6.3 | ISO 800
Pied Billed Grebes
Pied Billed Grebes are a subject that I have struggled to photograph for a while, but finally managed a picture I am happy with, and in the most unsuspecting place. A local retention pond in the middle of the city with large businesses and many homes all around it harbors so much life. Dead center in the middle of the city, a pond that is overlooked and seen as a dirty place for trash water to go is filled with so much life. I spent many mornings here and eventually captured a photograph I liked which includes both the male and the female grebe that live in this pond.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
300mm | 1/25s | F6.3 | ISO 300
Wood Duck
Taken at the same location as the Pied Billed Grebe Photograph, these beautiful wood ducks live in the most unsuspecting area. It’s quite amazing seeing them thrive in a place everyone overlooks is so amazing to me. This is likely an area I will return to and work to document this small wildlife sanctuary in the middle of town.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
292mm | 1/50s | F6.3 | ISO 2000
Green Tree Frog
One of my favorite habitats in Florida are the Cypress Swamps. I love wading in the water, just going around seeing what there is to see. Oftentimes these areas are great places to find reptiles and amphibians like this Green Tree Frog. Many people overlook smaller creatures like these frogs, but they are vital to the ecosystem and are beautiful creatures.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
28mm | 1/80s | F4 | ISO 800
Hermit Thrush
Taken in the same habitat as the Green Tree Frog, this photo of a Hermit thrush is done a very different way. With the tree frog, I positioned myself close to the frog with no foreground. In this photo, I positioned myself in a way that would put the trees as the foreground, creating a very interesting looking image with some unique patterns.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
400mm | 1/30s | F6.3 | ISO 1000
Hermit Thrush
Although this image may look drastically different then my other Hermit Thrush photo, it was actually taken in the exact same position and almost the exact same time. The drastic differences in the photos comes from basically 1 thing, positioning. I like having both of these images together as it really shows how the slightest changes in one's position or perspective can completely change how an image looks.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
200mm | 1/30s | F5.9 | ISO 1000
White Tailed Deer
This photograph is the only mammal picture I managed to take, despite my plans to try and photograph foxes, bears, and maybe even coyotes. This shot came from a very intense evening, on my hands and knees crawling through blackberry bushes for 30 minutes trying to get to a decent position where I could photograph this deer. Luckily this deer is at a local bike path so it is fairly habituated to people, but that does not take away from the fact that deer are extremely skittish animals. After all the time spent crawling, a little window between the thick brush opened to this doe having a moment of peace for herself.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
210mm | 1/15s | F6 | ISO 1250
Pygmy Rattlesnake
Very early morning while taking a walk through the forest to check one of my trailcams, I stumbled upon this very small Pygmy Rattlesnake. No bigger than a tennis ball, I just happened to see it coiled up at the base of the tree. Still foggy, and the blue tint of pre-sunrise not yet gone, I got to work photographing the snake. One thing I really want to work to stop, is the hate towards snakes. In almost every scenario, a snake wants nothing more than to get away from you and leave you alone. Despite this, many people murder snakes for no reason whatsoever besides an irrational fear. I was only inches away from this venomous snake, but because I stayed calm, and did not provoke the snake, the snake did not make any attempt to attack me.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
34mm | 1/8s | F4 | ISO 800
Pine Forest Tree Frog
I found this Pine Forest Tree Frog while wandering through the forest one day. It was a completely new species for me, one I had never seen before. Unlike my other photo of the Green Tree Frog that is more wide angle style, this photo is a lot more macro like. I like the comparison of these two photos because it shows the true capabilities and extent of possible photos that can come from using the Olympus 12-100mm.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
100mm | 1/60s | F6.3 | ISO 640
Dunlin
Florida’s most notable features and the thing most people think about when they think of Florida, is the beach. The beach is not only a place for people to relax, fish, and have fun, but a place for animals to live. Many different species of birds live on the beach, and often large groups of them will group together as a way to survive predators. I found this Dunlin on the beach among a group of mixed shorebirds resting.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
368mm | 1/800s | F6.3 | ISO 400
Barred Owl
Personally my favorite image of the 12 that I captured, this image is of a barred owl in a beautiful oak tree. Owls are my personally favorite animal, and I spend a lot of time looking for them. They have an incredible aura to me, and really represent healthy habitat. Owls require lots of food like rodents and bugs, but these animals do not exist unless the habitat they are in is healthy. I also like it for the fact that it shows the capabilities of the 100-400mm F5-6.3. It is not a classic telephoto photograph like you may expect, but instead is a bit wider.

OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3 IS
100mm | 1/30s | F5 | ISO 640

Learn More About Preston's Project

You can follow Preston as he planned and executed his project through his three monthly blogs.

READ MONTH THREE BLOG

READ MONTH TWO BLOG

READ MONTH ONE BLOG