Monday in Nature Weekly Photo September 1, 2014

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<p><strong>Basic Guidelines</strong>: Nature based subject matter. Please, declare captive subjects. Keep your image at/under 700 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing and try to keep file size under 300kb. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc. Feel free to link your image to a larger version.<br>

<strong><em>In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include hand of man elements. Please refrain from images with obvious buildings or large manmade structures like roads. A bird on the fence post or bug on your finger is fine. Try to minimize man made features, keep the focus on nature, and let common sense be your guide. Let's post 1 image per week. </em></strong><em>More details please check <a href="/nature-photography-forum/00cgtY">here</a>.</em></p>

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<p>First Cup of Coffee Morning Greetings,<br>

What were you thinking? No, no, not THAT what were you thinking. Not the one that you ask whoever's listening when you forget the back-up batteries for anything. And certainly not the one that you ask someone in the rear view mirror when you realize that the thermos of coffee is still in the kitchen and you're miles from nowhere down a dirt road.</p>

<p>What were you thinking when you chose the gear that you took out on either of those days? Why that lens? What will it let you do that no other will? The query is in response to a comment over in the Canon forum by one of our contributors here. There is often a desire to talk tech. So, in the spirit of that desire, add some of your own process with your post. You're already getting down and dirty in nature, so let's get technical.</p>

<p>For me, the growing season means loading up the Canon ef-s 60mm 2.8 macro lens. It is light, fast, razor sharp, and 1:1 when I want it.. The photo of this lovely <em>Cortinarius iodes</em> is a good example of why I use this lens. ISO 400, f10, .3 sec exposure, evaluative metering, ambient dappled light with a 12" reflector to bring in a bit more light. It's supposed to be a good portrait lens. </p>

<p>So, for this first in September Monday in Nature, what were you thinking?</p><div></div>

<p>Saw this guy on South Padre Island, Texas.</p><div></div>

<p>Oops, thunderstorms made my connect fail before I could post the image, I'll try again.</p>

<p>This image, taken last week in my yard, was also shot with the canon 60mm. f. 7.1 @ 1/100 sec in bright overcast. </p><div></div>

<p>Well, I was going to post an image of a kingfisher I couldn't ID. But a shot more representative of the typical gear I like to walk through nature with would be a macro shot. I generally will pack 2 cameras, one of which is always my Sony a55 with a Minolta 100mm macro lens and a flash so I can use a small aperture even in low light.<br /> <img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5570/14900593788_abccf60e72_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="640" /><br /> A wasp with a paralyzed spider, which it will put in a clay encasement along with an egg that will develop into a larva that will consume the still live spider before turning into an adult.<br>

A higher resolution image can be seen here,

<p>Lovely shot there, Siegfried.<br>

I was thinking nothing more profound than 'lunch in the garden - so macro lens (Sigma 105mm) to photograph the bugs that will inevitably turn up". This Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) spent a couple of hours patrolling the garden, always returning to the same vantage point.</p><div></div>

<p>Foxy2</p><div></div>

<p>The last time I was out with my new Sigma 150-500, I was thinking, gosh this lens can get heavy, so I decided to take it out with the monopod the next time. It's probably not a lens I would hike with, but I love it for dedicated shooting. Still playing with the best settings, and this shot was heavily overexposed until I messed with it some in post, in spite of having shot at -.7 exp comp. My hiking lens is actually a Panasonic Lumix FZ200 'bridge' camera. This definitely wasn't the best shot of the day, but I like the image of this swan doing its best magic lantern impression. Some lovely 'portraits' so far.</p>

<p>Sigma 150-500 @ 500, f8, 1/400, -.7EC, cleaned up in Photoshop Elements</p><div></div>

<p>When I go into the field, I usually carry 2 bodies, one for the 50mm 1:1 macro lens & any other lens I take. My lensbaby tends to live on the other. I often take similar images from both. One tends to be more of a regular (?) nature image that I would post here, the other is more for my abstraction side, most of which I wouldn't post here. So my choice depends on my mood &/or where would/will I post the image.</p><div></div>

<p>My garden has been my "field" due to heat indexes in the triple digits. My thoughts have been why is it so darn hot. When trying to shoot insects in flight I prefer to use the 300mm with 1.4 TC. Easier to chase them and still remain at some distance.<br>

Miner Bee approaching Mexican Sunflower.<br>

D800 300mm with 1.4 TC f/8 1/1600 ISO 3200 ( the flowers are shaded so bumped up ISO to keep shutter speeds up)</p>

<div></div>

<p>Beautiful stuff from everyone! A warm July has meant loads of insects here. This is a small skipper butterfly filling up on a thistle shared with a pair of soldier beetles.</p><div></div>

<p>I decided to take my Manfrotto monopod to the stream for hopefully steadier images. The Manfrotto adds significant mass to the Nex 3 so the movement has to be reduced, at least in theory. This picture (1/100 sec; f/5.6; ISO 200 @ 57.0 mm equivalent) was with the 'pod.</p><div></div>

<p>The gear head question. Hmmm.<br>

I rarely am ever without a macro, pretty much where ever I go. Even when I am slugging around a big lens like the 600mm there has to be a macro lens with me. I usually round that out with something wide and something in the middle. So just coming back from Australia/New Zealand/Fiji my gear was a 15mm f4 (tiny) 20-35mm, 100 macro, 55-300, (all Pentax) and for a while a 400mm f5.6. As many lenses as this all is it was manageable and I could still get it on the flights (there were a few places the 400mm had to stay put though, like Lord Howe Is due to weight limitations). </p>

<p>So this Bird's nest fungus was imaged with my 100mm f2.8 (and Pentax K3) in New Zealand even though I spent a lot more time doing botanical, landscapes, and bird images. Probably those of you who stick to one subject type get better images than I, but I really like the flexibility of being able to image whatever I find.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/17845110-lg.jpg" alt="" width="465" height="700" /><br>

Bird's Nest Fungi, Arthur's Pass, South Island New Zealand.</p>

 

<p>Douglas, nice find and wonderful composition.</p>

 

<p>Just arrived in Tanzania - here is a long-tailed fiscal (<em>Lanius cabanisi</em>) from the hotel grounds in Arusha. EOS 7D + Tamron 150-600mm at 450mm; 1/800s at f/8 ISO 200.<br>

Set off tomorrow on safari with backpack containing 7D and 5D2 with EF 8-15mm, EF-S 10-22mm, EF 24-105mm, EF 70-200mm f/4 IS, Tamron 150-600mm. The Tamron arrived just in time to replace my EF 100-400mm and 300 and 500mm primes. At last minute I decided I couldn't go without the EF 500mm /f4 and 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. Then there is a tripod, wimberly head, monopod and laptop. I'm thinking I've got everything covered and if I don't get anything good, I can't blame my equipment!</p><div></div>

<p>Siegfried and Roberta, what action shots!</p>

<p>I took a one-day course last week on pollinator conservation and learned more about bees than I ever imagined. Captured yesterday morning in my garden is an adorable bumble bee happily rolling in pollens - Nikon D800 with Nikon 200mm micro lens @f/11, 1/320s, ISO 1250.</p>

<p>Typically I would be making a round in the garden to see if anything needs attention. If there's something interesting and have the time for photography, I hurry home to attach my Nikon 200mm macro lens to the camera, preferably using a tripod if the situation is not too urgent. For me it seems f/11 is a sweet spot for adequate depth of field when the critter is somewhat parallel to the lens. Depending on how fast the action is going, I would like a speed of no less than 250s if the bee is not moving fast, usually setting ISO from 1250 and no more than 3200 for this camera. I try to compose the shot such that it does not look distracting and the background is pretty enough, if that is possible.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>What great shots this week! Insects seem to be the new fungi. :-) I am sorry to disappoint with fancy technical gadgets. Most of my shooting takes place while doing something else (watching my kids, teaching students, traveling from A to B), so the lens that is on my camera (an OM-DE-M1) most of the time is the Olympus 12-40 mm 1/2.8. However, my old E-PL1 with a 14mm pancake lens resides in my jacket and probably sees the most use throughout the year. If I take more gear, it's a 35-100 mm telephoto and maybe a 7-14 mm wide angle.</p><div></div>

<p>As usual, I was carrying everything when I took the Swainson's hawk shot below:</p>

<p><a title="Swainson's Hawk by dcstep, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3896/15035836166_e034c3d862_c.jpg" alt="Swainson's Hawk" width="800" height="534" /></a></p>

<p>I had two bodies, my 15mm diagonal fish-eye, my 24-105mm, my 70-200/f4, my 500/f4, my 1.4x and 2.0x TC, my 25mm ET and a sturdy tripod in the trunk of the car. The shot above was hand held out the window of the car, using my 5D MkIII, 500/f4 with the 2.0x TC-III.</p>

<p>On Saturday, I went out to the small town of Laidley, which is about an hour and a half drive from Brisbane. I was visiting a friend on their property and also wanted to check out the Pioneer Village so I packed my Em5, my 25mm f1.8 (50mm equivalent) for building shots, my 12-50mm, and my 60mm macro in case I saw some wild flowers or such. After getting back to my friends house from the Pioneer Village, I went for a walk around the property with my macro lens and got some flowers shots. That was when I saw this Kangaroo and her Joey emerging from the bush. Ok, so all I've got is my macro lens, no zoom capability, so I quickly changed the settings from 1:1 to a longer focusing distance, carefully and slowly crouched down and grabbed this shot. When I tried to move in closer she took fright and jumped away. I was just ecstatic to get the shot, luckily the 60mm did a good job, even at a bit of a distance! Proved to me the versatility of my macro lens too!</p><div></div>

what a superb bunch of mages and what a SUPERB and priviliged insight into the minds of the

photographers who capture them.

 

I've actually spent most of the past week on firefighting photography, but did get a couple of birds within the

this week time-frame. The attached photo was taken with a 7D with a Tamron sp70-300, which has been the

camera/lens combo i've carried here on the mountain the majority of days the past three months. This lens

doesn't have macro, so the minimum focusing distance even on the bees and bugs is about 6 feet, thus any

images i post of them are greatly cropped. What the lens does give me is very light carry-weight and a ring-

usm focus motor which allows me instant manual over-ride without having to switch out of af mode. For

images like birds such as this which are darting in and out of a tangle of branches and shrubbery, this allows

af to get me to being “close” to being in focus, and then i can hot-tweak it manually to bypass the branches

and get to the bird even while i'm already starting to press the shutter button. I carry the camera set to

iso1250 tv 1/1000, spot metering, and the focus point set to dead-center on the smallest point the 7D gives

me.

 

The reason for carrying the 7D and its extra weight is simple: 8fps burst rate, and a buffer which takes

bursts of 22 raw images in stride. (I tested a Nikon D7100, I liked it and it has the burst-rate, but the buffer

“died” after 7 images), Weight is a real factor, my morning walk along the mountainside up here takes me on

a three km walk with a vertical rise of just over 180 feet, and i occassionaly do little “scrambles through the

brambles” side excursions. On the occassions I do carry a second body it's either a T3i with either a

matching Tammy 70-300 for video, a 40D with a 17-85 to widen up for landscapes, or a simple, old, and

relaible Fuji s2000hd 10 meg compact. I did buy a Nikon d3200 with a true Nikon 70-300 specifically to get to

“light and long” and which i found to produce superb images “but” the palm of my right hand just doesn't

fit the camera, the pad below my thumb presses the dial everytime I squeeze the trigger, and throws

everything off. The t3i for video has one feature Canon put on that one camera and it alone. a 3 to 10 “crop

zoom” feature in-camera on 1080p video, which is superb. With that 10x “crop zoom” combined with the

300m reach on the Tamron, I have video of less than 1/2 the moon filling the entire frame, and not had to use

expensive video software to get the crop. It also has the same 18 meg sensor as the 7D, a flip screen which

protects it in the brambles as well as flexible live-view angles, and better high iso performance than the 7d. If

I didn't need 8 fps 22 raw image bursts, the t3i would the one i'd carry most of the time.

 

You people are GREAT, you have given me so much valuable insight today. Particularly interesting to note

Siegfrieds use of flash (i never use one), and Laura's mention of using a fill-reflector. That one tip....the fill

reflector...is something I will begin carrying with me again instantly. Years ago I never went anywhere without

one of those dollar-store silver vinyl “emergency blankets” which fold up into a pocket, and which i had left

silver on one side and painted gold on the other side for a warmer fill. I don't know why I stopped carrying it,

but Laura's tip reminded me how valuable it is and that it's a useful and featherweight item to have with you.

But you have all given superbly valuable insights, there are enough valuable tips here to keep me reading

and re-reading them for weeks. Thank you, every one of you.<div></div>

<p>Sometimes it's good not to think too much! Besides which, for macro I don't find it very practical to carry multiple lenses in the midst of all the knee-and-elbow work. Setting down my bag on the ground can be enough to scare off a jumpy target bug, even before the real sneaking-up part has started. So I typically patrol up and down a promising trail or dry wash carrying only my Sony a65 and Sigma 70mm macro in hand.</p>

<p>The a65 because it excels for manual focusing thanks to EVF tricks such as focus peaking and its digital magnifier. While the Sigma 70mm is absurdly sharp and its combination of focus distance, weight and barrel length works equally well (to my taste) for finding stable elbow support while sneaking up on inch-sized and smaller insects close to or on the ground, as for stalking larger subjects like dragonflies or butterflies with a bit more working distance and a bit less magnification.</p>

<p>For birds etc there are more choices, my default option for "drive by wildlife opportunities" is to have my godzilla Minolta 600 f4 apo on the passenger seat while driving to/from/at photo destinations, keeping eyes open for whatever may show up along the roadside. I strap the lens down with the seatbelt so it won't shift during stops or turns etc. I mostly have a Sony a450 attached to it: the last APS body Sony made with a decent sized OVF. The various newer Sony bodies I have don't quite provide enough contrast and dynamic range in their electronic viewfinder to quickly find & focus correctly on feathery/furry subjects at that focal length. The a450 was a budget model even when it first came out, but it gets the job done and I prefer that (over a more expensive/heavier body) to be at the receiving end of bumps against doorknobs and such, which inevitably happen sometimes when moving a lens of such bulk and weight in & out of the car.</p>

<p>No macro example from me this week, instead here's an unplanned-for roadside catch with the big gun + a450 about six weeks ago in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Definitely behaved with enough wariness to avoid the Thanksgiving fate of its domesticated brethren.</p><div></div>

<p>So many great photos this week! Unfortunately this is not one of them. Elephant seal and pup in available dusk at Piedras Blancas in California, January 2014, shot handheld around 8:30 pm with Olympus E-M1 and 50-200/2.8-3.5.</p><div></div>

<p>a fallen giant.....death is never the end</p><div></div>

<p>Tule Elk, Nikon D800E with 600mm lens</p><div></div>

<p>Two lenses on M43 - the 12/2 which is sensational close up and for near/far; and the 45/1.8 which with auto extension tubes doubles as a competent macro. Quite enough to carry up a mountain, where this was taken - on a hill top with very short grass and some dwarf shrubs (only cms high). I have no idea what this fungus is, but it's mycorrhizal on the least willow whose leaves are clearly visible.</p><div></div>