Nikon Wednesday 2017: #10

tsypkin: I'm sorry for your loss; thank you for sharing T-Bone with us. I had a golden retriever in my youth; your post, like some of Patrick's, remind me to capture more memories of my current little old (and badly spoilt) cat.<br />

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In T-Bone's honour, we seem to have a canine theme, so I'll roll with it. Here are my promised coyotes from my Yellowstone trip at the start of the year. (I was hoping for wolves, but only got as far as, ironically, prints; maybe next time.) All these are cropped; maybe I should hire an 800mm next time.<br />

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This guy was lining up to dive in the (Madison, I think) river after a duck. He narrowly missed, and sadly I wasn't quite quick enough to get the attack itself. He didn't look happy at getting wet unnecessarily. (One of his friends was fishing with a similar lack of success, but far enough away that my images are a bit limited.)<br />

D810@ISO1000(+0.4),1/800s;200-500+TC14E2@700mm f/10<br />

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This guy seemed to be following a trail - although whether of other coyotes or whether he was after subnivian food I'm not sure. He had a good sniff of a lump of snow just after this.<br />

D810@ISO560(+1.1),1/500s;200-500+TC14E2@700mm,f/10<br />

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Finally, our coach got given a long and suspicious look before this guy wandered off. Possibly to ask what I was expecting to achieve through dirty windows...<br />

D810@ISO560(+0.9),1/500s;200-500@700mm,f/10<br />

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Thank you. The memory of these dogs stays with us throughout our lives. Your coyote shots are terrific.

I made these shots today when I saw This Red-tail flying with the clutched mouse in claw. Landing in a tree it soon made a quick lunch of the rodent. Shot with D600 70-200 f4 VR at iso 400, f5.6 @ 1/1250 sec. The image is cropped, sharpened and moderate noise reduction applied in Lightroom for viewing on screen.

Turkey Vulture

 

Thanks for the workflow feedback, everyone. I'll kick off another thread as soon as I get the chance and try to get this sorted. (And tsypkin - thank you, glad you like them!) And yes, I'd love to be shooting wild carnivores not through a window, but we were a bit constrained in what we were allowed to do on that occasion!

I found this wood duck downstream from the egret. I tried to get its attention, but all I got in return was a blank, wooden/plastic stare[ATTACH=full]1178658[/ATTACH]

bnelson, your wood duck looks familiar to hundreds I used to have, plastic seam and an underwater keel with a weight attached on a cord to keep it from roaming.

Nikon D810, AF-S 300/4E PF VR, 1/640s, f/4.5, ISO360. Fantastic lens for this type of shooting, it's light and small.

 

Quite a bit more futuristic looking. Wonder why the Police isn't riding Harleys :cool:

futuristic

Another first world problem: I am beginning to miss the vertical grip on my D810 when shooting in portrait mode but don't want to (a) spend the money and (b) carry the weight. What a conundrum:rolleyes:

Dieter, I have the same issue. I regularly walk the beach for a couple of hours and keeping the bag lighter really helps. Have started to take a d200 w/o a battery grip and a tiny 35mm 2.0 giving me about 50 mil equivalent for some bresson type shoots. A 50 1.4 gives me about 80mm and if I feel energetic, an 85 1.4 gives 130mm. But as I await the replacement for the 810 as my d700 is closing in on 8 years old, I I too have been considering another vertical grip and L bracket. For 8 years of use and still doing what I need, they didn't really cost me that much. Maybe that is a way to justify it for you. Besides the comfort, staying tight on vertical shots for hand holding rather than having that elbow flying just could save the shot of a life time.

@bob_bill, considering the "cost over the lifetime" might get me over (a) but does nothing to make the bulk and weight of the grip more bearable (b).<br><br>I don't have one on my D700 (actually had one and sold it); currently only the D500 and D7200 have one mounted to better balance with the longer lenses I mostly use them with. The D7200 definitely needs it and the D500 has it because it came along for free (if it hadn't I could do without). Edited March 9, 2017 by Dieter Schaefer

Two weeks ago I said goodbye to my loyal and gentle friend, the golden retriever T-Bone. He lived to an advanced age (for his breed) of nearly fourteen years. He was my most patient and handsome model, and thanks to him I developed the taste for photographing dogs. I will post three photos of him. The first one was taken when he was in his prime, at six years of age. The camera was Nikon D90, the lens Nikon 70-200 mm.

 

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Sorry for your loss...

The first one was taken when he was in his prime, at six years of age.

 

So sorry, Mikhail, about your loyal friend. I know that pain, but I know it passes. Still, nothing can replace that particular relationship. I feel for you, and am glad you've got lots of photos of your buddy. I feel like I've never taken enough with our canine friends.

Dieter, I understand. Last night in the had the d700 with grip, a wide angle zoom, 85 and flash and heavy tripod with ball head on a sling over the other shoulder. Really noticed the difference. I would really appreciate a lama to haul my gear. They used to use them with hikers in the Sierras.