doug_herr

Ross forgot to mention the weather which in late may can still be in the 40s and 50s with solid overcast. Not much rain though.

 

Doug Herr (six summers at Denali)

Jeff Wilson has the right idea (turn off AF) but doesn't go far enough: Use a lens that was designed for fast manual focus. You can use the entire viewscreen to focus, so your compositions aren't limited to dead-center, and you don't need to mess with focus limiters either.

 

The two lenses that come to mind are the Novoflex follow-focus and Leica f/6.8 Telyt. Both are supplied with a shoulder stock, and either can used with nearly any SLR body with a simple adapter. Focal lengths are 400mm or 560mm. I've used both on birds as small as swallows and I've been very pleased with the results regardless of the background.

Between Niagra Falls and Chicago, depending on your route, is Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, Canada. The first week in May is best for migrating birds but the 2nd or 3rd should be OK, too.

 

Doug Herr

While photographing (or trying to get close enough) some juvenile Gyrfalcons in interior Alaska I spent quite a long time creeping along the face of a cliff getting close enough for some mediocre photos when the falcons flew away. I then headed in the general direction I'd last seen them, and as I crested a rise in the tundra I found one of the Gyrs less than 20 feet away. The bird was curious! It hopped closer and closer; my 400's minimum focus distance is 11 feet, and I had to stop making pictures well before the falcon satisfied its curiosity. At its closest the Gyrfalcon came within 6 feet of me.

I've relied on a lightweight 400 with shoulder stock rather than carrying a big, heavy lens with equally heavy tripod. The lens is the Leica 400mm f/6.8 Telyt. It's light enough to take on backpacking trips, steady enough with the shoulder stock to go without the tripod in most situations, and its optical quality is excellent.

 

I use a sling over my shoulder and chest made of nylon webbing with half of a fastex buckle; the other half of the buckle is on a small length of webbing looped around the shoulder stock. This way I can hike with my hands free, grab the camera/lens whenever I need it, and release it quickly when nessesary.

I realize this thread is a bit stale, but here's my $.02 worth anyway-

 

I gotta agree with Ellis, the Leica 400 f/6.8 is an excellent choice. It's light enough for serious backpacking, with the shoulder stock normally supplied with the lens it's very steady at slow shutter speeds (so you can ditch the tripod), it's optical quality is excellent and it's responsive enough that even photos of active subjects are not a big deal. Best yet, it's one of the most affordable Leica lenses.

 

I find the 400mm focal length most useful for the majority of my subjects (birds of all sizes) and if I were limited to a single lens this one would be it.

An individual style towards wildlife photography is a personal statement of whatever it is in wildlife that you want to express or show; it may be dramatic action, or illustration for identification, or it may be using the animal as a design element in an interesting composition.

 

The basic techniques of proper exposure, focus and camera steadiness apply to these styles for the most part but the personal style element may include extra attention to lighting (including artificial light), details or compositional forms in the background, activity, or a large number of other features that go beyond the basics. What about wild animals turns you on? Pay attention to this and you'll find your style.

I don't think either Bob Atkins or Dan Smith have seen what a good hand-held 400 can do. Dan's Novoflex was undoubtedly an older model. I wasn't too impressed with the optical quality of that equipment but recent Novoflex lenses use Leica glass which in my experience blows the Nikkors away.

 

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As for the belief in the viabilty of using a hand-held 400 for professional-quality work I invite anyone to look up the Prairie Warbler photo on Peterson's CD-ROM bird guide, or the perched immature Northern Goshawk in the Stokes Field Guides. The Prairie Warbler was made with Kodachrome 25. I had about 2 seconds to raise the camera to my eye, focus, set the exposure, frame the image and shoot as the bird jumped into and then out of range. The shutter speed was 1/60 sec. My experience has been that excellent results at 1/60 sec are frequently possible and that 1/125 sec nearly always guarantees professional-quality results.

 

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Where the Northern Goshawk was, it would have been impossible to set up a tripod let alone haul a tripod to the site. This was made at 1/125 sec on Kodachrome 64.

 

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The trick to all this is a good shoulder brace and excellent ergonomic design. I sold my Nikons and Nikkors because neither their optical quality nor the ergonomics measured up to the Leica 400.

The big, fast lenses such as the 400 f/2.8, 600 f/4.0 etc. have become quite popular for wildlife work but there's another approach you might consider that requires a different mind-set: a lightweight, hand-held lens that's actually designed to be used hand-held. I've been using this sort of rig for a number of years and while I'll miss some shots in dim light I'm not burdened with a "Fred Flintstone's Club" sized monster with tripod to match so I am willing (and actually do) carry my rig further afield and into situations where the tripod is useless.

 

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I find that with this sort of equipment my photos are much more dynamic and I don't need as long a lens. Either the Novoflex 400 or Leica 400 f/6.8 will do.

Martin,

 

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I haven't used AF of birds in flight so I can't comment on that type of system but I certainly would NOT use a twist-the-ring manual focus lens for flight shots.

 

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I've used the Novoflex follow-focus lenses and the Leica 400 and 560 f/6.8 lenses, which have a non-traditional sliding focus configuration.

 

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The sliding-focus setup is superb for this kind of photography, not just with slow-moving stuff like eagles or herons but also with skimmers and swallows. A good shoulder brace such as the one supplied with either the Novoflex or Leica lens is extremely helpful.

Lenses longer than 400mm are much more difficult to use because of the much narrower angle of view.

Of these lenses my favorite by far is the Leica 400.

A 400mm lens has been the most productive for my wildlife work, though a 300 can be useful if you've got an extraordinary supply of patience.

 

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I've used 500mm mirror lenses and found their limitations too constricting. The out-of-focus "donuts" are more often ugly than interesting and the fixed f/8 aperture had me reaching for 400 speed film AND a good tripod. With a 400 f/5.6 and a good shoulder brace I can use slower films and leave the tripod behind.

 

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I don't know specific equipment availalbe to Minolta users but that choice will often depend on personal preferences.

I agree that an APS system is not suitable unless all you ever want to do with the pics is identify the bird. I DON'T agree that one must use a big clumsy lens to get top results. My personal favorite lens is the Leica 400mm f/6.8 Telyt which is remarkably light weight and if purchased with the Leica shoulder stock can be used hand-held all day with little fatigue using remarkably slow shutter speeds.

 

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This lens can be bought used for about $800 and can either be modified to fit non-Leica bodies, or you can buy a used Leicaflex SL for about $350. IMHO the SL is ideally suited to use with this lens because of its bright, high-contrast viewfinder and its unbeatable ergonomics. There's also the Leica R3 for about $300 but its viewfinder is not as good as the SL's.

I've used two shoulder stocks: the one supplied with the Novoflex lens system, and the Leica shoulder stock normally supplied with the Leica 400 f/6.8 but also usable on other long lenses. If I'm photographing an active subject that requires a hand-held camera they're the only way to go!

 

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I've found that 1/60 is the slow-speed limit for a 400mm lens, or 1/125 for a 560. I normally use the Leica 400 with its shoulder stock and have been delighted with the combination.

I've had good success with both the Noviflex follow-focus lenses and with the Leica 400 f/6.8. Both lenses use a non-traditional sliding focus mechanism and are supplied with a shoulder stock. The Noviflex is available with a number of camera mount adapters but the Leica lens must be modified to use it on anything except a Leica.