beezartdms-wildlife

<p>I haven't contributed for a long time.<br /> While living in Richmond, VA area the last two years I discovered and followed a beaver family, including watching them raise pups. I was only one of four who knew the location of this lodge, the other three were park rangers.<br /> Canon 5D2, L-100-400 f/5.6L @ 320mm, ISO 2500, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec</p><div></div>

<p>it's 100 degrees plus in my neighborhood. At least something looks happy. Can you see the bumble bee working the flower upper left?<br>

Very nice posting so far this morning.</p>

<p>Stats: 5Dm2, EF 28-135 @ 135mm; 1/60sec F14, ISO 640, manual, hand held.</p><div></div>

<p>Wonderful Photos and critiques. Glad to see folks comments.<br>

A bit of old FL Americana that I liked.<br>

Raining here, and my ark remains unfinished. Pool filling up faster than I can drain it and threatens to overflow.<br>

Happy Thursday. - LPC<br>

5Dm2; EF 28-135 @ F/13 and 1/160sec with ISO200</p>

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<p>Mark, Don't know where this was staged (or not) but this tortise in the middle of the road becomes a target for too many. I hope it was moved. I rescued a turtle from the road today.<br>

A nice photo, with good, even lighting, and clear definition and excellent DOF illustration.</p>

 

<p>I'd like to see more commentors like Mark Kissel. So, IMHO . . .<br /> Nathan Gardner – According to my Audubon bug book, it’s a Brown-spotted Yellow-wing. That’s helpful, eh?<br />Jeff Spirer - The contrast between the two figures is interesting. The background figure resembles a 19th Centurywoman. Nice thought-provoking image. St. Petersburg, FL just held a huge PRIDE festival.<br />Robin Smith – Interesting color here – adjacent green and blue. An effective use of fill lighting.<br />JDM von Weinberg – I hear Richmond is still a “civil war” town. I may have to relocate there soon. I wonder if shooting up and closer would produce a more provocative image?<br />Lupo Lobo – this is sooooo unfair – I haven’t had any breakfast. I’d like to see more DOF.<br />James Dean – a classic backlight image, beautifully rendered<br />Gil Pruitt – And where do you sleep, Gil?<br />Mark Poseley – I’d like to see the flowers closer. The lichen overpowers the image. Quite the challenging shot.<br />Dean Schreuder – I love this shot. There is such joy captured. It wouldn’t work as well vertical. Suggest you edit out the distracting black above right. Otherwise, nicely done overall.<br />Rob Bernhard – I’m a fan of irony in photos. Good catch. Unfortunately too common.<br />Brad – interesting collection, especially the dude covering his ears. Again, irony and isolation amongst a crowd.<br />Doug Obert – nice stop action. I didn’t immediately notice they were airborne. They obviously are having a great time. Good add to the family memory album.<br />Bruce Gibson – a best remembered moment photo.<br />Spencer Chrouser – good catch of the bird’s attitude. Nicely saturated color. Striking<br />karen wiltshire You’re off to a good start with the new lens. Can you ID the moth and flowers?<br />Phil B – I like all the lines of division here. It’s as if there are multiple stories of the lives captured in one spot, like overlapping universes. A good story.<br />Mark Kissel – sometimes you just get lucky.<br />Bill K – that’s the guy sneaking into my house at night and eating the cat’s food! Such cute critters, such diseased little buggers. <br />Hadi Khademi – nice clear detailed head shot of the prairie rodent. Good display of their variegated coloring They make good pets too.<br />David Cavan – A very thought-provoking image. Nice work.<br />Dan Ferrin – I have more blurry photos of flying herons than focused ones. It’s not so easy shooting these big birds. Good capture, good lighting - this is persistence paying dividends.<br />thom polimeros – I would expect to see Marley’s Ghost step from behind the stone. A nicely haunted photo which strikes a pensive mood.</p>

<p>In my area of FL, it has been raining sporadically for days. Yesterday I was able to get out between raindrops to a favorite park. It turned out to be a good trip. This night heron was about 50 yards off the bank of a creek which runs through the park. Lots of blue sky and sunshine at the moment of capture. It's cropped. <br /> 5Dmk2; EF100-400L @ 400mm; F/9; 640iso 1/400sec</p><div></div>

<p>Everyone is up so early today!<br>

Some wonderful shots today. Thank you all for sharing.<br>

"At the Sponge Docks"<br>

Canon 5Dm2; EF70-200 F/2.8L @ 200mm<br>

1/200 sec @ F/16; ISO 200<br>

Hand Held. Sized per forum requirements</p>

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<p>I didn't get out at all last week. <br /> However, this was shot within the hour. I love animal irony.<br /> This my "uppity" cat who tries to rule the house. He has one bad habit and all Siamese attitude in a favorite spot of repose. The photos on the wall are mine, and need to be straightened. :-)</p>

<p>20D; 1/160sec @f13; ISO800<br /> Canon EF 24-85 @30m with flash fill.</p><div></div>

<p>I didn't get out at all last week. <br>

However, this was shot within the hour. I love animal irony.<br>

This my "uppity" cat who tries to rule the house. He has one bad habit and all Siamese attitude. The photos on the wall are mine, and need to be straightened. :-)</p>

<p>20D; 1/160sec @f13; ISO800<br>

Canon EF 24-85 @30m with flash fill.</p>

<p>Happy Thursday to All. As usual, I'm enjoying the submissions.<br /> James, I'm sure if I drilled my hand, my first thought would not be to grab my camera. You're a brave lad.<br /> My difficult choice of shots from yesterday - go cute with a raccoon, or exotic with an endangered species. I've never had a tortoise in my house (another story) so I'll choose Mr. Gopher Tortoise. This is upland habitat in an urban park, St. Petersburg, FL. Not too many years ago the state had to pass a law preventing developers from burying entire colonies of Gopher Tortoise while preparing land for building. Now, developers are supposed to excavate and relocate the critters, but I'm dubious if a sincere effort is made. Remember, this is Florida, where an eagle's nest is just an inconvenience to be destroyed before development.<br /> This dude seemed intent to continue munching his greens while two of us approached, and accommodated our discussion of his attributes.<br>

5DMk2, 1/125 sec; ISO 200; F10; EF-L 100-400m @ 380m, hand held.</p><div></div>

<p>Did I read/hear somewhere Canon will produce an L-series 100-400mm zoom with f1.4 ?</p>

<p>Unlike the folks in Midwest, we here in the sunshine state have had beautiful weather the past two weeks. Our time comes June 1st as hurricane season begins.<br>

At the beach, a flock of pelicans put on a show for about 20 minutes - skimming the surface, swirling overhead, before heading west into the sun. This is a crop.<br>

Thanks to all for sharing your talents!<br>

5Dm2, 100-400-L @ 400mm; F13 1/1328sec; ISO640; Cropped/sized for forum</p><div></div>

<p>Nathan, enjoy Hilton Head. Perhaps that's where all the GBH have gone as yesterday I went out to a favorite GBH habitat and found none.</p>

<p>Lots of fun shots, thanks to all for sharing.</p>

<p>I don't have a macro lens but sometimes use my 100-400 to shoot small things. Here is a common dragonfly who seemed insistent I take its portrait.<br /> 5DMk2; Canon L 100-400; ISO 200; F5.6; 1/400sec; 40mm hand held. No PS editing or enhancements, except to adjust image size per forum guidelines.</p><div></div>

<p>I was in Frederick, MD last week. There is a beautiful, linear park which follows a stream. I only saw these geese and goslings once at the lake.<br>

5DMk2; -L-series 100-400 @ 300mm<br>

ISO 160; F8; 1/500sec</p><div></div>

<p>Jeff S and Joseph W</p>

<p>My apologies. You are correct to chastise me for my stereotyping comment. I beg your pardon.</p>

<p>Fred G, it's a discussion, nothing more. Personal choices, perhaps, like Mr. Penland's preference. And I've offended lots of wildlife, sir, but so far no scars. Close tho.</p>

<p>I'm enjoying the perspectives, and even learning about UFC fighters. Do they walk upright? (humor)</p>

<p>Jeff, what is UFC fighter?</p>

<p>Glad to see we've cracked the veneer of the obvious, philosophy, and comedy!<br>

I once asked (with some seriousness) if it was illegal to shoot contractors in FL . . . . so Mr. South, I appreciate your comment.<br>

Mr. Wisniewski, I would hope our endeavors in photography would in some ways mitigate the hardships we create while doing it, but who knows.<br>

And Mr. Joseph, not sure I agree with you - I swear I've had wildlife stay and "pose" in an anthropomorphic sense - likely curious about what I was doing. Admittedly, birds, mostly and they've been more interested than some human subjects paying for a service.</p>

<p>Perhaps to refine the question, with a different verb - challenging - as suggested by Mr. Cooper's comment, with whom I fully agree about zoo shots especially, having faced the challenges of shooting african wildlife.<br>

Perhaps "technically challenging" would also be appropriate to consider?</p>

<p>This is meant as a casual conversation. I'm not being simplistic or inane here, just seeking other opinions, for whatever it is worth.</p>

<p>I shoot a lot of wildlife, theater, dance, events, etc where there is little control of the environment. I also shoot studio ads, portraits, model shoots too. Each has its challenges.<br>

So what do you think?</p>

<p>All this thrashing about with the 5DM2 motivates me to examine the initial complaint: </p>

<p>Henry Ford: When using IS, I half press the shutter, and the scene in the viewfinder creeps down significantly, then to the right then up slightly. <br /> There's considerable movement and it never really settles at all. </p>

<p>I’ve just set up on a tripod my 5Dm2, Canon 100-400 L ISM lens, 400m and I’m focused on a chair across the pool deck, about 45-50ft. I’m using a cable release to minimize any camera shake. IS is ON.</p>

<p>When I hold down the release button, I observe a slight shifting of the image in the VF. I also hear the motors working what sounds like end-to-end movement. The image settles and there is no apparent effect when the image is exposed.<br>

Mr. Ford's original complaint verifies</p>

<p>Responses corroborate Jim Johnson’s comments and Bob Atkins too as to cause and solution.</p>

<p>Turning off IS eliminates all problems.</p>

<p>BTW, the same behavior occurs on a Canon 20D, where I first noticed the issue a couple of years ago. I had 20D, 100-400 plus 2X converter on a tripod shooting an eagle nest. Even knowing AF didn’t work, I would still depress shutter button out of habit, and see the VF movement, and hear the motors. I attributed the behavior to lack of AF. It never got in the way of shooting. It’s not the camera body. I've since learned more about how IS works and understand the nature of the behavior. Tripod and IS don't play nice, even on windy day.</p>

<p>I use the 5Dm2 with 100-400 mostly hand held so no issues then. I think someone said a contributing factor is the “older technology” (meaning the lens?) mounted on the newer camera (5Dm2) also contributes? Hmm, didn’t realize the 100-400 was so old. Still it’s a great lens – my favorite.</p>

<p>As for the vitriol flailing about, everybody needs to inhale or take a valium. While I agree with the majority of 5D2 users that it is a marvelous piece of gear, let’s not get so snooty that we do not give Mr. Ford some credibility for what he sees as a problem. Learning occurs when behavior changes. I never taught anything to anyone by yelling or using sarcasm, not even my cat.</p>

<p>That’s my two cents. Chill people. We’re all friends here, or should be.</p>

 

<p>Last Friday I was shooting a GBH and this gent stopped by to watch the goings on. It's a Buckeye butterfly - no particular relation to Ohio as it prefers the south to tropical habitats. It needs less DOF but I was really concentrating on the GBH.<br>

<br /> Info:<br /> 5Dm2; 1/250s; F20; ISO 640; Canon 100-400 L ISM @ 400mm</p>

<p>Enjoying today's posts and concur with most that "complete satisfaction" with any photo remains elusive.<br /> L</p><div></div>

<p>In the B&W theme, a FL shore, mid-day, playing with contrasts.<br>

5Dm2; 100m l-series; F25; 1/1000sec; ISO 1000.</p>

<p>Nice shots this week. I don't alway look, and rarely contribute.</p><div></div>

<p>I've shot a lot of dance and theater productions, from professional stage and dance to local amateurs. Light levels will vary most in dance, where light designers set mood with lighting. In theater, the action must be seen, even if using specials. Anyway, my general outline for shooting such events.<br>

I think equipment is less important than overall approach to the production, but here are some equipment notes.<br>

Faster lens - I use Canon L series 2.8 70-200; sometimes a 28-135; If you are stuck in the house or have to shoot during a performance (ugh) I've used 100-400 zoom and higher ISO.<br>

Two cameras work pretty well. I use a 5D, which has a slower motor drive but great low light capabilities, and then a 20-30-50D whichever I have available for the faster multiple exposures.<br>

Two photographers works really well.<br>

Moderate to high ISO: I start at 800 and will go as high as 2500 <br>

No tripod - per above. <br>

If shooting from the wings, you'll have plenty of side light in dance but watch out for dancers exiting. They tend not to look (they're supposed to know where they are going but they crash into light trees still.) Side light blinds a dancer so you have to watch out for them. <br>

If you can get on the apron (front of stage in front of grande drape) you' have to be careful of casting shadows in FOH lower light. If you're limited to in-house, longer lens and higher ISO will be needed for the softer lighting effects. I hope you have a steady hand. You won't have any problems during well-lit scenes. You shouldn't need filters, modern theater lighting is halogen and LED<br>

See a rehearsal if possible, and make notes before the shoot. Get familiar with the show, the backstage, entrances and access to the stage from the house. Take a ladder and set it in the house about 10 rows back at center. If you have free reign, get into the balcony and side coves for interesting perspectives. Better yet, if you can get on the catwalk or the grid (above the stage floor) there are sometimes interesting shot to be had.<br>

If possible shoot more than one dress rehearsal/performance. Be sure the company knows you are shooting, especially during dress rehearsals. Everyone needs to be in full costume or you're wasting your time. Don't forget to shoot candids back stage. It's good PR and every performer likes to be photographed.<br>

Don't use flash except backstage. There are enough challenges for the performers without having a strobe blasting away unexpectedly in the performer's line of sight.<br>

Have fun.</p>

<p>I've shot a lot of dance and theater productions, from professional stage and dance to local amateurs. Light levels will vary most in dance, where light designers set mood with lighting. In theater, the action must be seen, even if using specials. Anyway, my general outline for shooting such events.<br>

I think equipment is less important than overall approach to the production, but here are some equipment notes.<br>

Faster lens - I use Canon L series 2.8 70-200; sometimes a 28-135; If you are stuck in the house or have to shoot during a performance (ugh) I've used 100-400 zoom and higher ISO.<br>

Two cameras work pretty well. I use a 5D, which has a slower motor drive but great low light capabilities, and then a 20-30-50D whichever I have available for the faster multiple exposures.<br>

Two photographers works really well.<br>

Moderate to high ISO: I start at 800 and will go as high as 2500 <br>

No tripod - per above. <br>

If shooting from the wings, you'll have plenty of side light in dance but watch out for dancers exiting. They tend not to look (they're supposed to know where they are going but they crash into light trees still.) Side light blinds a dancer so you have to watch out for them. <br>

If you can get on the apron (front of stage in front of grande drape) you' have to be careful of casting shadows in FOH lower light. If you're limited to in-house, longer lens and higher ISO will be needed for the softer lighting effects. I hope you have a steady hand. You won't have any problems during well-lit scenes. You shouldn't need filters, modern theater lighting is halogen and LED<br>

See a rehearsal if possible, and make notes before the shoot. Get familiar with the show, the backstage, entrances and access to the stage from the house. Take a ladder and set it in the house about 10 rows back at center. If you have free reign, get into the balcony and side coves for interesting perspectives. Better yet, if you can get on the catwalk or the grid (above the stage floor) there are sometimes interesting shot to be had.<br>

If possible shoot more than one dress rehearsal/performance. Be sure the company knows you are shooting, especially during dress rehearsals. Everyone needs to be in full costume or you're wasting your time. Don't forget to shoot candids back stage. It's good PR and every performer likes to be photographed.<br>

Don't use flash except backstage. There are enough challenges for the performers without having a strobe blasting away unexpectedly in the performer's line of sight.<br>

Have fun.</p>

<p>The third year for this female in the same nest. No evidence of chicks, and I didn't see any males around today.<br>

Canon 5DMKII, 100-400 L-series; 1/250; 640iso; F5.7 400mm focal length.<br>

This image is about 50 crop as the nest is across a stream. </p><div></div>

<h6>Not sure who caught whom. . . .</h6>

<h6>At Honeymoon Island, FL, osprey are busy nesting and, in this case, feeding. Usually the birds are sighted with just fish carcass, but this one is just getting to work. Usually the head is chewed off first so the fish stops struggling and is easier to eat. I've looked often for leftovers but not found any yet.</h6>

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