Rod Sorensen

Tom,

What was your set up for this image? Lens, camera settings specifically.

Moon/Jupiter conjunction. 5 moons are visible (view large) by Tom Yin, on Flickr

 

David, I'll see your moon and raise you 4 more.

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Awesome barn owl portrait, Bill. In what setting did you see this owl?

I don't know about the HX80, but it appears to be a point and shoot type camera and therefore is not likely to have manual settings for focus.

Anything that is AF only is likely to struggle with getting a clear focus on something behind an object that would grab the autofocus.

Some great GBH images here.

My post has to do with their behaviors, specifically their skittishness. When I go to Florida, I can get a GBH picture just about anytime I want. But where I live in rural central Wisconsin, I see them all the time but have a heck of a time getting a photo. It takes incredible patience and luck to get close enough to one to get a decent image even with my D500 & 600mm lens. Getting a good flight picture would be a near miracle.

Basic Guidelines: In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include "hand of man elements". Please refrain from images with buildings or human made structures like roads, fences, walls. Pets are not permitted. Captive subjects in zoos, arboretums, or aquariums are permitted, but must be declared, and must focus on the subject, not the captivity. Images with obvious human made elements will likely be deleted from the thread, with an explanation to the photographer. Guidelines are based on PSA rules governing Nature photography which also cover the Nature Forum. Keep your image at/under 1000 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc Are you new to this thread? We post one image per week.

Another common bird. American Robin.

Basic Guidelines: In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include "hand of man elements". Please refrain from images with buildings or human made structures like roads, fences, walls. Pets are not permitted. Captive subjects in zoos, arboretums, or aquariums are permitted, but must be declared, and must focus on the subject, not the captivity. Images with obvious human made elements will likely be deleted from the thread, with an explanation to the photographer. Guidelines are based on PSA rules governing Nature photography which also cover the Nature Forum. Keep your image at/under 1000 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc Are you new to this thread? We post one image per week.

Dark-eyed Junco

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Maculated Flounder Bay Islands Honduras

Very cool!

Pair of Sandhill Cranes at our local industrial park on Saturday. The largest crane (? male) kept exhibiting some behaviors I initially thought might be mating behavior - arched his neck back, opened his beak wide open and jumped a foot or two off the ground, often with a little squawk not at all similar to typical sandhill vocalizations. But then I noticed he would just do it when I was trying to creep closer, so I think it was an indication of him not liking my closer presence. Never tried to fly off. I didn't get a decent image of that behavior as I was using my "car camera" which doesn't do well with moving birds. Nevertheless, interesting.

Bleating Red-winged Blackbird by David Stephens, on Flickr

It's that time of year when these birds are out in force, and this picture is a great representation of their personality. I'm an avid bicyclist and I get buzzed by these kamikazes many times a year, and usually they actually make contact with the back of my helmet at least a couple times. Have to give them credit for excellent nest protection, but it is very unnerving when they actually touch you. :-)

Thanks, Shun,

 

This might be an appropriate point to mention this site :

 

Birds of The WORLD - Index

 

No connection, just satisfied user.

Actually, I also just went to one of my favorite birding websites, ebird.org. It looks to also be worldwide and I think that is actually sponsored by CLO.

Not sure - hard (at least for me) to differentiate Juvenile Bald Eagle from a similar age Golden. There were other mature Bald Eagles in the immediate area. Good question, though - this link Juvenile Bald Eagles & Golden Eagles - Differences - Hancock Wildlife Foundation - possibly the feet shade it toward immature Bald.

Good info in that post. I was basing my thoughts on the bill color, which is yellow in an adult baldie. But not in an immature baldie, which is probably what you have here.

Shun,

 

I query the title 'All About Birds' (nothing to do with you, I know, but the CLO) - I looked up Chaffinch, one of the commonest GB birds, and it had no info. Perhaps All About Some Birds would be more helpful, or even a geographic location - All About US Birds, perhaps ?

 

Just a thought.

Trying to figure out what you are saying/asking, Tony.

I believe Shun's response was simply a link regarding the Hooded Merganser at the Cornell Lab or Ornithology All About Birds website. Cornell is located in New York, USA and I believe the Cornell Lab and the All About Birds website that it hosts is focused on North American birds. There may be, but I'd be surprised if there is an authoritative website that covers birds worldwide.

Had a report of a large number of Eagles this morning. Grabbed a couple of cameras and went - most had left, but four remained - unfortunately at a distance on private land. D 7200 with 75-300 - the second with D 750 and 80-400[ATTACH=full]1289360[/ATTACH]

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Golden eagle?

Central Montana, but having lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as Northern New York State, never saw one before. According to the birder sites, they are on a bit of a resurgence. Have been back to the pond, and a couple of others nearby - they have apparently moved on. The last couple of years there have been a lot of unusual visiting birds - even a couple from South America. Advantage of having wings - go wherever you wish!

My "fairly common" description might be a little generous. I spend a fair amount of time at our various nearby marshes and I have seen them on several occasions over the years. But I guess that really isn't "common." Definitely great when you see them, because they are beautiful and unusual creatures.

In driving past a pond along the road, I saw some unusual birds with white heads. On the return, they were still there and fortunately I had the D 7200 with 75-300. As usual, the birds were on private land at some distance from the road. I parked on the roadside 100 yards past and walked back quietly, camera in hand. Talk about shy, and fast, they start by running on the water! These are pretty severe crops and not as good as I would like, but unless they are still there when I try again, I may never see another Hooded Merganser - quite an interesting bird, and uncommon in this area. Duck Identification Guide: All the Types of Ducks With Pictures. I got just these four shots and they were gone.

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Not sure where you are located, Sandy. They are fairly common in the eastern 2/3 of the country, like where I live in Wisconsin. In the west they are much less common and usually migratory.

Mary,

Thanks for this info. My thoughts had been to try to get 2 or 3 other photographers and rent a snow coach for a week and share the cost. Thought that would give the ultimate flexibility. In reality, though, that is easier said than done with lots of variables. Probably makes sense to spend a little more and let someone else manage the logistics.

Rod

Rod, Yellowstone in winter was a beautiful world, a winter wonderland. I joined the PSA tour that was led by John Gerlach and Barbara Eddy. John (link) said he has led Yellowstone tours for 25 years (? - seems like a lot, not sure if I heard it wrong).

 

For a winter trip, I believe it makes sense to join a photo tour group rather than venturing out on your own. I flew to Bozeman and took a shuttle to West Yellowstone. At first I was thinking of joining two other people to also visit the Grand Teton, but later heard that it could be closed. The Government shut down was ongoing and, fortunately, the local businesses were supporting the services. If you book well in advance, you may be lucky enough to stay inside Yellowstone near the Old Faithful. We stayed at downtown Yellowstone at the 3 Bears Motel. two snow coaches picked us up every morning and took us back to the hotel. Barbara Eddy had a chef prepare excellent meals for the group.

 

Although we did not get to go to Lamar Valley (supposed to have more wildlife), we all enjoyed the trip tremendously. The snow-clad landscapes were exceptional, just beautiful. Living in the Northeast, I am no stranger to snow, but our regular snow scenes are not in the same league. Elk and bison were plentiful, and we saw an occasional fox and coyote. We did not see any wolf. One downside for photographers is that the snow coaches (and people in snowmobiles) are not allowed to stop wherever they please. So in quite a number of occasions, we just enjoyed the elk and bison from the vehicle as we pas them by. Naturally there were lots geysers. The frozen Grand Canyon falls looked very different then the way I remembered it when I last as it in the fall; and of course the Mammoth Hots Springs were by no means "hot". There were plenty of lovely landscape photography opportunities/

Rod, Yellowstone in winter was a beautiful world, a winter wonderland. I joined the PSA tour that was led by John Gerlach and Barbara Eddy. John (link) said he has led Yellowstone tours for 25 years (? - seems like a lot, not sure if I heard it wrong).

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Olympus EM1 II with Panasonic-Leica 100-400mm lens @400mm (800 in 35 mm). 1/1000s; f/6.3; ISO 400.

Mary, I very nearly did a Yellowstone winter trip a couple years ago, but had to cancel last minute. If you would have any inkling to share info on how you did yours, as well as any advice on transportation into the park, prime photo locations, lodging, etc I would really like to hear it. I am wanting to get out there in the winter as soon as possible. Thanks. Rod

I can see from your other post here that you will be interested in photographing birds as well as other wildlife.

I am a Nikon shooter, so will answer your question from that perspective and then you can translate that to your chosen platform. Several years ago, when really deciding this exact question, I decided to purchase a nearly new Nikon 200-400/f4 and 600/f4 (not the E version) at a very good price. But still clearly a huge financial investment.

Overall, I have been very happy with the results. I shoot the 600 from a tripod with a Gimbal. I handhold the 200-400 (with or without 1.4 TC). Although I can do reasonably well handholding the 200-400, it is a very heavy lens/body/battery pack combo and after an 8-10 second pan of a bird in flight I am ready to put it down. After several such pans, the arms and shoulders are clearly fatigued. I am approaching 68 years, but am in excellent overall condition, so I'm guessing that this combo being handheld would be somewhat of an issue for a lot of people. I am definitely considering getting the 200-500/5.6 because of this, but worry that my 200-400 will just sit unused. Nevertheless, if I was outfitting myself now, it would probably be with the 200-500 and not the 200-400. I don't know if Canon has a lens of that sort, but I'd probably recommend that if they do.

Cardinal hiding during snow storm by Tom Yin, on Flickr

 

Took this through my kitchen window with the porch lights on for illumination. you can almost see it shivering in the bitter cold (-10 deg F or so)

Our Wisconsin DNR was looking for pictures of a bird with "ice spectacles" to post during our recent -30 (-55 WC) weather.

Article link attached with picture of a cardinal.

The Outdoor Report (January 31, 2019)

Thank you, both Rod and Laura (in order of posting). I confess I had not read the entire MIN guidelines. :(

 

Tony

For what it’s worth, I’d probably prefer no captive animals. But frankly, sometimes you wouldn’t be able to tell. So I think what we are doing is fine and I appreciate when people actually disclose that it is a captive animal instead of holding out for greater, but undeserved accolades.

Lovely picture. Please don't think I am being pedantic, but as Zoos are created by the 'Hand of Man' (and other genders !), is this not very slightly outside the guidelines ? Or am I interpreting them in too strict a fashion ?

 

Tony

Zoo animals are allowable under typical nature photography standards, including the ones we use - as long as it is declared, which Alan did.

I think you mean the LEFT side of the head. I think that would blow out the bright areas on the right side. I vote to leave the photo alone.

Like I said, UNLESS it ruins the effect.

And I meant the right (dark) side.

It's not that I don't like it as it is, like I said.

Rod, thank you for the encouragement!

Supriyo,

It happens that I am in an Ansel Adams reading frenzy the last few weeks, and have reviewed his photographic methods, development techniques, etc. I have marveled at his B&W photos and how they speak to the viewer. That reminded me that he was really excellent but also not exactly a magician, just a real master at the "Photoshop" technology that existed at that time. Although your photo isn't a landscape like most of his, it certainly has shared features. A really superb giraffe portrait. In my opinion, the only improvement might be another 1/2-1 stop of exposure to just give it a bit more detail on the right side of the head. Unless that ruins the whole effect of course.

Rod

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Supriyo,

Awesome!!!