Been out of the loop photography wise for a few weeks! Hit and miss...... more miss than hit! Anyhoo, was trying out the latest addition of my camera - a KatzEye Split Prism focus lens! I like it! This Mocking Bird, and friend, arrived to provide something to test a little long range focusing! A little CA but it's in focus! Very little PP, just a little exposer adjustment and cropping.

[Bob Harris]

the sky is a bit rough there Will, but you got some great color and spot on focus on the bird with your new lens. This is a keeper and keep shootin'.

[Jacquot]

And White-Crowned Sparrow, looks like...nice. I need to get a lens for birds.

[Rupert]

You're already out there shooting with that new Katzeye and it is in perfect focus! Love the colors too! Love Mockingbirds, they are the neatest birds at mimicking sounds! Glad you are making use of those old lenses, they are far too good to sit on a shelf!
Regards!

[WillH]

the sky is a bit rough there Will, but you got some great color and spot on focus on the bird with your new lens. This is a keeper and keep shootin'.

I know the back ground wasn't the greatest. It's actually a dry grass field. Between Aperture and the lens it came out rather bright. Suppose I could experiment with the software and find a way to darken the background. I'm just enjoying having the images in focus consistently. That was a rather looong shot! Here's a similar picture to the one I cropped. You can see the cropping on Flickr - just select 'original size' and you can see almost the same image posted.


Jacquot, would you believe I couldn't tell what species the second bird was until I cropped the image. I thought it was another Mocking Bird. I actually think that lens is a little brighter than the Pentax DA 55-300mm lens. I've seen that very lens for about $60.00 on Fleabay. Think I paid about $600 for it in 1990.

Rupert, the deal is fun to play with. We enjoy the Mocking Birds! They have plenty of attitude! They won't let other birds near those berries.

[slowpez]

Really sharp and nicely detailed. I am glad someone else appreciates the Mockingbird. He is a devilish bird with lots of personality. We had one female that used to collect nesting material from our cat. Cat used to try and run to no avail and the cat finally realized it would hurt less if he just complied and let her have the fur. Both ended up happier although the cat had less fur.

[WillH]

Really sharp and nicely detailed. I am glad someone else appreciates the Mockingbird. He is a devilish bird with lots of personality. We had one female that used to collect nesting material from our cat. Cat used to try and run to no avail and the cat finally realized it would hurt less if he just complied and let her have the fur. Both ended up happier although the cat had less fur.

They are indeed full of personality! When we're out working around the house the Mockingbirds will follow us, not threatening but just keeping us company! I love their varied song. Fun bird! I'm looking forward to getting better photographs in the future! Funny story about your cat donating to the Mockingbird's housing needs!

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Last edited by WillH; 10-28-2012 at 09:48 AM.