Marc, shot this guy this morning. Light was a challenage so I was at F 3.2 at 400 ISO 1/200 sec for both shots. I was about 8 feet from this guy! Took me a good 15 minutes to get there and I only had to move about 15-20 feet. JIM

[Marc Langille]

Hi Jim,

That's a classic example of why GBH is a tough subject when it's not moving parallel to the photographer: the bird moves and the body slides into the DOF!

That's a "so close, it's painful" set of shots. I do love the details on the feathers, no question.

Regards,
Marc

[jbrowning]

Wow Jimbo those are great shots. He/she must have just moved a tiny bit to be just out of focus. I still can't believe you get that close to them. Great shots!

Jim

[Ash]

You had a good crack at it Jim.
It's harder than it looks.
Well done.

[Jimbo]

Hi Jim,

That's a classic example of why GBH is a tough subject when it's not moving parallel to the photographer: the bird moves and the body slides into the DOF!

That's a "so close, it's painful" set of shots. I do love the details on the feathers, no question.

Regards,
Marc

Marc, you read my mind and it is why I posted this shot. So true! I continue to learn and hopefully I will get it one day! JIM

Wow Jimbo those are great shots. He/she must have just moved a tiny bit to be just out of focus. I still can't believe you get that close to them. Great shots!

Jim

Thanks Jim. Working at only F 3.2 only a slight move and I could losse the focus. Heron s move very unexpectedly. JIm

You had a good crack at it Jim.
It's harder than it looks.
Well done.

You have not idea. I was asked "why do you like shooting pictures of Herons. For me its becuase itg is such a challenage to get a good shot. JIM

[8540tomg]

Great stuff Jim.

At best I've only got within a 100 feet of one of these guys in the wild. That's a triumph in itself. The great shots are just a bonus.

As a sidebar I had an interesting experience on the weekend. I was out shooting in a marsh area with the 400mm. There was an Egret feeding but I couldn’t get close enough for a decent shot. As I was watching a small Nuthatch (I think) landed on a bush about a foot from me and chirped merrily away for a minute or so before it flew off. It was small enough it could easily nest in the lens hood of my M 400/5.6. With a minimum focus distance of 15 feet this lens wasn’t a lot of use. Still, it was one of the rare, special moments one occasionally has when shooting nature. Much like your Heron experience above but without the evidence.

Tom G

[Lowell Goudge]

Great stuff Jim.

At best I've only got within a 100 feet of one of these guys in the wild. That's a triumph in itself. The great shots are just a bonus.

As a sidebar I had an interesting experience on the weekend. I was out shooting in a marsh area with the 400mm. There was an Egret feeding but I couldn’t get close enough for a decent shot. As I was watching a small Nuthatch (I think) landed on a bush about a foot from me and chirped merrily away for a minute or so before it flew off. It was small enough it could easily nest in the lens hood of my M 400/5.6. With a minimum focus distance of 15 feet this lens wasn’t a lot of use. Still, it was one of the rare, special moments one occasionally has when shooting nature. Much like your Heron experience above but without the evidence.

Tom G

tom

that's why I have more than one body?

one always has a lens that can close focus (i.e. 4-5 feet) as opposed to 20 feet for some of the long old glass.

also there is nothing to say you can't go birding with a 100mm lens, as shown below with my SMC-FA 28-105 F4.5-5.6 at 105mm