[acoufap]

I got up early this morning and drove up to Croatan Nation Forest, only about an hour and a half north of me. It looked like an interesting place, even though a lot of the forest type isvery similar to Holly Shelter Games Lands, which is only 10 minutes away, I thought it might be a better chance of red-cockaded woodpeckers, which have eluded me. But anyway I went up, driving in I saw a gorgeous sky just before sunrise, but nowhere to pull over for a decent background. And that's how it went for a while. I hiked about 4 or 5 miles and saw a flycatcher that was too far away to get a decent image, or even identify. I also talked to a hunter who came driving up the trail behind me, who said they were hunting deer, and dogs would be coming through in a while, which probably explained the lack of wildlife. I took a few landscapes of some ponds, but not even a Canada Goose on them. Walking back to my truck, I was 100 yards from the parking lot and started seeing tiny birds flying around, moving slowly northward. I was carrying a tripod and sling bag I went ahead and put them in the truck and then headed back to where the birds were working. For the next five to ten minutes I was in the mist of a flock of warblers, mostly yellow-rumped and some pines. An eastern bluebird was there for a minute, and a couple of red-cockaded woodpeckers flew in and I luckily got a couple of images, they were on the move. Then a couple of hikers that just arrived came up the trail. I thought I should let them know that there was hunting going on. Unfortunately they stopped and dug out their orange vest right there. Once they were gone the birds stayed a couple more minutes and were gone. So after walking two and a half hours I got about 15 minutes of birds. It was an interesting morning. All of these were taken with the KP, DA*300, and DA 1.4 converter. The woodpecker shot is not cropped, the other are.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker


Eastern Bluebird


Pine Warbler


Yellow-rumped Warbler

Nice story telling and images - thank you!

[Pentaxians]

I got up early this morning and drove up to Croatan Nation Forest, only about an hour and a half north of me. It looked like an interesting place, even though a lot of the forest type isvery similar to Holly Shelter Games Lands, which is only 10 minutes away, I thought it might be a better chance of red-cockaded woodpeckers, which have eluded me. But anyway I went up, driving in I saw a gorgeous sky just before sunrise, but nowhere to pull over for a decent background. And that's how it went for a while. I hiked about 4 or 5 miles and saw a flycatcher that was too far away to get a decent image, or even identify. I also talked to a hunter who came driving up the trail behind me, who said they were hunting deer, and dogs would be coming through in a while, which probably explained the lack of wildlife. I took a few landscapes of some ponds, but not even a Canada Goose on them. Walking back to my truck, I was 100 yards from the parking lot and started seeing tiny birds flying around, moving slowly northward. I was carrying a tripod and sling bag I went ahead and put them in the truck and then headed back to where the birds were working. For the next five to ten minutes I was in the mist of a flock of warblers, mostly yellow-rumped and some pines. An eastern bluebird was there for a minute, and a couple of red-cockaded woodpeckers flew in and I luckily got a couple of images, they were on the move. Then a couple of hikers that just arrived came up the trail. I thought I should let them know that there was hunting going on. Unfortunately they stopped and dug out their orange vest right there. Once they were gone the birds stayed a couple more minutes and were gone. So after walking two and a half hours I got about 15 minutes of birds. It was an interesting morning. All of these were taken with the KP, DA*300, and DA 1.4 converter. The woodpecker shot is not cropped, the other are.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker


Eastern Bluebird


Pine Warbler


Yellow-rumped Warbler

Excellent! Beautiful Bird

Yes, Nice write up Tom! I like the post of the Eastern Bluebird too! Cheers

[stihlmania]

SMC A ☆ 400 F2.8 ED[IF] with Pentax F 1.7 AF adaptor. The migration continues through the yard...

[HoutHans]

Here are a few recent pictures taken with my K-3ii/FA*600mm F4 ED[IF]/RRS BH-55/Kirk window mount.

Fieldfare.


Female Blackbird.






Male Stonechat.


Female Stonechat.


Robin.


Airbus A400

Great images, as always. Any chance you'd be willing to submit one of the photos taken with this lens to the lens tournament? It would offer one of use the chance to obtain one of these beasts as well ;-)

[skolkmeier]

I counted ten different species, thank you!

---------- Post added 12-05-20 at 08:47 AM ----------

Awsome! Thanks for posting.

---------- Post added 12-05-20 at 09:34 AM ----------

I got up early this morning and drove up to Croatan Nation Forest, only about an hour and a half north of me. It looked like an interesting place, even though a lot of the forest type isvery similar to Holly Shelter Games Lands, which is only 10 minutes away, I thought it might be a better chance of red-cockaded woodpeckers, which have eluded me. But anyway I went up, driving in I saw a gorgeous sky just before sunrise, but nowhere to pull over for a decent background. And that's how it went for a while. I hiked about 4 or 5 miles and saw a flycatcher that was too far away to get a decent image, or even identify. I also talked to a hunter who came driving up the trail behind me, who said they were hunting deer, and dogs would be coming through in a while, which probably explained the lack of wildlife. I took a few landscapes of some ponds, but not even a Canada Goose on them. Walking back to my truck, I was 100 yards from the parking lot and started seeing tiny birds flying around, moving slowly northward. I was carrying a tripod and sling bag I went ahead and put them in the truck and then headed back to where the birds were working. For the next five to ten minutes I was in the mist of a flock of warblers, mostly yellow-rumped and some pines. An eastern bluebird was there for a minute, and a couple of red-cockaded woodpeckers flew in and I luckily got a couple of images, they were on the move. Then a couple of hikers that just arrived came up the trail. I thought I should let them know that there was hunting going on. Unfortunately they stopped and dug out their orange vest right there. Once they were gone the birds stayed a couple more minutes and were gone. So after walking two and a half hours I got about 15 minutes of birds. It was an interesting morning. All of these were taken with the KP, DA*300, and DA 1.4 converter. The woodpecker shot is not cropped, the other are.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker


Eastern Bluebird


Pine Warbler


Yellow-rumped Warbler

I think your photos are a lot sharper than mine. Maybe because I used a cpl? I did very little PP on mine as well. And I'm shooting jpg, not raw. That might make a difference.

[Ducatigaz]

Great images, as always. Any chance you'd be willing to submit one of the photos taken with this lens to the lens tournament? It would offer one of use the chance to obtain one of these beasts as well ;-)

Never heard of a lens tournament.

Can I submit it with the getty watermark?

[ramseybuckeye]

I think your photos are a lot sharper than mine. Maybe because I used a cpl? I did very little PP on mine as well. And I'm shooting jpg, not raw. That might make a difference.

Thanks, but I don't know about that, a CPL possibly can degrade the quality a little, but it wouldn't be much. I wouldn't use it for birds in the woods because I want all the shutter speed I can get. I don't think jpg should affect sharpness. More of technique, some days it seems like I can't hold the camera still, other days everything's good. But it does seem like the stuff I do today is generally better than previously, shooting steadier now. Sometime I'll get sloppy and remember to slow down, go back to the basics, left hand under the lens, left arm pulled against the body. On the 300 I always have the left hand under the tripod mount.

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Last edited by ramseybuckeye; 12-05-2020 at 07:57 PM.

[Des]

I think your photos are a lot sharper than mine. Maybe because I used a cpl? I did very little PP on mine as well. And I'm shooting jpg, not raw. That might make a difference.

What Tom said about technique is obviously very important, but I would add that shooting RAW and applying a little PP always helps, in my experience. I don't mean crude use of sharpening; I am thinking mainly of exposure adjustments and adding clarity and microcontrast. Your Dark-eyed Junco shot is a good example: a nice sharp image as it is, but would benefit from a little adjustment.

[simsburyphoto]

Recent photo with K-3 and 55-300 PLM at 210mm

[ehrwien]

Uncropped ooc, 55-300 PLM @300 on the K-S2



Great Spotted Woodpecker back


Great Spotted Woodpecker, profile

[luftfluss]

First time in a while I've shot with the A 400/5.6... all crops, as I was 40-50 yards away.

[Des]

First time in a while I've shot with the A 400/5.6... all crops, as I was 40-50 yards away.

Amazing detail. Well done. What sort of animal is the victim?

Little Corella. KP + DA 55-300 PLM at 300mm

[luftfluss]

Amazing detail. Well done. What sort of animal is the victim?

Our unfortunate victim is a raccoon, and probably deceased prior to the eagle claiming him - most likely hit by a vehicle. It's rare I see an eagle with a meal, and then it's fish and once a squirrel, so I was pretty damn surprised when I saw the raccoon. They're clever and dexterous creatures, but prone to unsafe nocturnal road-crossings.

[Charlie Victor]

First time in a while I've shot with the A 400/5.6... all crops, as I was 40-50 yards away.

Impressive set of captures! I particularly like the pose in #3.
Best.

[rod_grant]

Nice set luftfluss. Very nice.