[wildman]

FYI.

Just thought I'd throw this out just to show where many of my shots have been made.

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is a 240,000-acre (970 km2) 261-mile long (420 km) area with some of the best birding in the world.
I have been birding it for over 40 years. When I go into it's backwaters it gives me a sense of what this country was like before we "improved" it.

For further info go here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Mississippi_River_National_Wildlife_and_Fish_Refuge

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Last edited by wildman; 08-01-2015 at 05:36 AM.

[wildman]

Bluejay....

[dadipentak]

where many of my shots have been made.

Looks like a great place (but a bit crowded ;~)

[crewl1]

All these with the K-3 and various lens combos at Cachuma Lake, Santa Barbara last weekend.

Band Tailed Pigeon w DA*300


California Quail w DA*300


Western Grebe w HD 1.4 on DA*300


Clarke's Grebe w HD1.4 on DA*300


Mule Deer bucks w HD1.4 on DA*300


Cormorant + catfish w Sigma 50-500

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Last edited by crewl1; 07-29-2015 at 11:37 PM.

[wildman]

Looks like a great place (but a bit crowded ;~)

It can be a pain in the ass getting gear into it. Most of it is remote little islands and sand bars and I have to use my canoe.

Another mug shot - Catbird....

[RockvilleBob]

It can be a pain in the ass getting gear into it. Most of it is remote little islands and sand bars and I have to use my canoe.

Another mug shot - Catbird....

Great shot, great detail. What lens did you use? Thanks

[wildman]

What lens did you use?

It's not a conventional photographic telephoto. It's a 560mm f/7.1 three element APO scope. It easily out resolves any of my conventional photo lens' including my Zeiss 50mm ZK and the FA 35.

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Last edited by wildman; 08-03-2015 at 04:21 AM.

[RockvilleBob]

It's not a conventional photographic telephoto. It's a 560mm f/7.1 three element APO scope. It easily out resolves any of my conventional photo lens' including my Zeiss 50mm ZK and the FA 35.

Impressive piece of engineering. Focus must be a challenge. Do you use live view and focus peaking?

[wildman]

Focus must be a challenge.

Not really. I'm old school. I cut my photographic teeth using the ground glass of a Rolieflex so I'm comfortable just trusting my eye for focus. For birds in the brush AF can't tell a bird from a branch anyway - see pic. I've been doing photography for 60 years and visual focus has become second nature to me.

Do you use live view and focus peaking?

Live view is much too clumsy and slow for nervous little birds in the brush - just not practical for me at least.
Yes I use focus peaking when available ( the Q and the Q-S1) but of course not available on a DSLR anyway.
You have to use FP on the Q,- the LCD is worthless out in the field for just visual focus - too dull and washed out and small with little detail, at least for birds.

Here's a Q-S1 shot of the sort of bird shot I like - in it's natural environment under natural light.
Keep in mind this is with a camera with a sensor less than the size of a dime taken at over 40 feet full frame of a bird 1/3 the size of your fist, in low light brush. On the Q the 560mm gives me 60x magnification but with an APS-C sensor this picture would be impossible giving me only 18x magnification.

The Q on the 560mm and the Q shot full frame.
BTW it's a fledgling House Sparrow waiting for Dad to feed him - some things never change.

[dadipentak]

I've been doing photography for 60 years

So you're really serious about his stuff, then ;~)

[wildman]

So you're really serious about his stuff, then ;~)

You could say that.

But.....the older I get the more I care about the content of an image and less and less about just technique.

Wildman's bit of sage wisdom for the day.

[RockvilleBob]

Not really. I'm old school. I cut my photographic teeth using the ground glass of a Rolieflex so I'm comfortable just trusting my eye for focus. For birds in the brush AF can't tell a bird from a branch anyway - see pic. I've been doing photography for 60 years and visual focus has become second nature to me.



Live view is much too clumsy and slow for nervous little birds in the brush - just not practical for me at least.
Yes I use focus peaking when available ( the Q and the Q-S1) but of course not available on a DSLR anyway.
You have to use FP on the Q,- the LCD is worthless out in the field for just visual focus - too dull and washed out and small with little detail, at least for birds.

Here's a Q-S1 shot of the sort of bird shot I like - in it's natural environment under natural light.
Keep in mind this is with a camera with a sensor less than the size of a dime taken at over 40 feet full frame of a bird 1/3 the size of your fist, in low light brush. On the Q the 560mm gives me 60x magnification but with an APS-C sensor this picture would be impossible giving me only 18x magnification.

The Q on the 560mm and the Q shot full frame.
BTW it's a fledgling House Sparrow waiting for Dad to feed him - some things never change.

Great work, skill and determination.

[boriscleto]

Yes I use focus peaking when available ( the Q and the Q-S1) but of course not available on a DSLR anyway.

Except every DSLR released after the K-5 II...

K-30/50/500, KS-1, KS-2, K-3 and K-3 II all have focus peaking. The K-5 II would have had it if the Prime II was able to handle it.

[rkappleby]

I found a location where these guys are hanging out munching on canola and thistle seeds

[halfspin]

I found a location where these guys are hanging out munching on canola and thistle seeds

Very nice!