[jacamar]

Trying to get some shots of Verdin

I saw them in Arizona and really wanted to get a decent shot, but wasn't able to. Well done.

[Pentikonian]

Cute. I like it.

This picture is gorgeous!

Thanks!

[Pentikonian]

I saw them in Arizona and really wanted to get a decent shot, but wasn't able to. Well done.

Thanks. Verdin and a couple of other small birds are quickly ramping up my shutter count, I have a ton of missed images.

[swip]

A Sigma 800mm F5.6 APO EX arrived this morning after being serviced. can't wait to get out and try it.

Whoa. What a great lineup of lens! You forgot to include the FA*600 and the A 1200 though.


Didn't know they make the Sigma 800 in Pentax mount.

[taks]

K3 and DA300


maybe faster shutter speed next time

[Des]

K3 and DA300

Nice shots @Taks. Well done focusing through the tree branches. As for the in-flight shot, I kinda like the sense of motion on the wings and the body is quite sharp. They don't always have to be 1/1600th.

[taks]

Nice shots @Taks. Well done focusing through the tree branches. As for the in-flight shot, I kinda like the sense of motion on the wings and the body is quite sharp. They don't always have to be 1/1600th.

Thank you. I see him ( I'm guessing its the same eagle) often at this park. Waiting for a better light next time Its been a wet January. I know. I shouldn't be complaining. I am hoping it will turn for the better really soon for you guys.

[Des]

I am hoping it will turn for the better really soon for you guys.

Appreciate your concern. There has been some decent rainfall in the last week in eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales, so the fires are now pretty much all under control.

But the devastation is terrible. 18 million hectares burnt (that's an area bigger than Washington state). At least 35 people have lost their lives (including a number of firefighters). Many farms, houses and businesses have been destroyed - some whole communities. Billions of creatures have been killed and the survivors risk starvation and predation. There will be many local extinctions. Some whole species are under serious threat. Rare non-fire-tolerant forest types (e.g. littoral rainforest, warm temperate rainforest) have been razed. The scale is awful.

Some dramatic and touching images from the fires:
https://www.theage.com.au/national/in-the-line-of-fire-the-summer-that-chang...22-p53tln.html (Fairfax media)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-25/our-summer-of-smoke-and-fire/11874066 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[luftfluss]

Appreciate your concern. There has been some decent rainfall in the last week in eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales, so the fires are now pretty much all under control.

But the devastation is terrible. 18 million hectares burnt (that's an area bigger than Washington state). At least 35 people have lost their lives (including a number of firefighters). Many farms, houses and businesses have been destroyed - some whole communities. Billions of creatures have been killed and the survivors risk starvation and predation. There will be many local extinctions. Some whole species are under serious threat. Rare non-fire-tolerant forest types (e.g. littoral rainforest, warm temperate rainforest) have been razed. The scale is awful.

Some dramatic and touching images from the fires:
In the line of fire: the summer that changed us (Fairfax media)
Our summer of smoke and fire - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

From everything I've seen and read, the word "Apocalyptic" comes to mind.

[Des]

From everything I've seen and read, the word "Apocalyptic" comes to mind.

I think it's apt.

[Take-5-JB]

Des,

I made my living as an Industrial Chemist, but I am a degreed Biologist, also. I understand the task ahead of Australia. It may take 30-100 years, if at all, to round up nearby breeding pairs and groups in quantities that will help to re-populate the area, but many invertebrates may be rare and indeed now extinct. The battle will also include soil preservation and protection. The first to recover may be the most fire tolerant plants, but establishing anything close to the prior flora may be difficult to impossible. Keep the faith and encourage your friends, neighbors, and leaders to be forward thinking and give it one hell of an effort.

Peace and strength be with you. If you are of faith, look to the peace and grace that passes understanding and draw on the spirit in each to overcome.

JB

---------- Post added 01-25-2020 at 03:45 PM ----------

Vario Elmar 100~400mm @ 400mm, hand held

Wpresto,

Great shot. Feeling of action and impending action. Many shots look like portraits. It is harder to capture "action".

JB

---------- Post added 01-25-2020 at 03:52 PM ----------

Ducatigaz,

Sweet capture of owl in flight! Energy and position of body is eye catching.

JB

[northcoastgreg]

Anna's hummingbird, with the DA* 300:

[Mike.P®]

K-1 and 150-450mm. Rather chuffed with this one, he seemed to know the exact pose I wanted.


Deer in New Forest by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

[Ducatigaz]

K-3ii/FA*600mm F4 ED [IF] from my car.

[WPRESTO]

K-1 and 150-450mm. Rather chuffed with this one, he seemed to know the exact pose I wanted.


Deer in New Forest by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

Reminds me of being in college and watching sorority girls stand for a group photo, either with their sisters or just with a random college class. Every one would set their feet in such a way as to make their legs look slender and shapely. Hard to describe exactly, but it's akin to one of the standard ballerina positions, with one foot in front of the other, one leg almost hidden, with subtle attention to such things as which leg & foot was bearing the most weight and consequently whether she was leaning slightly forward or slightly backward. Seemed to me that every sorority girl knew exactly how to do it. Wonder if they walked about their house with a textbook of their head.