I was out and about this morning with a couple of telephoto lenses to see what might be around.

The Canada Geese are laying eggs and nesting in reeds accumulated in open water. I used a SMC Pentax
1000mm f11 Reflex Mirror lens to close the distance.

This Goose was about 80 feet away and I had to photograph her "hunkered down" posture through old
cattail reeds.


When I got within 50 feet she became agitated and left the nest and started to honk. I left so that
she might return to the nest.



Also on the menu this morning was a Great Blue Heron about 200 yards away.



Switching lenses I managed a feeble capture of this yellow warbler.



It is nice to finally see the weather turning warmer, even if it is rather windy.

Stephen

[PeterAM]

They are all nice, but I was pulled towards the first picture. It's so different from the typical bird shot, that I really had to look closely. Very interesting picture.

[little laker]

I'm impressed with the picture quality from your Reflex Mirror lens
Very nice pic's scg

[SCGushue]

They are all nice, but I was pulled towards the first picture. It's so different from the typical bird shot, that I really had to look closely. Very interesting picture.

Peter,

Thank you for taking the time to pass along your comments.

The area where these images were taken was totally wild and the geese are not acclimated to people like the geese we sometimes see in parks...where you can walk right up to them and full frame them with a fisheye

I was treking through hummocks, reeds and mud to get this and I too like the image because to me it is a real natural type of capture of their raised nests in open water. Because the foreground reeds and cat tails create OOF artifact, you actually have to study the image to see the protective posturing behavior of the goose. The geese don't like you getting too close. For me, they reacted at about 50 feet.

Thanks again...appreciated.

Stephen

[xs400]

I really like the shot of the Blue Heron. The circular reflections, typical of mirrored lenses, really adds to the shot.

[SCGushue]

I really like the shot of the Blue Heron. The circular reflections, typical of mirrored lenses, really adds to the shot.

Frank,

Glad to have the feedback. I was surprised just how well the lens handled looking directly into the morning sun (well...the direct reflections off the water
anyway). The lens is a lot to handle, and this was my first outing with it...even though I have had it a while. The donuts generally don't bother me too much, but the tradeoff is that you get reach for images that just could not get captured with a shorter tele.

Stephen

[SCGushue]

I'm impressed with the picture quality from your Reflex Mirror lens
Very nice pic's scg

Littlelaker,

Thanks for stopping by and posting.

I have only taken a few images with this lens but I have found that it is pretty capable of
producing sharp images. At these focal lengths, regardless of compound or relex lens construction,
the lines of resolution will always be less. Nonetheless, the lens controls CA and PF exceptionally
well and it can produce sharp images. The image below was shot at ISO 400 near the bird feeder. I wonder
just how much sharper it would be if I got the ISO down to 100



I enjoy using it but metering has to be done in the head because it either does not work with the
metering system, or I just have not figured it out yet. But, the LCD screen works like a polaroid did
in the studio years back, so, it is not too much of a problem to work around.

Thanks again...and I like your panos too!

Stephen

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Last edited by SCGushue; 05-07-2007 at 04:51 AM. Reason: wording

[benjikan]

I love the "Circles of Confusion"..It is really obvious on one of the images. There is nothing that compares to Mirror lenses.I used to use mirrors quite frequently for fashion, often sticking colored gelatins on parts of the lens for effect. I used the Sigma 400 f5.6 lens. Very sharp..

[foxglove]

Niiiice! A lot of people criticize the "donut" bokeh of mirror lenses, but I think it's kind of cool. It really adds to the heron shot. It's a bit more distracting in the picture of the squirrel, but that's still a great capture. I love the posture of the goose in the first one - you've caught some really interesting behaviour there!

Julie

[SCGushue]

I love the "Circles of Confusion"..It is really obvious on one of the images. There is nothing that compares to Mirror lenses.I used to use mirrors quite frequently for fashion, often sticking colored gelatins on parts of the lens for effect. I used the Sigma 400 f5.6 lens. Very sharp..

Hey Ben,

Thanks for the comments.

So, Sigma 400 in fashion...now that I would love to see. If you ever find a free moment or come across an expamle please share it with me. I'd love to see your use of gels and said lens.

Aside from that...and slightly off thread...I'd love to be a fly on your shoulder at the Canon get together

Stephen

[SCGushue]

Niiiice! A lot of people criticize the "donut" bokeh of mirror lenses, but I think it's kind of cool. It really adds to the heron shot. It's a bit more distracting in the picture of the squirrel, but that's still a great capture. I love the posture of the goose in the first one - you've caught some really interesting behaviour there!

Julie

Hi Julie,

I didn't know you had moved over to doing postings on this forum. Good to hear from you again.

I couldn't agree with you more on the donuts. In some images they are not there at all, others they look fine and acceptable and on the squirrel, yeah, somewhat distracting but the subject is what is important. It's the big tradeoff: Distance vs managable weight with some bokeh artifact

On the squirrel... I can trace the squirrel, hit inverse and then surface blur the background to get a smooth donut free background. Apparently, close focusing brings it into more prominance than mid range. And in telephotos it's hit or miss depending on highlight distribution.

Great to see you are here too.

Stephen

[NaClH2O]

Stephen, I really enjoy that first shot. It's got all the elements of a "real" wild shot, the threatening posture, the intervening vegetation, all of it, up to and including some feathers ruffled by the wind. Not your usual "Ms Goose walks into the photo studio." Good work and thanks

NaCl(nature in action)H2O

[roscot]

I agree. I liked this one the best also. Some very interesting Bokeh form that lens.

[SCGushue]

Stephen, I really enjoy that first shot. It's got all the elements of a "real" wild shot, the threatening posture, the intervening vegetation, all of it, up to and including some feathers ruffled by the wind. Not your usual "Ms Goose walks into the photo studio." Good work and thanks

NaCl(nature in action)H2O

Salty,

Thanks for the kudos on the first shot. I liked it too when I examined the mornings shoot. Sometimes when an image is viewed it can be hard to understand the difficulties in capturing it. In this shot I was slogging through knee high mud and water, over twisted and knarled tussocks and submerged dead tree stumps from trees cut down before the lake formed from a dammed creek. I plodded out 100yards or more to get close enough to fill the frame with the goose and it's nest... about 80 feet. I think the effort was worth the results.

And you are correct, the wind was blowing at 20mph. So, getting down low at water level, and shootingn through the intervening cat-tails with a tripod and loosely adjusted panhead, really helped convey the "realness" of a wildlife capture.

Appreciate the kind words very much.
Stephen

[SCGushue]

I agree. I liked this one the best also. Some very interesting Bokeh form that lens.

Hi Alan,

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I am most appreciative of your kind words.

Stephen