Good News and Bad News

The good news is the eagles have finally started showing up at the lake.

The bad news is, as usual, they are very uncooperative when it comes to being photographed. They seem to like to stay on the other side of the water no matter which side I choose.

Maybe I should get the underwater gear out and tie a fish to my head!

These are really bad photos but I was happy to see the eagles so I posted them anyway.

The first shot is a full frame, un-cropped shot using the Nikon 200-500mm lens with a 1.4 x tele-converter. Even shooting at 700mm I was still way to far away to get a good photo.

The last two shots are cropped a lot just so you can tell it's an eagle.

These were all shot handheld while it was cloudy and just about to rain.

I will be heading back to this spot next week with the 600mm "bazooka lens and tripod in an attempt to get some better photos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know these should be photos of turkeys but I couldn't find my turkey photos.

These are some repeats from a couple of years ago but I wanted to post some fall color photos and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for visiting our blog!

Using the VR

As I was leaving work last night I noticed an almost full moon in the sky so I grabbed my camera and took a shot through the trees using the new Nikon 200-500mm lens. 

This was shot handheld just to see what the VR  (vibration reduction) would do for me and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed.  

Let's see you do that with a cell phone! LOL

For the technical minded, this was taken at f8 and ISO 400, 1/100 sec. using a Nikon D3s.

Water on the lens

Once again work has kept me from taking any new photos or even posting any old ones to the blog. 

I took a few minutes to dig through some old Maui photos this morning to get something posted. I can't wait for the next vacation where I will spend a solid two weeks taking photos.

In memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris!

This is not my new lens, still using my 10 yrs old 17-35mm f2.8.  Ron, you got to let me put my hand on your new lens.  

Ducks in a swamp

I'm still playing with the new Nikon 200-500mm lens. I was driving by a swampy area and saw a bunch of ducks swimming around so I stuck the lens out the car window and took a few shots.

These were taken with the D800 and are cropped about 70 percent.

I'm still very impressed with this lens.

The Tree

I'm counting down the days until Island Time again. I am in dire need of some prolonged down time to re-energize my body and soul!

This was taken about 5:00 a.m. when everybody else was asleep and not crowding the park to get their own photos. Normally during the daytime hours the park is filled with people and about 50 percent of them have cameras and are trying to get "that" shot. The other 50 percent are walking around with their dumb cell phones taking photos.

Yea, I know, I'm a camera snob but in my defense, if you are going to someplace like Hawai'i and for a lot of people it's a once in a lifetime trip, why not take photos with a real camera that can be printed on something bigger than a 4 x 6 piece of paper and enjoyed?

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

Or big, or fast or sharp....

No, I'm not talking about me, although....

Nope, not me.

I'm talking about the new Nikon 200-500mm lens. Ever since I got rid of my Sigma 150-500mm lens I have been craving a big zoom that can get me out close to where I'm shooting with the 600mm f4 "bazooka" lens but with less weight and some hand hold-ability when necessary.

Low and behold Nikon brings out the 200-500mm f5.6 lens, just released in September. It's even "affordably" priced for a big zoom.  I just received mine this morning and took it for a quick spin before going to work. I must say, my first impressions of this lens are very good.

Shooting from 200-500mm is a pretty handy zoom range and this lens is sharp throughout the zoom. It seems the sweet spot for sharpness is f6.3 to f8 but even at f5.6 I have no complaints with how the images look. The auto-focus on the lens is fast and snappy. Some of the reviews I have read said the auto-focus was "moderate" in speed and it may be compared to a six or ten thousand dollar lens but for shooting birds in flight it worked plenty fast.

This is at 500mm with the bird being about 250 feet away. This was shot handheld, which is pretty easy to do with the new VR on the lens. Nikon says you can get four and half stops from the new vibration reduction and it seems to be just that. Since the lens only weighs five pounds it's a lot easier to tote around than the 16 pound 600mm f4.

This is Lily. She was pouting because I was playing with my new toy instead of her. This is at 500mm and handheld also. The lens is exceptionally sharp for a non-prime lens, showing all of the detail in her hair if you look closely.

Even using a Nikon 1.4x teleconverter gave surprisingly decent results. This lens isn't as sharp with the teleconverter as the 600mm prime lens is but I wouldn't expect it to be. I think if you are shooting the right subjects, something a little larger like a deer, elk or whales you could use the teleconverter and get good results.

This duck was shot handheld at 700mm using the 1.4x teleconverter. My D3s even auto-focused with the teleconverter and the auto-focus didn't seem to loose any speed with the teleconverter on the lens.

So far I have only found two draw backs to the lens. The first is the lens "case" that it comes with. This is a cheap cloth bag that wouldn't protect the lens from anything except a little dust.

The other drawback I have found is the zoom itself. If you are at 200mm and want to go to 500mm it takes a 180 degree rotation of the zoom ring to get there. This isn't a big thing but if you are wanting to zoom fast you have to have that in your mind so you can grab the lens in the right spot to make the zoom all in one move.

I'll be buying a separate case for the lens which solves one problem. The zoom I will get used to eventually so that problem will solve itself.

Hopefully I can get out this week and do some more testing with this lens. I'll post some more photos when I get them.

Changing Leaves

We haven't had any rain to speak of the last couple of months so our fall colors didn't really pop this year. We had a few colors here and there but for the most part, everything just went from green to brown.

I did get some nice bright orange colors when I put the leaves in a pile and set them on fire!

Sunset in Black & White

Black and white isn't something you would usually use for a sunset but I thought I'd be different today. 

Okay, you got me, I'm a little different every day but I thought I would be different with my photo.

This is the sun as it was setting on the island of Lana'i, Hawaii.

Moth or Butterfly or Alien?

Ok it's probably not an Alien but it makes for a good addition to the title!

A quick search on the internet tells me that the only way to tell if this Caterpillar is going to turn into a Moth or Butterfly is to know what previous ones like this have become.

I took this picture with my cell phone and gave it a light going over with Photoshop.

I dig potatos!

So back around the middle of May I planted 20 potatoes all about the size of my fist.
Yesterday I finally got around to digging them up to see how they turned out.
Almost three milk crates full. Looks like I won't need to buy any potatoes for the next few months...
Had a couple with dinner tonight, they were delicious, no comparison to store bought potatoes.
I really dig potatoes!

The Race!

Not much of the actions due to 2-3 knots wind, so I have do a little acting to make us seems like we are racing hard.

Napoleon's Tomb.

Les Invalides was originally just what it sounds like – a hospital with nursing care for wounded war vets. It is now home to the Musée de L'Armée, with over half a million items on display; the star of the show, however, is the Tombeau de Napoléon - Napoléon's Tomb. It's located in St Jérôme's Chapel at Les Invalides, although to many it seems like a cathedral with its open space, gilded details and gleaming marble at every turn. 

Interestingly, this is not the original resting place of Emporer Napoléon; he died in 1821 while in exile on the island of St Helena, and was buried in an anonymous tomb. It was not until 1840 that his remains were brought back to France, complete with a funeral procession down the Champs-Élysées before being interred at Les Invalides.

Ground level

Just a "shroom" in the woods. Soon they will be buried in the falling leaves.

The zoom works!

Aaron and I were out one night while in Maui this past January to take some night shots. Yes, Hawaii. It's getting close to winter and our next trip so my daydreaming is kicking into high gear. I can hear the palm trees and ocean waves calling my name.

 

I had heard about this technique being done so I thought I would give it a try.

 

This probably wasn't the best spot to try it but while running a long exposure to get the night lights of Lahaina across the bay I zoomed in while the shutter was open. It's an interesting effect but it kind of looks like I had one too many mai tais before picking up my camera.

 

 

This one was zoomed the correct way and no mai tais were involved.



More from the rose garden

Just a couple of more shots from the Duluth, MN Rose garden.