Picture of the Day (Dial-up internet users enter at own risk!)

[geoand]

East of Stevens Pass

 

[KristinB]

Oh wow, I am jealous as all get out of those bird shots! Green, green, green!

My Christmas list has one thing on it - a DSLR camera. Anybody want to make suggestions or recommendations for cameras, accessories, lenses, etc??

I love most everything about my Sony Cybershot 7.2 but I need something better for amateur birdwatching and night shots. My favorite accessory is the battery charger and extra batteries; my least favorite is the adapter that's necessary to use lenses.

Surely some of you can be stand-ins for Santa's elves?

Okay, here's another, LOL! A Reddish Egret...

I am partial to Nikon DSLRs myself... I'd like to suggest that you go to the Nikon Cafe, where you will find lots of nice, friendly folks who are willing to help you with your buying decision (much like here).

 

[dmharris]

Geo,

I LOVE this photo! I am crazy for reflections in photography and this is magnificent. The composition of contrasts, tall to short, yellow to dark and a spot of red! Fabulous!

 

[Timeshare Von]

Oh wow, I am jealous as all get out of those bird shots! Green, green, green!

My Christmas list has one thing on it - a DSLR camera. Anybody want to make suggestions or recommendations for cameras, accessories, lenses, etc??

I love most everything about my Sony Cybershot 7.2 but I need something better for amateur birdwatching and night shots. My favorite accessory is the battery charger and extra batteries; my least favorite is the adapter that's necessary to use lenses.

Surely some of you can be stand-ins for Santa's elves?

I'm very happy with the Olympus DSLR and four-thirds system lenses. There is also a users' group with good folks much like what Kristin mentions for Nikon.

 

[KristinB]

I may have to call this "Bird of the Day" for a while, LOL!

Great Blue Heron:

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Birch trees in my front yard.

Taken during the rain a couple of days ago.

 

[KristinB]

Today's bird is a Tricolored Heron:

 

[Nobylspoon]

I guess I will try to stick with the bird theme we have going.

 

[SueDonJ]

Well, you all will have to suffer inferior Bird Of The Day shots. Just be grateful you don't have to watch all my hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing, and listen to me whine and cry that, "it's not faaaaaaaaaair, they have better biiiiiiiird pictures, I can't compeeeeeeeeeete."

the Odd Couple at Waiohai's lagoon:

 

[jerseyfinn]

Red Rock Crossing

View from Red Rock Loop

Doug, some really nice shots. I've yet to do the Red Rock Loop trail but your shots have made me put it on our "to do" list for one of our future Sedona visits.

Alsos enjoyed your Yellowstone photos. A nice collection which really conveys the experience. I especially like the Christmas in July section as you capture the fun of the moment.

Barry

 

[jerseyfinn]

Noblyspoon, I like the color & compsition of the penguin shot.

Kristin, where are you shooting these birds? I guess it takes a lot a patience to "stalk" these guys to capture the true mood of these beautiful birds.

Barry

 

[Makai Guy]

Doug, some really nice shots. I've yet to do the Red Rock Loop trail but your shots have made me put it on our "to do" list for one of our future Sedona visits.

I'll bet you HAVE been on the Loop if you've spent much time in Sedona at all. This Red Rock Loop is a road, the one that goes past Red Rock State Park near one end, and by the High School at the other. We probably drive this at least twice each week we're there because everything looks so different in different lighting conditions. There's about a 2 mile stretch in the middle that isn't paved but it's graded well enough for standard family cars.

Once I was on the Loop early one morning when there was fog in the valleys, and the rock formations were sticking up through the fog into the sun. Absolutely stunning! This was before I had a digital camera and as luck would have it I was out of film. I've been kicking myself ever since.

Non-photographic but Red Rock Loop related story: We had a rental car whose alternator died one trip -- we were just running on the battery for who knows how long without realizing it. Died completely on the unpaved part of the road, and this was before we had cell phones. I hiked several miles back to the State Park to be able to call the rental car company, which had to dispatch someone from Flagstaff with our replacement car. The driver and tow vehicle were just leaving Sedona at the time on ANOTHER car replacement, so the whole thing took over three hours of sitting by the side of the hot, dusty road and waiting. Can't help but think of this every time we drive along the unpaved section. Now we smile. Then we didn't.

Alsos enjoyed your Yellowstone photos. A nice collection which really conveys the experience. I especially like the Christmas in July section as you capture the fun of the moment.

Barry

Thanks a lot. I still go back and review those pages every couple of months. It really brings back the memories. If you're really a glutton for punishment you can try to wade through the complete (text) journal.

 

[TUGBrian]

man...some of these pics could be framed and up on the wall!

 

[KristinB]

Noblyspoon, I like the color & compsition of the penguin shot.

Kristin, where are you shooting these birds? I guess it takes a lot a patience to "stalk" these guys to capture the true mood of these beautiful birds.

Barry

Yes, I agree about the penguin pic -- very nice!

Barry, this set is from our most recent TS vacation on the Gulf coast of Florida (at Jamaican on the Gulf). If you click the link in my sig you can see the full gallery (as well as my other galleries). Yes, you really have to just be willing to sit around and wait for the birds to get comfortable with your presence (although a telephoto lens helps as well, LOL).

 

[jerseyfinn]

Like many photo posters here, I always seem to have a back log of images to work through. I just finish working through our Arizona photos for the year ( partly inspired by Makai guy's great photos ). I post a few images here.

Hope you enjoy them. And happy Turkey Day!

Barry

Sandy's Canyon Trail -- Flagstaff AZ

more images in my Flagstaff & Environs gallery​

________________________

Bear Mountain Trail, Sedona AZ

More images in my hiking trails in Sedona gallery

___________________

Long Canyon Trail

More images in my Sedona in Fall Gallery​

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Among the many things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for memories of wonderful times on Kaua'i during our nearly annual visits to the island.

This is Ha'upu, taken from the cliffs at the end of Gillians Beach.

 

[KristinB]

Black skimmers:

 

[jerseyfinn]

Black skimmers:

Kristin, lovely skimmer photos.

Do you know anything about their habitats & behavior etc. We see skimmers up in the Outer Banks during the summer ( Ocracoke to be precise ) and they are all over the place and are very active -- they're a lovely bird to watch as they approach at wave's edge skimming the water.

We see them in the winter in Florida at our Ocean Pointe resort but they tend to congregate on the beach and they do not fly and skim as much as we observe in the summer. They kind of behave like lazy tourists.

Barry

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Kristin - I love all of your bird pics. One question: are your planes of focus that narrow solely due to using a large lens and a wide aperture? Or are you doing other steps to increase the focus on the principal bird in the photos?

 

[geoand]

Kristin - I love all of your bird pics. One question: are your planes of focus that narrow solely due to using a large lens and a wide aperture? Or are you doing other steps to increase the focus on the principal bird in the photos?

Kristin, inquiring minds want to know. However, some of us (me) want a non technical answer. For example, when I use my telephoto to get as close as possible, I need to adjust so that I have enough light. Of course, only the object is in focus and the rest is not. At least it seems that way when I am taking shots of hummingbirds and other birds.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Kristin, inquiring minds want to know. However, some of us (me) want a non technical answer. For example, when I use my telephoto to get as close as possible, I need to adjust so that I have enough light. Of course, only the object is in focus and the rest is not. At least it seems that way when I am taking shots of hummingbirds and other birds.

Non technical answer - Yes. If you use a zoom lens, you reduce the depth of field that is in focus in the photo.

A practical application. Let's say you are taking a picture of someone in front of a garden and you compose the picture without the zoom lens by simply moving towards or away from the person until they fill the photo as you desire. Now set your camera to something such as a 4x or 5x zoom and move away from the person until the person fills the frame to the same extent as previously, then take the picture.

When you compare the pictures you should find that with the zoom picture the depth of focus around the person is much shallower. So if you want to emphasize the subject of the photo and deemphasize the objects surroundings, you should shoot the object using a zoom even though zoom isn't strictly needed to capture the image. Portrait figures typically use a zoom lens for this very reason.

 

[Brett]

Kristin - I love all of your bird pics. One question: are your planes of focus that narrow solely due to using a large lens and a wide aperture? Or are you doing other steps to increase the focus on the principal bird in the photos?

The "DOF" is interesting on those bird pics, especially the middle one. It looks like a very narrow focus range emphasizing the one bird resulting in a good composition, I know I cannot achieve that with my camera (even with photoshop!)

 

[KristinB]

Kristin - I love all of your bird pics. One question: are your planes of focus that narrow solely due to using a large lens and a wide aperture? Or are you doing other steps to increase the focus on the principal bird in the photos?

Steve,

I appreciate the comments. No, I'm not doing anything else to increase the focus, it's solely due to my large lens (which you can see in the picture that follows, LOL ) and the wide aperture.

Pic 1 -- f/5, 1/2000, 500mm (300mm lens with a 1.7 teleconverter)
Pic 2 -- f/2.8, 1/160, 300mm
Pic 3 -- f/4, 1/1250, 300mm

 

[KristinB]

For those who might care, here is my gear list (Nikon unless otherwise specified):

D200 | D70
10.5mm f/2.8 | 50mm f/1.8 | 300mm f/2.8 AFS II | 35-70mm f/2.8 | 12-24mm f/4 | 18-200mm VR | 70-300mm VR | TC-17E II | Sigma 30mm f/1.4 | Sigma 150mm f/2.8

 

[KristinB]

Kristin, lovely skimmer photos.

Do you know anything about their habitats & behavior etc. We see skimmers up in the Outer Banks during the summer ( Ocracoke to be precise ) and they are all over the place and are very active -- they're a lovely bird to watch as they approach at wave's edge skimming the water.

We see them in the winter in Florida at our Ocean Pointe resort but they tend to congregate on the beach and they do not fly and skim as much as we observe in the summer. They kind of behave like lazy tourists.

Barry

No, I really don't know that much about them, I have to admit... But I enjoy photographing them! Thanks!