BIRDS AND A NEW TOOL IN THE BAG

December 3, 2023

I haven’t produced much with the camera lately, mostly due to a busy travel and work schedule, and this won’t change much for the next couple weeks. We had some snow on the ground this morning but it melted away quickly and made for a gray and drab rest of the day. I had in mind to do some bird photography, just shooting away from a tripod on the porch, while the birds approach our numerous bird feeders. With the lack of quality light it was the perfect time to practice with a new tool that is in my camera bag already since October. I just had no chance until today to use a new speedlight, the Westscott FJ80 II, for any wildlife photography. It has delivered good results so far for taking pictures of machinery during a trade show in October and for family photos during my recent trip to Germany.

Of course, I was excited to see what it can deliver for color enhancement of birds on a gray day like today. I tested a lot today but will talk about the technical side of this speedlight in a future blog post. More practice with the new tool is definitely required, but so far I have been impressed with the quality of light it can deliver with a diffusion dome attached.

All photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light, Westscott Magnetic diffusion dome

GREAT BIRDING THIS WEEKEND

May 7, 2023

Several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks finally arrived, males and at least one female. One pair may breed right here, the other ones will continue their migration to Minnesota and even parts of Canada.

It didn’t take a lot of efforts to make some photos of birds this weekend. Placing the tripod on the porch, dial in the settings for the camera and an off-camera speedlight, and just be patient, and that was all! There were new arrivals of migratory birds and some of the permanent residents posed in full breeding plumage, it doesn’t get any better. Just sit back while you start your week and hopefully enjoy this little ”spring-bird-gallery”!

Our property doesn’t have much open space that is preferred by Eastern Bluebirds. However, a male bluebird showed up twice yesterday to take a drink from one of the bird baths. I have built a nest box that fits their needs but all the House Wrens are pretty aggressive around here, and I’m not sure if the bluebird is able to take possession of the nesting place.

The first male Ruby-throated hummingbird showed up a few days later than other years. Two of them started competing about food sources and probably the one female that is here since yesterday.

When the Chipping Sparrows arrive we always know, spring is finally here, the snow may not come back (95% true…). The first one was seen April 11th this year. This photo is valuable for me. It’s hard to get a shot of this bird while they are not foraging in the grass and it is the first time that I have a pair of Chipping Sparrows together in the same picture.

The Northern Cardinal is a permanent resident on our bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley here in eastern Iowa. During the winter they stick together in flocks and we have sometimes around thirty cardinals, males and female, here. During their breeding season the male cardinals fiercely defend their breeding territory from other males. Since we still see several males flying in without fighting each other we just can assume the ”hot” phase hasn’t started yet…

NATURE CLICKS #542 - DOWNY WOODPECKER

February 15, 2023

It was not very busy around our bird feeders during the last three days. Spring is not here yet but warmer temperatures made the snow from last week melting quickly and the energy demand of the birds has obviously slowed down. This may change tonight and tomorrow. Another winter storm warning has been issued. The bird we can always count on to show up is the Downy Woodpecker. Up to nine ‘Downys’ have been here at the same time while we had the last cold snap. It is a great bird to practice bird photography, even for beginners. The contrast around their eyes makes it easy to focus and get a sharp picture in comparison to many other species. While males and females stay separate in fall and early winter, they form pairs during late winter. Both sexes take turns drumming loudly on dead limbs in the trees and that sound has started already around here.

BRAVE THE COLD (OR FIND A WORKAROUND)

January 6, 2022

Northern Cardinal, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @ 600 mm, 1/640 s, f/6.3, ISO 640

The first week of the year has been a busy one, hence not much time was spent behind the camera so far. We have that beautiful white reflector on the ground, some people call it snow 😉, which is perfect for bird or any kind of wildlife photography. But this needs patience and without enough time the results, even from the “front and back yard studio”, are just kinda mediocre.

It has been quite cold the last couple days and I made only a few clicks from behind the glass of the balcony door. The window glass softens every picture a little bit but it is possible to make an image and practice shooting technique.

There is no lack of our feathered friends, who enjoy water and food around the house, and I try to find new challenges for my pictures, even if time is sparse. The sun was on the right and the bird looked away from it, but it made the crest of this Northern Cardinal stand out. The snow below throws some light into the shadow part and brings this image to life. Not perfect, but we approach the weekend and I may have the time to dress properly and shoot outside, at least for a while. As I’m writing this, the temperature is at -22ºC and due to the windchill it feels like -31ºC (-24ºF). Tomorrow the height will be at -14ºC, I guess it’s T-shirt time…😉

IN THE FRONT YARD STUDIO

February 12, 2019

As already mentioned in my last blog post, Sunday was a gray day but I spent some time in the “front yard studio” and practiced long lens shooting technique. We have lots of birds visiting our feeders with all the snow on the ground at the moment and I tried a few new things. Shooting directly from the front porch is not a valid approach right now. Sure, some “regulars” will still come close but the majority of our feathered friends stays away. I have the camera on tripod inside the bedroom (like in a blind) and since it was not as cold as earlier in January, the window was open. Because the window is 8-9 feet away from the edge of the porch I loose that much distance to my subjects, the little birds on one of the perch branches. To make up for that I attached the 1.4 teleconverter to the Sigma 150-600 S, which gives me an effective focal length of 850 mm. The best f-stop I can get is f/9 and that bares quite a challenge. The good thing is that the Sigma 1.4 and 150-600 S combination still works with autofocus, as long some contrast is provided to focus on. Both birds, the female Purple Finch and the Dark-eyed Junco have lines with contrast on their chest to lock on the focus. No, it doesn’t always work, autofocus is slow and the birds never stay long in the same spot.

The rest is easy. I use the MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender to throw a hint of light at the birds in order to overcome the gray overcast and bring out their colors. The Nikon D750 is capable of separating the exposure compensation for the ambient light and for the flash and after a few tests I found the right combinations.

Junco: camera +0.33EV, flash -3EV

Finch: camera -0.33 EV, flash -3EV

Having the roof of the porch for most of the distance between camera and the birds has the advantage that the flash will not hit a lot of snow flakes if used during snow fall. I like to have falling snow in the picture but too much reflection can ruin the shot.

Both images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender, @ 850 mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO200

SIGMA 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM SPORTS LENS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS

December 29, 2015

*Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light*

The Weihnachtsmann was very nice this year and placed a new lens under the Christmas tree. The Sigma 150-600 mm / f5-6.3 DG HSM OS Sports lens will replace my “workhorse”, the Sigma 50-500 mm / f4-6.3 APO DG HSM. It has served me very well during the last six years and it was a perfect match for the Nikon D200, and later the Nikon D300s cameras. Its optics are very good and if focus can be obtained, it always delivered sharp images.

So what were the reasons to buy the new lens? The additional 100 mm focal length are a big one. On the D300s the 500 mm maximum focal length delivered the angle of view of a 750 mm lens. After changing to a full frame FX sensor, with the Nikon D750 camera, well, 500 mm are just 500 mm. This can make a big difference in wildlife photography. In a critical situation, when it might be impossible to get closer to the subject, changing the camera settings to “quick crop mode” will provide the equivalent of a 900 mm lens. This can make the difference between coming home with “the shot” or nothing.

You have not seen many of my photos here in the blog when I wasn’t able to obtain focus because of shutter speed was too slow, but there were more than you may think. Optical stabilization (OS) will hopefully help me to have more keepers on the memory card after a shooting session. This was another big reason for getting the new Sigma lens.

The old lens isn’t splash and dust proof and as you know, it isn’t always easy to keep water and dirt away in the field. The new one has a weatherproof construction. Big deal for me.

The snow storm that just came through here didn’t leave me much time to do a lot of testing with the new lens yet, but I show you a couple photos and here are my first impressions.

The Sigma 150-600 Sports lens is very well built and has a really nice design. Nothing looks and feels cheap and the lens gives you a professional feeling with its ergonomic features (more about this probably in a later blog post).
It is able to deliver sharp, very sharp images!
I love the bokeh. OMG, much better than with the old lens.
The darn thing is heavy, and I mean heavy. The old 50-500 was called the “Bigma” because of its weight but the 150-600 Sports lens brings 900 grams (2 lb.) more to the scale. I read a lot of reviews about this lens before I asked Santa Claus to bring it this Christmas. Some of the reviewers talked about sharpness by just handholding the lens. Sure, this is possible, and I will for sure handhold the lens, but posting a verdict about sharpness doesn’t seem to be the right way of making an evaluation. Bottom line, this lens needs good support (tripod) whenever possible!
Price. I thought it was a little overpriced in the past. I had this lens on my wish list since it came out over a year ago, but when Sigma lowered the price by $200 and B&H threw in the USB dock for adjusting the lens via computer ($60), I felt the time was right to pull the trigger... 😊.

I’m sure I will give those of you, who like to read more about this lens, some more thoughts as soon I can do some real field testing beyond my first backyard experience.

As always, equipment plays an important role but it is the person behind the camera that makes the photo. I still believe that…

P.S.: I have added more thoughts about this lens on April 4, 2016. Feel free to click HERE for this new post.