NEW NIKON Z LENS - FIRST SHOTS

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

A new tool made it into the gear locker. The Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S lens was delivered last week during my absence from home. Today I’m not writing about it, or why I wanted it in my camera bag, or even how it is performing. I just like to share some photos I made over the weekend with the new lens.

I still think the best place for trying out a piece of new camera gear for the first time is at home or in a well known local area. Reading the manual (I know, not everybody likes that part) and trying and testing in a controlled environment is the key for me to find out if a new acquisition is matching my expectations or if it has the potential to exceed them. In the front yard or any other place you have shot hundreds of times before, where you know how the light will hit your subject, it is easy to compare your results with everything you have done before at the same location.

Well, there is not much activity at this time of the year in our woods. Even very few local bird species come to a feeder or bird bath at the moment. Most of the migrating birds have left and headed south already, except for the smallest one. We still have quite a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds coming through, stop at our feeders, stay for a while, and fight with other hummers about the ownership of a feeder. Usually this will end at the end of September or in early October.

Blue Jay

In my blog I always have tried to be a helpful source for other photography friends and shared my impressions about locations, things that I learned from other photographers, and of course, the experience with any part of photo gear I use. Can you tell how much I’m excited about the chance to improve my visual story telling with this new lens? I will share what I hope to learn in the next few weeks about this new wildlife lens with you, so please stay tuned…

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

GEAR TALK: TRY-OUT OF A BLIND

TRAGOPAN Grouse V+ photo blind

The avid reader of my blog may remember that I mention quite often the use of my ”mobile blind”, and that’s of course my car. But that big ”photography tool” is not available while walking into the deeper parts of a habitat. I guess I know about the limitations a blind can have, mainly a limited view to the surrounding activities of wildlife. But after debating the acquisition of a blind with myself for several years, I finally bought the”Grouse V+” blind, made by TRAGOPAN, a camouflaged pop-up tent designed for wildlife photography.

Today was my first real test (after unfolding it once on the carpet of our living room) and it took place just in our ”front yard studio”. It took about a minute to unfold the pop-up tent and another one to prepare it to stand in the wind. Below you see a couple pictures that I would have not been able to create from the viewpoint of our house. Within a few minutes of trying it, I was able to make some photos that seem to justify the purchase. So what is it really about? As often mentioned, I’m still an advocate for ”getting it right in camera”, long before a digital file will be uploaded to the hard drive of the computer. With other words, I try to prevent excessive cropping, just because I was too far away from the animal. So the blind will hopefully help me to get much closer to the critters and birds and who knows, maybe lead to some shots otherwise impossible to make.

This female Red-bellied Woodpecker may not even come close, if I would just stand next to this tree trunk with the camera on a tripod and out in the open. It took the birds only a few minutes to accept the blind.

This pair of Mourning Doves walked right up to me and foraged between the seed droppings from our bird feeders. They are not totally shy but always keep a healthy distance to us humans. To be fair, the doves didn’t pay too much attention to me anyway, they were already playing their ”mating games”… The low sitting sun made for some great light yesterday evening and was perfect for trying out the new blind.

A big window in the door on the backside allows for shooting with a wider opening. Folding the tent to a circle that fits in the 20”x20” backpack sack takes a little practice but can be done in less than two minutes.

GEAR TALK: OVERDUE UPDATE

It was more than overdue to update the part of this website that’s called “What’s In The Camera Bag?”. I haven’t done that in a long time and since there have been a few changes and additions in the gear locker, I quietly made some updates during the last couple weeks. When photographers meet, like with friends of the Dubuque Camera Club, there is always a chance that photography gear or post process solutions will be discussed. It boils down to the question, what tool can be used to solve a particular problem in the process of creating a good image? My website has always been about sharing ideas and help others to make decisions about what piece of gear makes sense for their style of photography. My ratings are not the result of comparison with other brands or intensive testing under lab conditions, but rather reflect the experience I gained by using the equipment in the field. As always, the gear list can be accessed by clicking on the “What’s In The Camera Bag?” image in the side bar of my blog. If you like to check it out right now, here is a shortcut into the “CAMERA BAG”.

IN ANTICIPATION

Little Missouri River, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, 2015

In anticipation of our upcoming vacation later this week we are stacking camping gear, food, and photo equipment already. Yes, we will return to “Big Sky Country” again. Part of my preparation is to look at older images from previous trips. What did I learn from mistakes in the past, what do I want to photograph at locations where we have been before, and what new challenges can be mastered? Lots of questions going through my head. We know, some great landscapes wait for us again and there is no trip that includes South and North Dakota or Montana without really good wildlife watching.

This photo is from our trip in 2015 to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, a place we certainly like to visit again. I usually take a break from posting here in the blog but I hope you check in again and stay tuned.

THE LOW PERSPECTIVE

Muskrat, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

We used Memorial Day weekend for two kayak trips. The first one on Sunday took us to the backwaters of the Mississippi River and we paddled in the Mud Lake area, not far from home. All photos in today’s blog post are from this enjoyable tour.

Bald Eagle

Paddling a kayak is a relaxing exercise for body, mind, and soul. Sure, it can be risky taking the gear into the small boat. Who wants to loose a camera or lens? They can sink darn fast…😉 If you are a paddling novice or need still all your attention to deal with the ins and outs of kayaking or canoeing, you don’t want to take any valuable photo equipment on a trip. If you are comfortable doing it, it will open new doors for your photography.

Map Turtle

I think the biggest advantage is the low perspective you have in a kayak, very close to the water surface, and quite often near eye level to the animals that are out there. The boat allows to approach a critter very quiet and many animals stay in place much longer than they normally do when they are approached on land.

And when you think you finally have him in the viewfinder,  the American Beaver makes a big splash with its tail and dives down again…

All photos: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S

GEAR TALK: UPDATED GEAR LIST

I have quietly updated my gear list here on the website during the last few days.

WHAT’S IN THE CAMERA BAG?

I didn’t buy a lot of new gear lately but added some items that were previously missing. I do not like to rave about a new tool in the camera bag or write a negative statement until I have used a piece of photography gear for some time and can voice my opinion with facts that evolved from time spent behind the camera or from actively using the equipment. My gear list is here to help other photographers to find the right tools for their own photography and is not influenced and sponsored by any of the brands I mention. Feel free to check it out!

GREAT LIGHT BUT STILL ADDING SOME MORE

Red-bellied Woodpecker -----------

Winter is back here in eastern Iowa since a couple days. Time to put the best reflector nature provides for us to work. Yep, I’m talking about the fresh snow on the ground. The quality of light becomes very good for bird photography as soon a little sun hits the snow. The reflection from underneath the bird, even if they sit a little higher in a tree, makes the big difference to any other time of the year. In addition I’m testing a new flash extender that made it into my bag of tools. I’m not ready to talk about it today but might be soon. My flash extender of choice was the Better Beamer for many years (click HERE to see how it looks like). So why throwing more light at the subject if the overall conditions are sufficient? “Tree hugging” birds like this young male Red-bellied Woodpecker like to stay quite often on the shady side of the tree. I still can expose halfway correctly but a little hint of flash (and I mean a little hint) will reveal the beauty of all the colors in its feathers.

This is the tree I call “Woodpecker-Tree #1” in our front yard. A suet feeder is nearby and this tree is quite often the starting point for the birds approaching this feeder. The Red-bellied Woodpecker seemed to be in some competition today about the best spot with another woodpecker, a Northern Flicker. As you can see, it was all about display. Catching the colors and gesture was important to me to tell the story with my photo.

THE "ORDINARY" BIRDS

Canada Geese, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

How do we photograph the “ordinary” bird to make the picture special? I’m talking about the species that we can see every day at any time, if we just walk out the door and go to a location where they are always present. One way is making the image in extraordinary light. Well, that doesn’t always work out. Light comes and goes and most days it is just “average” and not great at all. The other way is to wait for a great gesture or pose, or to capture some action while the bird is moving.

Canada Geese are pretty much everywhere where a body of water is located here in the Midwest. After you have the first few hundred images of geese, sitting, standing, or swimming, on your hard drive it’s time to move on. Don’t take me wrong, Canada Geese are really a good subject to practice your shooting or to test and learn about your gear. The bird provides good contrast against almost any background even in nasty weather.

Last weekend in the Green Island Wetlands it was a little too early for seeing migrating birds, but coming home without any picture is not an option for me. I’m still in a phase of learning about the new SIGMA 150-600 lens and so I used every opportunity to shoot, even the “ordinary” birds…

TWO NEW THINGS

A few days ago I told you I was working on a new piece of photography gear and that I was in the process of testing it. So here it is, a flash bracket that mounts to the food of a long lens and elevates the speed light above the lens barrel. It allows to turn the camera quickly by 90 degree with the flash still remaining above the lens. Yes, there are tons of flash brackets out there. Some are very flimsy and some of the better ones are very expensive. I enjoy building stuff out of wood or metal and designing and building this piece of gear was a fun little “winter project”.

There is another addition I like to introduce today and you can find it right here on my website. Since a long time I wanted to add a gear page to this website and if you click on the link in the side bar of this blog, it will direct you right to it. Please feel free to check it out!