Nature clicks #229 - Nashville Warbler

 

I still have a backlog of photos that I like to show you here in the blog. Not so much because of image quality but I like to wrap up my series about the warblers that we have seen in our woods in May. The Nashville Warbler is one of them. I had three sightings between May 12, and May 19 2014 but none of them ended with a photo that I’m halfway satisfied with. I just could not get it sharp. The photo may work here in the blog but if I would try to make a larger print there is just not enough sharpness.

It was the first time that we saw this bird but I guess we have to wait until next year, or maybe the migration in the fall, to make a photo with a little more detail. For now we are at least happy that we have seen the Nashville Warbler, the jinx is broken ;-) …

Nature clicks #132 - Tufted Titmouse

 

I like to interrupt my 2012 photo review for an actual post. One of my favorite birds here in Eastern Iowa is the Tufted Titmouse. They are here all year long and I have photographed them many times before. Last weekend I made a few clicks with the D300s and the Sigma 50-500 attached. I'm very happy about this image for several reasons. First, It is the closest shot I ever made of this fast moving bird, second the titmouse is backlit and that makes the picture more interesting. I don't have much experience making backlight shots but I think it turned out well. And third, I handhold the camera with the lens fully zoomed to 500 mm (equivalent to 750 mm on a FX body) and still got a sharp image. I had recently a similar experience (backlight plus very sharp photo). I really wonder if the autofocus system on the D300s can handle this situation much better because of the sharp contour that the backlight creates on the bird's chest? Let's forget all the technical talk, the most important thing was the fun watching and working with the birds in the backyard. The Tufted Titmouse had obviously a successful breeding season this year because, at least I believe, we see more of them than the years before, and that is really a good thing.