Wrong lens, but didn't miss the shot

Nice weather today but unfortunately other things required more attention today than my photography. There was just enough time in the late afternoon for a quick trip to a couple boat landings at the Mississippi River. I had the Sigma 50-500 mounted to the camera in hope for some birds of prey but did not have much luck. Normally I don't use the range below 150mm focal length for landscape photography. Other lenses in my bag do a better job in this range. However, when I saw the Cassville power plant mirrored in the water of the Mississippi and at the same time a big ice floe drifted by, I made a few clicks. Nothing crazy, just lovely light… A few seconds later, as the sun went deeper down, the light lost its magic and was not the same anymore. I'm glad I didn't waste time to change the lens. I would have missed the shot...

My 2011 christmas gift tip: Captured, a book by Moose Peterson

You may ask, why did he put this book out in the hoarfrost? Because I wanted to use the early rays of sun today to shoot this image and just making a snapshot inside the house didn't seem appropriate for this wonderful book. Yes, this is my 2011 Christmas gift tip for those of you who want to take a serious approach to wildlife photography. Maybe grandma is still asking you for another christmas wish or you may find tomorrow a gift card from a book store under the christmas tree.

Why is my book so wrinkled and looks beaten up? Because I got mine at last year's christmas already and I read it and looked at Moose Peterson's images over and over again. He shares his experience from over 30 years of wildlife photography with the reader and you can feel his passion about wildlife photography on every page of this book. Moose Peterson's stories are fascinating and exciting and are told by both, his prose and pictures. Did it make a master out of me? No, not yet, but it helped me to find out in what direction I like to head with my photography and it helped me to deal much better with the technical aspects of wildlife photography. If you don't find it under the christmas tree, go out and get you one, it will be money well spent.

Got the softbox out again

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, SB600 with softbox

One advantage of working from a home office is that the camera is always on-hand.  My D300s is mounted quite often to the tripod with the Sigma 50-500 attached, so I don't waste much time if I see anything interesting outside. We live in a wooded area and there are always at least a few birds around. During my lunch break today  I recognized that the birds came more frequently to the bird feeders than during the last few days with their relative mild temperatures. This is usually an indicator that we might get some snow and colder weather. Light was only good for 1/45s at 500mm and the maximum aperture of f/6.3. The birds, mostly chickadee, nuthatch, or tufted titmouse, were moving too fast for a sharp image. And this is when the speedlight-mounted softbox becomes really useful for some fill flash. I wrote about this little DIY-project some time ago HERE. I built this little softbox mainly for my bird photography in the winter. It allows me to shoot 1/250s, even on a day with gray overcast. The other benefit is that the colors turn out more vivid. 1/250s is still too slow to catch all the action, although it is fast enough to capture the birds during the moment when they rests briefly on a branch before take off to the feeders. Usually the chickadees and titmice stop only for about a second. They never become really motionless because the little branches vibrate under the impact of the bird. The light thrown at the bird from the softbox is subtle if you find the right setting at your speedlight. It may take a few shots before you like the results. Another good point for using the speedlight is that it can produce a nice catch light in the bird's eye that is away from the sun.

Landscape texture with the Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM

Nikon D300s, Sigma 150 / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM

I like when a landscape picture goes beyond the usual postcard look. It is sometimes easy to get carried away by just snapping the skyline picture, that clearly shows where the click was made but is exact the same photo everybody shot there before. During our vacation in and around the Great Smoky Mountains we spent some time in the Pisgah National Forest along the famous Blue Ridge Parkway. During one of the numerous stops along the parkway I saw an opportunity on this mountain slope. I really like how the reflected light from the tree trunks creates vertical texture on the different colored bands of trees. It may not be seen on a postcard but it is definitely the direction I like to move with my landscape photography. I wrote some time ago about using the Sigma 150mm / f2.8 EX DG HSM for landscape shooting (here) and this was another good opportunity to use the potential of this very sharp lens. It is the only one in my photo bag that allowed me to isolate this patch of trees across the valley.

Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35/f2 ZF for today's self-assignment

Nikon D300s, Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35/f2 ZF

I haven't done any still life for a long time and I guess it was time to do something different today. The recipe for this image was simple. I set this old 8 millimeter Univex cine camera on a rock with fossils, turned all the lights in the room off, and used two tiny LED lights as my light source. The background is a sheet of black foam board. Painting with light is something I wanted to try since I learned about it on a DTOWN-TV podcast. I thought a little alienation effect would look cool and so I tweaked the white balance in camera. The Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35/f2 ZF is a perfect lens for a project like this. It is tack sharp and with its smooth manual focus I can easily fine tune the focal point. I bought the 35/f2 several years ago mainly for my landscape photography but I love it also for still life photography and architecture. The D300s was mounted on the tripod, the remote cable release was plugged in, and the camera was set to mirror-up mode. All this is mandatory so you can handle the long exposure without any camera shake. I experimented with many different settings. Above image was made with 8 sec., f11, at ISO 100. I really had fun working on this little self-assignment. I'm sure it will not be my last one during the coming long winter nights.

Back again

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120 f/4

I can tell you, I felt like a drug addict without my camera during the last two weeks. I missed the Worlwide Photowalk and the chance to meet with other photographers from the area last weekend. My friend Dave Updegraff lead the walk here in Dubuque again and his blog tells the story about excellent weather conditions and a lot of fun shooting together with other photographers.

Nikon 300s, Nikkor 24-120 f/4

My camera came back from Nikon Service Center on Monday. The simple message was that it had received the kiss of death. A crack inside the housing put it out of work forever and it was beyond repair. A quick decision had to be made Monday night because of our upcoming vacation with my family. I couldn't even imagine going without a camera into the Great Smoky Mountains during the fall. So I ordered a Nikon D300s and got it delivered yesterday evening. Many things are similar to the D200 but I know there will be a learning curve for the new features and the way this camera performs. The first test shots are made and many more will follow during the next few weeks. I'm already impressed with the focus system and noise handling, which show a big improvement over the D200.

We may not have much internet access during our vacation but I hope to find the chance to post here a few times. Until then, enjoy the colors of autumn in your area!(Special note to my sister Claudia in Sydney, Australia: Enjoy the colors of spring!! ;-)  )

Murphy's law

 

It's quiet here again. The reason for not blogging is simple and sad. I dropped my camera this week. No mechanical damage on the outside because it hit a grassy ground, but it quit working completely. What really makes me sick is the fact that our vacation trip is less than two weeks away. Murphy's law!!!

 I had it checked in with FedEx two hours later and I just hope now that the people at the Nikon Service Center can fix it and that I have it back before our departure. My Sigma 50-500 was attached when it happened and I don't even know yet if the lens has been damaged too. At least it looks OK.

I try to see the positive side (even if I'm not really sure there is any… ). Since no new images are made right now I find the time to clean up my archive. Oh no, I still can't laugh about the adversity… :-(

Nature clicks #50 - Brown-spotted Yellow-wing Dragonfly

Nikon D200, SIGMA 150mm/2.8, 1/750s, f/4, -0.5 EV, ISO 100, tripod

I just realized that this one is already the 50th post filed under "Nature clicks". It is a coincidence that today's image is larger than usual. I just thought that my subject deserves a little more than the 620 pixel I use normally for the long side of the pictures I post here.

Despite the heat I couldn't resist to visit the Green Island Wetlands again today. The water is very low and except for a family of Pied-billed Grebes and a couple Killdeer I did not see any birds. One of my favorite ponds was even drained and I wonder what happened to the Moorhens, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and other species I had found there during the last few months.

I put the long lens away and mounted the SIGMA 150 mm, f/2.8 Macro DG HSM to my camera. This lens has never disappointed me. It is ideal for shooting insects. The 150 mm gives me the extra distance that is sometimes necessary in order not to scare away an animal. The lens produces tack sharp images and if a picture is not sharp I have only to blame myself for.

When I shoot butterflies or other fast moving insects in our yard I handhold the camera with the 150/2.8. There is no way that you can follow one of the swallowtails with their fast movement from flower to flower if the camera sits on a tripod. It is a different story when it comes to Dragon- or Damselflies. They perch quite often on a twig or leaf. Even if they fly around for a little while, Dragonflies return often to the same or a place nearby. All what it needs is a slow and careful approach and of course some patience. Having the camera on a tripod helps definitely in this matter. Manual focus works sometimes better, especially if the insect is almost translucent.

The Brown-spotted Yellow-wing here was my first encounter of this beautiful dragonfly. What you don't see is the sweat dropping from my forehead and running down my back while kneeling in the dust beside the gravel road… But I enjoy it!

San Rafael Swell - part 2

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20 mm f/4.0-5.6, 20 mm (30 mm FX), 1/160s, f/8, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

Sometimes it is tempting to keep the wide angle lens on the camera all the time, especially when dramatic clouds frame the landscape. During our stay in the San Rafael Swell I wanted to try things a little different than the first time I have been there. I have never done much with my Sigma 150, f/2.8 when it came to landscape photography, but I like the results I have seen from other photographers with their 70-200 mm lenses at 200 mm focal length.

The first image of Temple Mountain was made from our second campsite. A strong, very cold wind was blowing and the appearance of the clouds changed constantly. The wide angle lens catches the scene very good, although the branches are a little blurry because of the wind.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, 1/320s, f/8, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

The second image was made from about the same location, just ten minutes earlier. I really like how the light brings out the structure of the foreground and how each level of rocks up to the snowy mountains in the background has a different color. Both pictures reflect the mood of this stormy evening in a slightly different manner, but my favorite is the shot with the 150, f/2.8. I guess it will not be the last landscape image I will make with this lens.

More light - BETTER BEAMER flash extender

We haven't seen the sun here for five days. The sky is covered with grey clouds every day. There are still patches of old snow on the ground, and they look, of course, grey as well. But we also can see the first signs of the upcoming spring. A big flock with hundreds of American Robins is foraging in the woods around our house. We have seen them actually several times throughout this winter. It seems they don't migrate much further south anymore. But their appearance is different now. They have started singing and make a lot more noise.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500, SB600, Better Beamer flash extender

The natural light in this kind of weather is miserable in the woods and not enough for a sharp image of the Robins. I just acquired a Better Beamer flash extender for exactly this kind of a scenario, where I'm depending on a focal length of 400 -500 mm and the reach of a normal flash is insufficient.

It was raining just before I started shooting and the flash is reflected in the rain drops on the bird's feathers. Not that I really like it, because it makes the flash too obvious, but at the other hand, the sparkling of the little rain drops helps to tell the story about spring, which is hopefully not too far away anymore.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500, SB600, Better Beamer flash extender

For this first test I had the flash directly mounted to the hot shoe of the D200. You can tell by looking at the picture of the American Goldfinch sitting in the rain that it may need a different approach. I don't like how the eye of the bird turned out. I need to do more tests to see how a different flash-to-camera angle would improve the outcome. What else is wrong with the finch image? The picture was shot using front-curtain sync flash, which makes the rain drops looking unnatural. It seems they move in the wrong direction. I usually shoot rear-curtain flash but had changed my camera settings for some reason. Oh well, …next time!

So far, I like how the Better Beamer flash extender really increases the reach of the SB600 flashlight, how the colors start to pop, and for this particular weather, make the grey finally disappear.