Nature clicks #3

I went back to the place where I saw a Trumpeter Swan a couple weeks ago (see my earlier post Nature clicks #2). The beautiful swan was still there, sitting on a nesting site, and had buried the head under its wing. Not the best pose for a nice shot. I was watching it for some time. It is tempting to get closer but the priority is not to disturb the animal at all. The light was much better than the first time and I was afraid the sun would set before I could take a picture, other than that of a sleeping swan. But I was lucky. While I had briefly put my attention to some red-winged blackbirds, the Trumpeter Swan suddenly lifted its head. There was my chance, click, click, click, click… Minutes later the sun disappeared behind a ridge and the shadows were creeping into the valley.

The story of restoration of the Trumpeter Swan in Iowa seems to be a successful one. The link to the Iowa DNR Wildlife site about this restoration project is obviously a little outdated, but it bears some interesting information. It is so nice to see these big birds returning to Iowa's wetlands.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

Simulating film

Nikon D200, Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35/F2 ZF

Today we took a little Easter walk along the Mississippi in Dubuque, Iowa. Besides having a nice view over the river, its bridges, and the city itself, there is a good opportunity to look at some artwork. The City of Dubuque has a temporary art exhibit, Art on the River, located along the RiverWalk and in the Port of Dubuque.

One piece that particularly caught our attention is 'City mouse' by Texan artist Andrew Arvanetes. It is a big sculpture, made out of stainless steel, and according to the artist's statement it derived from recollections of a child's wind-up toy.

We had a grey and cloudy sky today and so I went for a detail shot, having B&W already in mind. I like how the patina on the stainless steel surface and the soft shadows  of the sculpture's elements turned out. The 35/f2 gave the picture a nice bokeh for the background. However, I thought the image was still too close to "digital reality". I always start processing my RAW files in Adobe Lightroom. The new beta version 3.2. now has a feature that allows you to simulate film grain. I gave it a trial for the final touch and I like the outcome very much. Should do more in Black & White…

Another source of light

What do you do when the day goes by, you have been very busy, and there was not really a chance to take the camera and make at least one single click? You may look for another source of light, inside or outside, and try something. Last night I didn't have to look very far. The light source itself, the full moon, was at its best and the warm spring weather made it easy to stay outside for some time. I have tried different settings and liked this one the best. 1/60s, f6.3, ISO 100, 500 mm (750 mm FF), cropped in post process.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

Nature Clicks #2

I was driving on a gravel road through a small side valley of the Mississippi river near Bellevue, Iowa, when I saw this Trumpeter swan in a pond beside the road. The bird plunged its head and neck under the water most of the time in search for food. There was only a brief moment in between each time when I had a chance to make the click. The light was a little harsh. Well, I clicked anyway. Don't regret it...

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

Nature clicks #1 - Crocuses in snow

The snow stayed  only a few hours on the ground after a cold front briefly interrupted the warm spring weather here in Iowa. I tried different settings with short and long depth of field for this shot. Finally I came up with the following: ISO 100, 1/20s, f16, +1.5 EV. What do you think?

Nikon D200, Sigma 150/ f2.8

Sigma 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Known as "The BIGMA"

!!!  April 14, 2012: There is a newer post that summarizes my experience with this lens after two year of using it mainly for wildlife photography. Please feel free to click HERE if you like to jump over to the new post.

I found this lens under the Christmas tree last year. After three months of playing with the new "tool" I'm still at the beginning of a learning curve. However, the Sigma 50-500 has helped me so far to take some sharp pictures of birds and White-tailed Deer.

If you like to make images of wildlife, birds, etc., and your budget does not let you seriously think about the big Nikon primes, then this is the lens you should consider. It is not super-fast and the focus is not always easy to obtain in low light at the longer end of the lens range. But it produces sharp images if you provide good support and maintain a good long lens shooting technique. Zoom and focus ring have a nice feeling with a little resistance for good fine tuning.

What I really don't like is the lens creep. Unfortunately the lock works only at 50mm. Not a big deal, but I don't understand why little things like this have not been fixed after the first users complained about it many years ago. However, this lens has fulfilled my expectations so far, and I believe it has a very good price-performance relationship.

Nothing stands still and so has SIGMA just announced that the 50-500 f4.5-6.3 DG HSM will soon be available with Optical Stabilization (OS) function. According to their press release the OS function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately four stops slower than would otherwise be possible.

Spring has almost arrived and the first migrating birds show up already here in Iowa. I hope this lens will help me to make the images I have in mind. Let's get back to work…

Foggy morning

Nikon D200, Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35/f2 ZF

The snow is melting rapidly but it still does not feel like spring. Fog was hanging over the valley of the Little Maquoketa River in the morning.

I grabbed the 35/f2 and walked over to the bluffs that overlook the valley behind our house. I tried to capture the mood by shooting wide open with very little depth of field.

Eagle time

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

I've gone to the Mississippi River Lock and Dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa many times in search of Bald Eagles. This winter season I never saw more than two at the same time. In previous years I sometimes counted close to 100 of these majestic birds. The river does not freeze over below the dams during the winter, and the Bald Eagles come usually in large numbers from the north to hunt for fish. A ranger told me that they are much further south this year.

Last Saturday I drove down to Le Claire, Iowa to check out dam #14. While here in Dubuque the river was still frozen for the most part, 90 miles (145 km) south the Mississippi was cleared from ice. And yes, there were Bald Eagles sitting in the trees near the lock and dam. Other photographers had already lined up their gear and were waiting for action on the river.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

It was the first attempt to shoot birds in flight with my relatively new Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3 APO DG lens. Also known as the "BIGMA", this lens is heavy and I started out shooting from the tripod with a ballhead mounted on top. My lens does not have image stabilization (although SIGMA has just announced a new version which includes this feature). That's why I thought working with the tripod support would give me better results. I take most of my images with a tripod anyway, but in this case it did not really work for me. I always had the feeling that I could not follow the movement of the eagles fast enough. Most of the other guys that used their tripods had their long lenses attached to a gimbal head instead of a ballhead and that seemed to work for them. I currently don't own a gimbal head, so I took the camera off the tripod and started shooting handheld. I tried to practice proper panning technique, as I had learned from a video clip that famous wildlife photographer Moose Peterson has on his website (check out the link in the sidebar). My results are still far from being perfect yet, but I got more worthwhile photos after changing to handheld shooting.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.3

It was such a thrill to watch the Bald Eagles. I went back to dam #14 with my wife, Joan, on Sunday and the light was even better than the day before. More practice, more keepers, another great experience.

Non-fictional fun

I'm just about to finish Joe McNally's book "The Hot Shoe Diaries - Big Light From Small Flashes". I have never had so much fun reading a non-fictional book. He is one of the great American photographers and photojournalists whose work is published in magazines like National Geographic. He works with light and creates amazing pictures by using small hot shoe flash lights.

In his book Joe McNally lets you participate in the process of creating his wonderful images. I've been following his blog for a while and I've already gotten used to his unconventional writing style. Serious when it comes to facts and technical content, but really funny how it is put in context. Be forewarned if you are a non-native English reader like me. You may learn a few new words and spelling suggestions which your English teacher didn't necessarily tell you about. But all this makes reading the book real fun. And while you are still giggling, you may have learned something new that can play a role for your own photography work from now on.

Summary: Highly recommended!

Did I use a hot shoe flash for the two pictures in this post? You bet!

Relying on luck or being prepared?

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 / f4-6.6 APO DG

We had snow on the ground since early December 2009 here in eastern Iowa. The White-tailed deer are hungry and come quite often out of the forest and search for food. Most nights there is not enough light available to get a decent shot of these beautiful animals. I have tried it many times but never retained any real keeper.

A few days ago I was surprised when a group of five deer showed up earlier, shortly after the noon hour. The sun was obscured by only a few clouds, which made for good light. I carefully moved into position, lifted the cover of my hiding-place, which was in this case….. just my bedroom window ;-)…, and started shooting.

With the comfort of warm feet and not having to dress for the outdoors I was able to take the pictures I was waiting for. Was it only luck? I don't think so. The camera and the Sigma 50-500 were mounted on the tripod and ready for action. The battery was charged and an empty flash card was inserted. In other words, I was prepared for this moment. Watching the deer many times before, I knew the day would come when the light would be sufficient for the long lens. I also knew that there would not be much time to prepare when the moment was right. Preparation, and yes, a little bit of luck, too.