American Tree Sparrow

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6e @500mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 125

The backyard feeders have been surrounded by Tree sparrows lately.  I caught this one in the snow on the ground away from where all the seeds have fallen so the frame wasn't full of "dirty" snow.  These little birds spend the winter here and will head far north in early Spring to breed and raise their young together and will continue to feed them until about two weeks after they leave the nest. 

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6e @500mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 110

Bald Eagle - First Year

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, 1/2500, ISO 140

Here's another shot of one of the many eagles I photographed at Ottawa Nat'l Wildlife Refuge earlier this month.  I like the uplifted wings, spread tail, and catch light in the eye.  As mentioned in yesterday's post I believe this is a first year bird, of which there were several.  This particular refuge is almost two hours from were I live but the eagles certainly help make the trip worthwhile.

The Eagles Have Landed

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, 1/2500, ISO 400

I can find eagles almost at will in Ohio now which is quite a bit different than what I mentioned here a few years ago.  (Wow!  I just saw those photos from the link and cringed and almost didn't mention the post from then.  But, that's apparently where I was in my photography-related development stage so it's interesting to see the contrast from then till now.  Hopefully, in a few more years I'll look back on today and feel the same way again.)  This photo is a heavy crop but I love the detail and windblown feathers.  And the catch light in the eye is a real bonus.  The winds were gusting to 25mph on this day so I was really glad to have the heft of the 200-500mm lens.

Ring-billed gull at Huron Harbor

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 + TC-14II @ 700mm, 1/3200, f/8, ISO 1400

These photos are from the same place and time as the previous post but with different results.  This time it was a Ring-billed gull that got fed.  The images are still much softer than I'd like but I hope they will pass as being okay here.  

Herring Gull Fishing for a Meal

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 + TC-14II @ 700mm, 1/3200, f/8, ISO 1000

I finally got out for a bit this last Saturday and went to the Huron Harbor because I knew there would be birds there as long as there was still open water.  And there was open water.  Only part of the harbor was frozen over.  So I walked out to where the open water met the frozen and there were a number of gulls flying around looking for a meal.  Now, I'm a relative newbie at this kind of photography event.  I've photographed gulls before but not for the specific purpose of catching them in action while fishing for a meal.

Nuthatch Image Comparison - New vs Old - Another Fresh Look

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 460mm, 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 400 

This post will look at an image already processed and posted in Dec and what I did to it after another look today.  I have liked it for the sharpness and detail provided but the busy background has bothered me from the start.  Now, of course, if you go back and read that post you'll note that most of the images there were taken during heavy cloud cover and/or fog conditions.  As such, I did not do a lot of tweaking because I was trying to make a point for the performance of the 200-500mm lens I had just acquired.  Now, after some time has passed, I saw this image again and wondered what improvements I could make.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 460mm, 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 400 

I started by resetting the image to default settings in Lightroom and then applied the flat camera calibration filter.  Next, I increased Exposure Compensation quite a bit, tweaked the Tone Curve some, added some Vibrance and a touch of Contrast.  Sharpening was left at default but I moved the Masking slider to 29.  After these steps I cropped it and used the Adjustment Brush to add sharpening and a little clarity to the bird and then painted the background with a reduction in adjustments to exposure, contrast, and sharpness.  In other words, I moved the sliders for these parameters to the left to reduce their effect.  

I certainly am more pleased with the reworked image at the top than the original.  Wonder what I'll think about it after a couple more months?  Will I still be pleased with it or want to make more adjustments?  Time will tell. 

Looking Over Images Again With a Fresh Eye

Nikon D750, Nikon 300mm f/4e + TC-14II, 1/640, f/5.6, ISO 250

Here it is, Saturday morning, and I'm pretty much house-bound today because I'm on-call with my place of employment and because the phone could ring at any time with someone needing my help I need to stay close to the computer with an internet connection.  If I could do that in the woods or lakeside I'd be out of here with camera in hand. : )  Maybe.  It is dark and gray again today.  As it is, I'm looking over images shot recently, deleting some and tweaking some and the thing that really stands out is how dark and gray the images have been overall since November.  I've posted the image below before in this article and it was even more dark and gray there which was a reflection of when I shot it.  So, I tweaked it a little more this morning by adding some exposure compensation in Lightroom which helps it not look as gloomy but it's still quite gray...and still gloomy.  Certainly in stark contrast to the image above that was shot this last July in early morning light.  I'm anxiously awaiting times like that again.

Nikon D750, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 480mm, 1/640, f/5.6, ISO 500

 

Killing Time

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 480mm, 1/500, f/5.6, ISO 900

It's Sunday.  It's cold.  It's snowing.  It's overcast.  Here's a photo of a backyard visiter.  Just killing time.

Fun and Festive

This past Christmas we had our children and their families here at the house for the holiday.  This little gathering included three granddaughters aged 1, 2, and 3 that Mindy wanted to impress with fun, festive decorations around the house, not the least of which would include the dining room just inside and left of the front door.  

Birds in Action

Nikon D750, Nikon 300mm f/4e PF, 1/2000, f/4, ISO 125

I've been venturing out to Lake Erie at times this fall and winter season mainly for the gulls and other birds to be found there. One of the reasons I went searching for them is because they are usually flying around and don't mind coming in close and I was after action shots as opposed to perching birds.  Not only is it enjoyable to photograph birds in action action but they offer good practice for keeping the subject in the viewfinder during fast, erratic action which comes in useful for wildlife photography in general.  And then there's the hovering, fishing, and synchronized flying, all of which make for nice action photos.  Also, I find birds to be very photogenic in general.

Nikon D750, Nikon 300mm f/4e PF, 1/4000, f/4, ISO 180 

Nikon D750, Nikon 300mm f/4e PF, 1/2500, f/4.5, ISO 110

Nikon D750, Nikon 300mm f/4e PF + TC14II @ 420mm, 1/1600, f/8, ISO 320

Nikon D750, Nikon 300mm f/4e PF, 1/2500, f/4, ISO 100