Wulff

Thanks for the kind words all. Mokai. I use Canons 30D ( 1.6 crop) and their 400 f5.6 for my wildlife shooting. Occasionally I'll add a 1.4 TC to that as well, but not too often as I find the AF to be unpredictable. The TC combo does AF but it hunts for a second or so "sometimes" and that can result in missed chances with Birds in Flight. For static shots I dont mind adding the TC at all so that can give me an effective 900mm on the 1.6 crop body. That said, most often I dont add the TC though as at heart Im a Bird in flight junkie and AF speed is critical for that. So its the 400mm on the 30D and with birds, especially birds of prey reach as you know cna be an issue. For these shots I was pretty close to their nest, typically 50 feet and trying to stay on their flight path to take advantage of the directional light as much as possible. Osprey unlike other hawks seem to be pretty tolerant of human presence. So getting frame filling images was pretty easy it was more an issue in patience waiting for a male to return or leave the nest. Therefore most of these are full frame and the one that are cropped are cropped just a small bit for composition, rather than as a need fill more of the frame. In fact I deleted dozens of shots where I clipped some wings because I was too close to the bird. A 300mm isn't all that different really. Ive tried a friends 500 f4 and Ive tried a freinds 1DkIIN ( 1.3 crop pro body) and while each changes the reach somewhat (more or less) none of them by themselves are deal breakers. The key really is regardless of hardware remains getting as close as possible to the subject. . With Osprey its a matter of locating some active nest you can get close to and then being patient.

Spent the Canada Day Long weekend camping at a place called Silent Lake. Spent some time shooting Osprey Hey! how'd you get in here. Hope you enjoyed them

Thought Id share a bunch of pics Ive taken over the last couple weeks. Some you may have seen on other forums some you may not. Some are also in the the TFF forum as part of a report a friend did. Bugs Butterflies Bee Browns Blue Skies

Thanks for the kind words Graham. Glad I found forum, as photogrpahy and fly fishing are like PB and J. My "birding" has taken a back seat this spring so I could concentrate on learning marco shooting and some fishing photography in but come the fall migrations and the end of Trout season I'll be back at it wit a vengeance. I'm a sucker for flight photography, especialy raptors. May try to get some Ospreys this weekend if time allows. Those are all killer finch shots. Really, really like the two females though and thats a wall hanger for sure. A trip to the Adirondacks eh I'm sure you'll find lots of opportunities. My biggy is Nova Scotia in July. Coaster Brookies, small streams, whale watching and Eagles. Nah, fly fishing and photography dont go together at all Thanks again Graham, looking forwards to more from all.

Yes they were flyrod, good eye. It was grey and overcast with some drizzle mixed in. Glad you like them, heres a few more. Some were natural light Some were flashed with the aid of a Better Beamer ( very handy for birders) And as low as 1/250th at 400mm.

Nice shots Mokai, the selective focus on the rose petal is quite nice. J

Some Ducks Mrs Mallard Mr Mallard Mrs Wood Duck Mr Wood Duck Mr and Mrs Wood Duck Mr again

Nice shots Vito, really like the shot of the Iris with the falls as a backdrop

Nice shots Mokai

Really nice Flyrod, both the pics and the flower bed. I've been mulling converting some of our space to wildflowers, everytime I see shots I get a bit closer.

Nice shot Flyrod. A few more to add. Red Tail Northern Harrier American Kestrel Common Loon Blue Jay Blue Jay in Flight

I dont know Pentax being a Canon shooter but look into some Sigma and Tamron lenses. Both make lenses in the focal range your wanting that are affordable. There a lens out there for pretty much everyones needs and budgets. Macro: Most lenses that say "Macro" arent really macro lenses. They just enable you to focus closer and given their focal length can achieve near macro results. I think in most cases they are 1:3 rather than 1:1. Fast Glass: Make no mistake, nothing can replace fast glass. Even the "consumer" grade fast lenses tend to be expensive. I have an 85 f1.8. I love it but its a specialty lens thats great for indoor sports ( fast shutter speeds in terrible light) and portrait shots for their thin DoF and subsequent blurring of the BG. Do you need one? IMO its nice to have in the bag because it offers some things that jsut arent otherwise doable but by no means are they a "requirement". You should be able to find a 70-200 or 300 Sigma f4.0 or so that meets your needs. J

Nice shot. If I had to guess Id towards a sparrow as well .

Thanks Mokai. Nice shots to particularily the Dandelion thats a wicked shot. Ive been going pretty hard at digital photography for a year now trying to learn all the aspects from shooting to processing with PS. Hardly fished at all last year due to the time I was devoting to shooting. Reached a point with it where now Im really pushing myself to find ways to combine photography and fly fishing,. So all my purchases and decisions have been pretty much aimed at combining the two all along.One major hurdle Ive having is subjects though its a buger shooting oneself and lugging gear lol. Body Im using Canons 30D and for lenses Im using the 400mm f5.6 L (wildlife /birds) , the 85 f1.8 for portraits, lowlight creamy BGs, basically shots like this. And the Tamron 180 f3.5 macro. Macro is really grabbing me, as you said its opening up whole new avenues. I find Im using the macro lens for all kinds of things now, utilisings its relatively fast glass (f3.5) and like all macro lenses its really sharp. These are all taken with the Macro lens, with its focal length of 180mm and a f3.5 aperature it gets some nice DoFs and ofcoarse traditional Macro shooting is realy starting to grab me. ive tried some Butterfly and Flowers with it, but as yet I dont think those are subjects Ive developed an eye for yet. I do wish I could get more Mayflies . Ah well its early in the season

I picked up a Macro lens a few weeks ago to take with me streamside and to give me something other to shoot than wildlife. Been a hoot trying to learn how to control this beast, nailing critical focus with a depth of field that not much more than a milimeter can be an effort in frustration, even the slightest "pffft" of breeze can throw it out of focus. Basic garden variety wasp Spiders. Flies Stonefly nymph Midge Hendrickson ??? Feel free to add your own

Hope your all in the mood for some Owls Northern Saw Whets. 1 2 Long Ear Owl 1 2 Snowy Ows. Despite the cold these are one of my favorite Birds of Prey to shoot. With the wind chill it was hitting -25 when I shot some of these. 1 2 3 4 5

The best advice I think I can give is practise, practise, practise. I know it sounds cliche but for BiF it does make a difference. I still have a long way to go and alot to learn, I look at it as beingl fun practise:) and the beauty of digital is deletions are free My trash is an intimate friend Regarding your eyes. A couple of Bird shooters who I look to, shoot with their left eye (right dominant) and some I know shoot left andkeep both eyes open. I tried it, its very hard (for me) but obviously its doable. These are guys who border on Pros and put my best shots to shame (would likekly delete them) So dont give up. Do what you need to to have fun, but keep trying it , in time you might find using the left doable. The problem with the red dot is "focus". I tihnk in your case it will be great for assisting in getting on target but after that you'll struggle to get and leep them focused. The 350 is a nice body but to get the best from it with in flight birds you really need to help it along by refocusing fairly often. The AI servo on it is spotty and I suspect thats likely the culprit. However if you find you really need the red dot to asssist in target acquisition than what might work is a small chang in strategy. Rather than "tracking" and firing "burst" change your approach to 1 shot. Set the AF drive to one shot and practise timing quick snap shots. Such that once you have them on target via the RDS, a quick focus and then the shutter release can get you sharp single shots. Also the smaller the bird the harder it is both on you as an indiviual and on your hardware. Doves are just bordering what I can reliably get sharp shots of. Below their sized I might delete a 100 shots for a couple keepers. Things like Blue Jays, Cardinals, etc are very tough and I have one of Canons fastest focusing lenses and a pretty good body although not a 1D For one shot like that I may delete 50and BJs are just a hair smaller than doves Tree swallows Are even tougher. Ive got a dozen keepers of them in flight, Ive deleted probably 500 to 1,000. My point is Doves are actually fairly small and fast movers. Your really pushing the limits of the 350 and 75-300 imo. Keep trying them but dont be discouraged if the results arent what your hoping for. Its like my Tree swallow shots. They push the limits of my hardware I dotn sweat deleting hundreds for a couple keepers. Ducks, hawks, Gulls (Gulls make great practise trgets) , Herons etc are just that little bit larger and a little bit slower. You'll find them easier to shoot. J

Hi Flyrod. I'm a sucker for bird in flight photography. Check the bird thread last pages or my site. The best aid imo is the Bushhawk http://bushhawk.com/. Like anything in photography they don't come cheap. I also use it for Macro shooting. My Macro lens is a 180mm 3.5 lens, the DoF at the MFD is razor thin, such that any movement at all on my part will knock the subject oof. In natural light im often 1/50th to 1/100th and so it enables me to hold everything just that much firmer and yet maintain the freedom of full motion on the camera/lens. Like anything theres pros and cons and changing your setting if you shoot in manual isnt as easy but the pros more than make up for it. Regarding Red Dots. I dont know Flyrod. If your using it simply as a spotting scope to take shots of stationary targets, sure I can see it working. I dont know what lens you use but I use a 400mm prime, and while a red dot would tell me that Im on target, it wont tell you if your in focus. Even the best, top of the line pro bodies ( Canon 1DIIN) can and will lose focus tracking occassionally. Anything less will lose focus tracking more often and the further away you get from pro bodies in each makers lines, the less capable the focus drives are. So yes, your red dot will help you get on target. Are you focused? Anyways, look at a Bush-hawk, they aren't cheap but. Fully adjustable, it might be the ticket your looking for. Also with the modified cable release ( basically a trigger) at the end the hand grip it makes shooting that much more intuitive and if you shoot in cold weather wearing gloves isnt as much an issue. If you do alot of bird in flight photography you know the closer they are they harder they are to track and keep in focus. .

Adding a few more this time going to go with a fishing theme. Divers. Osprey enjoying some fish Common Loons Caspian Terns

A couple of my Scenics Sunset on Stoney Lake (Kawartha Lakes Ontario) Double Trouble. Sunrise and Sunset on a Haliburton Highlands Ontario lake Lake Ontario in winter

New member here, first post. Been lurking awhile and somehow I missed this forum. Took last year off fishing to devtoe time to learning photography. Now Im looking for ways to combine my two passions. Arent many forums around that celebrate both. Anywho on to some of my pics and a few of my bird shots for now. Hundreds to share but Rome wasnt built in a day. I enjoy bird photography and in particular Bird in Flight (BiF), Im a real sucker for it. I'll start with Birds of Prey Northern Harriers Red Tails Rough Legged hawk American Kestrel Snowy Owl I tihnk thats enough for now, over time I'll add lots more including shots for other topics (wildlife, scenics, fish etc)