Birds and a bee!

[Dennis]

Hello,

We managed to have a day trip to Tangalooma on Moreton Island (Oyster Catchers) followed by a mad dash down to the Roma Street Parklands (Wrens & Bee). All the bird photos were taken with the Canon 300mm F4 L – I’m respecting the longer focal length now (after re-calibrating my sloppy hand-held technique!) so the images are getting sharper! I’m getting to like this lens.

Thanks for looking!

Dennis

[multiweb (Marc)]

Lovely set. The last sub is very interesting. I also love the color contrast between insects and their background.

[gary]

Hi Dennis,

Extraordinary all!

The star fish on the sand in the first makes it even more compelling as a wildlife shot.
The third one where the pollen is clearly seen (is this one a wasp or a bee?) is right
out of the text book.

They are all fabulous and your talent for capturing wonderful images of animals shows no bounds.

[bloodhound31]

Dennis! #5 is just Spectacular mate! Lovely creamy bokeh and Dof on the wren is spot on!

Nailed it!

Baz.

[h0ughy (David)]

a bird and a bee and Dennis make three........great nature shots Dennis! So how did you recalibrate yourself?

[spearo (Frank)]

Great work
well done
i'm tempted to get the same lens now too!
frank

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Fantastic set, Dennis! What happened to the 400L? Still got it, or swapped for the 300L? Did those bees/spides etc with the 300L also or macro lens?

[iceman (Mike)]

Incredible shots Dennis. I love the birds with all the starfish!
THey're all great.

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Great collection Dennis! How do you find the reach of the 300 for birds?

Cheers,
Stephen

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Lovely set. The last sub is very interesting. I also love the color contrast between insects and their background.

Thank you Marc – the dew matrix shot was of a spider’s web constructed in a curled leaf, the strands of which caught the morning dew.

Originally Posted by gary

Hi Dennis,
Extraordinary all!
The star fish on the sand in the first makes it even more compelling as a wildlife shot.
The third one where the pollen is clearly seen (is this one a wasp or a bee?) is right
out of the text book.
They are all fabulous and your talent for capturing wonderful images of animals shows no bounds.

Thank you for those generous words Gary! There was an explosion of star fish along the waterline, many of them dead or dying. It seems that periodically, their numbers jump dramatically although I wonder if it may have something to do with the nutrient rich run off from the Brisbane floods of late?

Originally Posted by bloodhound31

Dennis! #5 is just Spectacular mate! Lovely creamy bokeh and Dof on the wren is spot on!
Nailed it!
Baz.

Thanks Baz, the 300mm F4 is a fine lens although this was my second copy – the 1st was returned due to a very bad case of front focusing.

Originally Posted by h0ughy

a bird and a bee and Dennis make three........great nature shots Dennis! So how did you recalibrate yourself?

Hey Dave – I gave myself a good stiff talking to, planted my feet shoulder width apart, tucked in my elbows, relaxed my body, breathed out slowly, became one with the camera and then squeezed, nay caressed, the shutter release!

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by spearo

Great work
well done
i'm tempted to get the same lens now too!
frank

Thanks Frank – as mentioned above, the first copy showed significant front focusing which I probably could have dialled out using the micro adjust on the 7D but my 40D doesn’t have that so I returned the lens for another copy.

Originally Posted by troypiggo

Fantastic set, Dennis! What happened to the 400L? Still got it, or swapped for the 300L? Did those bees/spides etc with the 300L also or macro lens?

Thanks Troy! I couldn’t bear to part with the 400mm F5.6L and upon Santa hearing of my dilemma, a nice 300mm appeared, although I had to return the original due to front focusing. MA on the 7D could probably have compensated for this but not on the 40D so back it went and the 2nd copy was spot on with both bodies.

The insects were with the 100mm F2.8 macro – good pick up!

Originally Posted by iceman

Incredible shots Dennis. I love the birds with all the starfish! THey're all great.

Thanks Mike – the star fish were an unanticipated bonus as I didn’t realise how much they would contribute to the composition until processing time.

Originally Posted by StephenM

Great collection Dennis! How do you find the reach of the 300 for birds?
Cheers,
Stephen

Thanks Stephen – I love the closer focusing distance of the 300mm (1.5 metres) and it is a very versatile walk around lens, whereas the 400mm is more specialised for bird shots. I think that apart from places like Roma St or Mt Coot-tha, where the bird life is more or less in your face, the 300mm would not be long enough? I guess that’s why some folks invest in the 100-400mm zoom lens.

For birds in flight in bright conditions, the 400mm F5.6 is a cracker of a lens with very responsive AF!

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by h0ughy

a bird and a bee and Dennis make three........great nature shots Dennis! So how did you recalibrate yourself?

Hi Dave

I just stumbled across a YouTube video by Joe McNally (pro photographer, National Geographic, etc.) where he demonstrates a very effective technique for holding DSLRs to minimise camera shake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDsx3...eature=related

It is tailored for those that favour their left eye for looking through the viewfinder and also relies on a DSLR fitted with a motor drive to make the lodging of the camera/drive into the shoulder more effective.

Worth a look!

Cheers

Dennis

[Ric]

A great collection Dennis.

Thanks for the link as well, I found that quite informative.

Cheers

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Great set of diverse shots Dennis