veroman wrote:
Tony: I'm not at all a bird photographer or a devotee of wildlife shooting in general. It's just not something I do. I make a living shooting interiors. Don't think I've ever shot anything as long as 400mm!
Still, as photography goes ... meaning photography in general, ie subject matter, technique, clarity of purpose, bringing something to light in a meaningful way, etc. ... I think I'm pretty qualified to be able to pass judgment and state an opinion, and that opinion is this:
This series is a surely a first-rate representation of great photography (not just of birds), of the importance of sheer photographic skill and of the minimal importance of the gear itself (in this case a Canon 20D; not sure what the 400mm lens might be). Your photos enabled me to see these beautiful creatures in a new light and with a new sense of their relation to the world at large. Their expressions alone are priceless. I doubt I'll ever look at a bird again in the same way.
On many shots, the old 10D or 20D, produces extremely good results. I probably used my old, soft 100-400 on these shots. Of course the subjects themselves create the beauty, while I just do my best to capture it.
I had always hoped to be able to paint like Robert Bateman, but that was not reality, so working with a camera was the next best thing for me. Like you, I retired 5 years ago. With our rainy winter weather, I should be photographing interiors, but being in a rural area does not offer up much in that field.
Your words are also encouraging, since my images fall far short of the quality I see from many other FM'ers. Luckily for me, this is just a hobby, and not a vocation.
Imagemaster wrote:
On many shots, the old 10D or 20D, produces extremely good results. I probably used my old, soft 100-400 on these shots. Of course the subjects themselves create the beauty, while I just do my best to capture it.
I had always hoped to be able to paint like Robert Bateman, but that was not reality, so working with a camera was the next best thing for me. Like you, I retired 5 years ago. With our rainy winter weather, I should be photographing interiors, but being in a rural area does not offer up much in that field.
Your words are also encouraging, since my images fall far short of the quality I see from many other FM'ers. Luckily for me, this is just a hobby, and not a vocation.
My first "serious" DSLR was the 10D. I didn't upgrade until the 5D came along. Still, when I review some of my old files from the 10D, I remain amazed at the quality that camera was/is able to deliver.
I've long been tempted to purchase either a 20D or 30D as a travel camera. 8MP resolution is more than ample when on the road and obviously more than capable of rendering fine detail, as per your amazing pics.
