Psych, if you need any KFCIF shooting tips, please do not be shy.....ask me for tips.
I think I am an expert, and I've got many wretchedly poor shots to prove it.
PetKal wrote:
Good going Doc.....I particularly like the heron "perched" in shallow water.
Doing some more portrait studies of Wood pijuns......in fact, I am comparing different camera-lens combinations for IQ, "rendering" and operating agility. That has worked rather well as long as the light as well as the targets remain very similar if not identical.
Handheld 1DX + 800L.
Peter,
Your lighting on the Ducks is beautiful - perhaps as a result of them not being in full sunlight? And a lot of detail in the head feathers. In full sun my Ducks seems way too contrasty. I will visit my Duck locale again and try different configurations with the 1DX. Of course I am not yet possessed with a 800L.
Doc, thank you, glad you like them duck....err...pijuns.
What I normally try to do is shoot in early sunlight or goldenhour sunlight.
In addition, I probably often expose to the left of the histogram (never really look at the damn thing), about 1/3-1/2 stop before highlite clipping alert takes place.
Also, I seldom get into shadow pushing and recovery....if what I see is dark, then it is dark, and I leave it dark.....i.e., as dark as obtained by the camera.
Today I have retraced my steps thru the garden done with 200 f/1.8 a few days ago.....this time I used the longest, the heaviest and the most awkward lens in the current EF lens lineup: 800L.
A selection of shots, some of which may look familiar to you from the previous 200 f/1.8 presentation, is shown here together with the shutter speed values used.
Please note that 800L has an MFD of 6m (20 ft) which is obviously veeery long.
p.52 #10 · Summer photography with Canon equipment
That was all fine and dandy on fruits and flowers. However, when it came to bugs, I started to run into problems with focusing, magnification, etc. For example, this hopper I could barely see even thru the lens, and the scene wasn't conducive to accurate auto focussing even with spot AF. The bugs require more work.
p.52 #12 · Summer photography with Canon equipment
Great BIF work of late, folks, especially those little blue-gray bullets you've been calling "kingfishers"; I have a hard time getting anywhere near that particularly shy breed...
Peter - handheld 800mm macro?! Impressive, to say the least...
Here are a couple of summer fawns, the smallest/youngest of the two resident pairs on our side of the ridge...
both with the 400 DO with 1.4x III extender...
And my best kingfisher of late, a massive crop from this morning's kayak on the river; same lens, 400 DO and extender...
I'll be able to spot this one from the peculiar notched ear...
p.52 #15 · Summer photography with Canon equipment
Psychic1 wrote:
The Kingfisher ambushed me by flying in from the south It started getting dark.
Psych, why do you shoot in the dark ?
That tern is interesting....what species is that ? Our terns have gone almost a month ago, yeah, by early Aygust they just disappear.
p.52 #16 · Summer photography with Canon equipment
Thanks, Peter; the fawns were in my yard as I was driving home with the kayak from the river, so the extender was still mounted...I'd been experimenting with assorted settings on a new 5D III; I've gotten so accustomed to using ALL the focus points on my 1D IV, and I wanted to travel light for a few days in Montreal and Quebec...so, now I guess I need to sell a sort-of-well-used 5DII, something I never expected to do...
I am quite pleased with the new camera, though; the AF system and the ISO handling make it worth the upgrade, for me at least. I'm still learning its foibles as yet...
buggz2k, I rented the 400 DO twice in two years before I could commit to buying one, but now I use it almost as much as the 500 f/4; I can't beat it for handholding while walking in the woods (I'm no Petkal, and I know it; his upper-body strength must be Olympian ) and it's perfect for the kayak. Retail prices have gotten ridiculous, but they do pop up occasionally on the B&S forum; still, I'm a firm believer in renting before investing so much money...
Jerry
p.52 #17 · Summer photography with Canon equipment
Tenn.Jer wrote:
I can't beat it for handholding while walking in the woods (I'm no Petkal, and I know it; his upper-body strength must be Olympian ) Jerry
Indeed, Jerry, 400DO is peerless when it comes to ease of transport and use......
I used to be kinda strong physically in my day, but now I am struggling with holding these heavier lenses out of despair, because I know that when I stop it's gonna be over for good.
