p.80 #10 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread
While kayaking this morning, my wife and I found a family of Barred Owls perched right over the water. I had my Nikon Z6iii with the Nikon 180-600mm and got to work. The first shot was taken from a floating kayak at 1/60 of a second, 550mm, f/6.3. I can't believe how well that worked out with a shutter speed that low!
p.80 #12 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread
My 180-600 doesn't get a lot of use, but it is the first lens out of the bag when I am kayaking or looking to photograph whales and dolphins in the Monterey Bay. The common dolphin showed up in numbers this week, so I decided to see what everyone was talking about. A conservative estimate of 1500 dolphins were within 2 miles of land... the action was frenzied, and the photography was difficult. Attached is one of the better shots from my outing...
regards,
bruce
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens180mmf/10.01/2500s3200 ISO+0.3 EV
p.80 #14 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread
Another day at sea... I have a shirt that says "9000 frames, 0 Keepers." This shirt describes what it is like to photograph marine mammals doing interesting things. While it is not difficult to photograph a whale fluke or an animal at the surface, catching a dolphin or whale in the air is my greatest challenge in wildlife photography. Lately, the Monterey Bay has had an influx of dolphins and orcas. I missed the July 19th orca extravaganza, but managed to get back out on a boat yesterday 7/23. The dolphins had scattered because the orca pods had hit them hard, but there was till a small pod of about 50 individuals within a few miles of the "Bay."
I shot 3048 images in 3 hours, I kept 144 with the goal of narrowing this down to 40 or so today. I've edited only one and probably need to warm up the sky just a bit, but it is the shot I've been wanting to catch. I've seen dolphins straighten their backs like this in the past and have always wanted to photograph one soaring above its buddies.
As always, the 180-600 is my go-to lens for these outings because it is so very flexible.
regards,
bruce
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens320mmf/10.01/2500s1800 ISO+1.0 EV
p.80 #17 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread
Thanks for all that viewed my jumping dolphin photo above. I thought I'd share a few more from the day. In the end, I have about 40 photos that I valued enough to keep in my files. With over 3000 photos taken in a 3 hour period, that puts my keeper rate at 0.013%
Because this was my second outing with the pod that now has dissipated, I decide to try some slower shutter speeds, and I've included them here as well.
regards,
bruce
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens180mmf/9.01/2500s3200 ISO+1.7 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens270mmf/10.01/2500s4000 ISO+1.7 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens210mmf/8.01/125s100 ISO+2.0 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens200mmf/8.01/100s100 ISO+2.0 EV
p.80 #20 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread
This one is from Saturday. I've been working on using slower shutter speeds to add motion to the wings in flying birds.
While I normally use different lens for hummingbird photography, I decided to see how the 180-600 handled the erratic flight and the need for fast AF.
