outdoor photography

Veery My father and I drove out to Oak Hammock on Merritt Island today.  We'd heard some nice reports about some fun warblers there, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Unfortunately, I left my camera battery in my charger, but my dad let me borrow one his cameras, a Canon EOS 1D mark 4.  It was pretty fun to use--nice and fast, and noise levels were lower than my 7D.  I didn't see a lot of warblers there, but it was nice to find a couple Veery. It was also fun to see many Ovenbirds and a Northern Waterthrush. Ovenbird It was interesting, though.  Noise levels with the 1D mark 4 were better than my 7D, but there was a bit more noise than I anticipated. I took these shots at 2500 ISO, and noise was pretty visible, so I had to work on the backgrounds a little. The Ovenbird above is sharp, but a bit grainy; the waterthrush below is more tightly cropped, and the grain is also affecting the sharpness of the image. It just goes to show that there's no magic cam...

Veery It was a slower morning today; I didn't see a lot of warblers, though I did pick up a female Black-throated Blue Warbler that I didn't see yesterday.  The Veery I found yesterday was still in the same spot, and this time it was more cooperative for photos. And I finally found a Baltimore Oriole in the park. This is my first of the fall, and the first I've ever seen at Central Winds.  That made my day.  This one is a young one, and it was preening the whole time I saw it. Baltimore Oriole  

Ovenbird I had a good morning at Central Winds.  I visited there for a little bit in the morning and on the way home. Between my two visits I had 11 warblers: Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush (late arrival), Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler and Prairie Warbler in the morning. I added a Blackburnian and Common Yellowthroat in the evening.  I also found my first Veery of the fall, an Eastern Wood-Pewee and possibly two Acadian Flycatchers (I saw one in the morning and one in a different location in the evening). It's really nice to see thrushes coming back. Northern Parula I figure this Common Yellowthroat thinks she's in heaven.  I saw her grab several spiders in these webs. Common Yellowthroat This Veery just would not behave.  First it was behind a branch so I could only see its head.  Then it moved into clear vi...

Northern Mockingbird #1 (2200 x 1385 crop) Canon EOS 7D with EF 400mm f/5.6L (ISO 250 | f5/6 | 1/500sec) Lightroom Adjustments: Vibrance +62 Sharpening: +25 | Luminance Noise Reduction: +10 I acquired a Canon EOS 7D in September, and now that I've been using it extensively for a few months I thought it would be good to write reviews of its various features.  This camera has been on the market for a while and there are many reviews already available, but I thought it would be helpful to review the features of this camera that make it hands down the best Canon APS-C DSLR for wildlife photography.  In the past I've used the Canon Rebel 2000 and Elan 7 (film) and the 10D, 40D and 50D (digital), and all of these cameras have been wonderful cameras that have served me well.  But the 7D easily out shines them all. In this review, I'd like to examine the ISO performance of the camera. Before I begin, though, it may be useful for me to make a cou...

Veery Canon 7D with EF 400mm f/5.6L   (ISO 4000 | 1/60sec | f/5.6) This morning before work I decided to drop by Mead Gardens.  It's a little farther away than Central Winds, but that park has cooled off considerably over the last few days, while people have been reporting some nice sightings at Mead Gardens.  While I didn't see all of what had been seen over the weekend, I still had a pretty good hour there, and I found a few species I haven't seen in the park for a while.  I found six warblers species: Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Black and White, Blackburnian (my first in the park), Prairie, and a Black-throated Blue.  It was also nice to see an Acadian Flycatcher and a Veery there. I continue to be impressed at how well the 7D can perform in relatively even lighting at high ISOs.  The above shot was taken at ISO 4000.  If you zoom in, there's noticeable grain, but the bird was close enough that it took up a ...