Readers’ wildlife photos: Diana gets a new camera

March 5, 2014 • 6:14 am

Regular Diana MacPherson recently announced that she’d bought herself a new camera outfit for her birthday, carefully omitting the crucial information about her self-present.  Then she sent the following photos with birds’ IDs:

Today my new camera arrived & I was able to take some nice shots of the hungry birds at my feeder. The first is a male downy woodpecker: Picoides pubescens (you can see he is a male by the red feathers on his head). Next is a female downy woodpecker (lacking the red feathers) & the last picture is a junco – a Dark-eyed Junco: Junco hyemalis.

Male Downy Woodpecker

Female Downy Woodpecker

Note the omission (again!) of the crucial camera information. When I wrote her saying “No info on the equipment; no pictures”, I got back the following:

LOL! I’m using a Canon 5D MKIII with a 300 mm f/4 Canon prime lens & a 1.4x telextender to give me 480 mm. These were shot at ISO 800 f/9.0.

Junco

51 thoughts on “Readers’ wildlife photos: Diana gets a new camera”

  1. Science has its tentacles in everything. Today we find that photographers are frequently obliged to tell what methods, or at the very least, what equipment was used. This is so others may have a chance to reproduce the experience for themselves. Good pics.

    1. Yes, I agree. I always include my EXIF data and I am disappointed when others don’t. I like to share and learn from others – that’s what makes it fun!

          1. Innit, though?

            In reality, it’d be perfect for an organizer of an equipment-provided photo safari, or for an instant photojournalist pool for a sporting event, or that sort of thing. Everybody gets one of the 70-200s, and then one of the Great Whites depending on what they’re doing — the 200 f/2s for basketball, the 600 f/4 for the soccer arena, etc.

            b&

    3. Yes, p.a.w. – leeze, me too !

      Lovely pix, Ms MacPherson. Just think what is possible to capture once .finally. the Canadian snows evaporate !

      Already in Iowa some migrants are seen back — with yet only ‘teens and zero ( Fahrenheit ) for temperatures and on very much of the land eight and more feet of snow still.

      I daily stroll in to work; well, I baby – step inside yak – traxed boots and am thrilled to finally be hearing ( some level of ) song .again. in the accompanying trees along my way !

      Blue

    1. I love the focus on this new camera and of course the sensor! I tested by taking pictures of birds in branches of a bush. The bird was tack sharp on autofocus! I always had to use manual focus before which sucked for two reasons: 1) You can’t steady a long lens as easily when manually focusing 2) I’m left-eyed & that one has an uncorrected astigmatism so I can never tell if I’m sharpening properly.

      1. I have the same body which I bought for my trip to TAM 2013. A big improvement over my first generation Canon 1Ds. I don’t have the 300mm prime but do have the 600 mm f5.6L prime with a gimbal mount that is great for wildlife photos. Sadly the bulk and weight means I rarely use it. No doubt the 300 mm is far more practical.

        1. I learned from telescope experience that a large optical tube/lens if it is too heavy, doesn’t get used so I wanted to make sure I could hand hold a prime. I overdo things a bit and try to shoot as fast as the lens length even with the IS. I know the rule of thumb let’s you shoot slower but I figure this ensures no lens blur best.

          1. You might be pleasantly surprised at the hit rate you can get with the 300 f/4 at slow speeds. You can’t stop subject movement that way, of course…but, for static scenes the extra exposure latitude you get with IS can let you close down the aperture for more DoF without having to crank the ISO as high.

            …not that high ISO is as much of a concern with the 5DIII, but still….

            b&

          2. Yeah it’s pretty good! Yesterday was a good test too because it was that grey winter snow colour instead of the colour you get during rain when it’s actually good for photography.

          3. As you demonstrated, that sort of grayness can really make color and contrast stand out, and the diffuse light is the ultimate softbox.

            If you’re trying to photograph a particular subject, there’s good light and bad light. But if you’re trying to photograph the light, the subject (almost) doesn’t matter….

            b&

  4. What is in the feeder? (All I get (even without a camera) are chickadees and house finches (in Maryland)

  6. Nice pictures. I enjoy seeing the different birds you have (I’m in UK). Congrats on the camera. I have one and love it!
    I think Prof Ceiling Cat is bullying you. I sent a picture of a Rook recently and never had to provide the equipment info!

    1. You never mentioned beforehand that you got a new camera! Besides, Diane’s choice was, by her admission, influence by readers Ben and Stephen, and I thought they (and the rest of us photographers) would like to know that.

    2. Jerry isn’t bullying me, he’s just being Jerry. 🙂 I actually didn’t bother mentioning my equipment for two reasons:

      1) I thought Jerry already knew from my Ben and Stephen discussions
      2) I exported the photos with full EXIF data (and that was a conscious decision as I use Lightroom & it gives you a choice.

        1. 🙂 It says my exposure was auto but I think that’s because I adjusted it in Lightroom. I always shoot fully manual.

  7. Delightful and marvelous photos Diana. Enjoy the camera — don’t forget to take a break 😉 Spring is just around the corner too (kinda sorta for us northerners) — what an abundance of birds and wildlife you’ll be able to share.

    1. Spring has been awfully late in getting around the corner out here in Chicago, so the technical info I want to know is: what kind of gloves and boots do you wear to make standing out in the cold bearable?

  8. Jeez, Diana, pack some suet in the dang feeder! 🙂 (In a pinch, chicken skin works too.)

  10. Thanks for posting the photos!

    I live in southwestern Montana and I get those Hairy and Downy woodpeckers at my feeders too, along with lots of Flickers. The Juncos feed on the the ground on top of the snow. I love watching these birds. I’m being inspired to break my camera out. Thanks Diana.

    1. Sadly I saw a junco become the meal of a sharp shined hawk the other day. It’s always hard to witness because you like both birds. The hawk was fast & the juncos, sparrows & finches like to hang out in a bush. The hawk went right into it to get them, which surprised me because, probably like them, I thought they were safe there.

      1. Ooh, hope you get a pic of the Sharpie some day! 🙂

        Yeah, they and Coops will tunnel right through the shrubbery following prey.

      2. My wife and I witnessed the same thing at our feeder from our kitchen window. It was a Finch. All the birds scattered, the hawk came from nowhere and snatched the Finch in mid air right in front of us. It was probably a sharp shinned. I see them roosting in the trees around the feeder at times. I felt a little guilty for attracting birds….I guess there is bird feeding and then there is bird feeding.

  11. I saw dozens of Great Blue Herons this morning. They were sparring with a Bald Eagle that’s taken up residence in the rookery with her mate. I had my camera and big lens, but the light so so poor I didn’t bother to photograph the dogfight. Sometimes it’s better to just watch.

      1. That would have been a good idea, but I’d have needed a different lens. The eagles taking up housekeeping in the heron rookery is causing quite a fuss. The herons are ready to nest but the eagles harass them. It’s possible they’ll have to abandon the rookery.

    2. I bet the whole time you were thinking about the shots you could’ve gotten! That’s what I do as I’m watching and moaning. 🙂

  12. Well, happy birthday!

    A Birthday Candle

    Thirty today, I saw
    The trees flare briefly like
    The candles on a cake,
    As the sun went down in the sky,
    A momentary flash,
    Yet there was time to wish.

    –Donald Justice, 1960, Weslayan University Press (Don’t know name of book. It was originally published in the New Yorker.).

    Hope you like it and obviously you found time to wish.

  14. Good choice of equipment! I use the 400 prime with 1.4 extender, and it is still a light-enough lens combo to use often. I long for a 600mm prime with an aperture of f8 or f11 that would be as light and inexpensive as their 400mm 5.6. (I am not holding my breath.) The new camera bodies can get by with less light, so lets carry less glass!

    1. I use the 5D3. It’s really good for wildlife photography because of the great sensor. I overuse the 500mm f/4 lens, probably because I spent so much on it and feel I have to. 🙂 The 100-400mm Canon zoom is a light, flexible, multipurpose lens for wildlife, and it works with the 1.4x extender at f/8, taking it to a respectable 560mm.

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