Camera Labs

It's been a while for the raptor thread...so I figured time to throw in a few more!

American kestrel:




Osprey:




Northern harrier:


More ospreys:








Sneaky closeup of red-shouldered hawk through the trees:


Red shouldered hawk on a stump in the rain:


Another on a nearby fence, still raining:


Red-shouldered hawk...going up!:


That intense hawk stare:


While flying over, the hawk keeps his eye on the ground below:

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

Great shots! The 6th one down is absolutely amazing, good job

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Visit me and leave me a comment in My Flickr

More birds of prey, to catch things up. These first ones were with my lightweight backup kit, a NEX-5N and 55-210mm lens with 1.7x teleextender:

Red-shouldered hawk sitting on a handrail:


Northern harrier - very strong backlight:


An elusive merlin up a dead tree stump:


I request a pass on this one - I know it's not the best...but I was very excited! I actually had a 40mm F1.8 manual-focus Konica lens on my camera, so not exactly the thing to have for birds-in-flight...while vacationing in Disney World, this bald eagle came down right over one of the resort lakes and I had to grab a shot:


A young red-shouldered hawk sitting pretty:


These next ones were taken with my A580 DSLR and Minolta 300mm F4 APO lens with 1.4x matched TC...

A northern harrier which flew entirely too close - this isn't even cropped - he didn't fit in the frame!:


Another northern harrier close, this time sitting and also fitting a bit better in the frame:


Red-shouldered hawk swooping down for a meal:


Brave little red-winged blackbird attacking the red-shouldered hawk for being too close to its nest:


Red-shouldered hawk backlit while sitting in a tree:


Very close fly-by of red-shouldered hawk:


Something different from the raptors...I got a rare glimpse at a great horned owl last week - they're not very common around here and hard to find out in the woods, especially during the day when they're sleeping or very still and well camouflaged...this is the poppa owl, as it was guarding on a nearby tree with two owlets in a nearby nest:

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

awesome zack... I really like the last 2

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Last year I FINALLY was able to buy a nice super telezoom: the Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM. In combination with my 40D and now my new 7D I am trying to become a good wildlife photographer. I try to go out as much as possible, but with a baby on the way and a full time job I do have trouble creating enough time to actually go out in the "wilds". I did want to share some pictures I took from a buzzard last weekend. I am really happy with my 100-400 and 7D combination (though it did take me a while to get the micro adjustments at the right level; a very frustrating process).

Buzzard in flight - 1


MTK - Wildlife by mt.koopmans, on Flickr

Buzzard in flight - 2


MTK - Wildlife by mt.koopmans, on Flickr

And some pictures I took at a bird show a couple of years ago.

Sea eagle:


MTK - Wildlife by mt.koopmans, on Flickr

Kestrel:


MTK - Wildlife by mt.koopmans, on Flickr

Caracara:


MTK - Wildlife by mt.koopmans, on Flickr

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Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

Very nice MTK. Im sure you will find the 100-400 a great lens as so many of us have. Hopefully we will see more of your work as you get out more and play with your gear more. It would be great to see some of the wildlife you have in the netherlands

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Thanks Wolfsong! Hope to be able to provide some more images soon .

_________________
Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

While I was on holidays over in South Australia came across an Australian Hobby Falcon. First time I got a shot of one.



Hobby Falcon by maxjj, on Flickr

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

That's an amazing little falcon, Max...very pretty. Congrats on the first shot too - a good one at that!

_________________
Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

thanks , was a bit confused and couldn`t work out what it was until I got home and looked in the books.
Birds of prey, I am sure they are fairly similar everywhere else, are hard work. They are not that common here and hard to get close too. They are bit more common in the open dry areas, or maybe it just that they are easier to spot there.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

Same here for me...at least for some of them. A few, like cooper's hawk, can be easier to catch here because they hit suburban areas a lot - I've had one living in my backyard 6-8 months of the year, praying on doves and blue jays that come to my feeders. Northern harriers and red-shouldered hawks in our wide open wetlands areas can be pretty easy to catch if you can stand out there in the heat and wait for them, and ospreys are extremely common here, so usually no problem. Other birds of prey are much tougher: kestrels, merlins, and sharp-shinned hawks are much more elusive and stay farther away, and owls are few and far between in my area. Eagles are the toughest of all - we're generally not a good area for bald eagles, which prefer to stay farther north, so we're lucky to get a handful a year anywhere in South Florida. I've only ever seen two in my area in my 20 years living here.

_________________
Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

I'm not sure if you have seen this one, an amazing shot.

http://tomsamuelson.zenfolio.com/p10635 ... #h5585abf2


Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

yes nice pictures, but


That mouse just happened to be sitting there?
Would like a few words form the photographer and how he got the shot, because when clicking through the shots it looks like the scene is staged and by the colouring it looks like a couple of mouses were used. Were they alive or dead mice?

That bothers me, is this in a controlled environment or is this meant to be a wildlife shot?
If its all staged to get the photos, the photographer should state that, just my opinion of course.

If its a real wildlife shot, why not explain it and add a few words. If it is a genuine wildlife shot, I apologise for saying it looks staged.

When going through the portfolio, it looks like the guy has captured some great images, so hope its a genuine wildlife shot.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

I know I risk sounding like an animal rights activist but if this IS staged, then I have no respect for this photographer whatsoever. The mouse never stood a chance and even though it is "just" a mouse I don't think photographers should kill animals to get a great shot. A mouse is as much a part of nature as the owl, and as a nature lover I would never harm an animal or plant to get a shot. Even if the killing isn't done by the photographer himself, I think it's just not the way to go.

_________________
Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

I can’t answer your question Max, if you put your mouse top right and click the “I” you will see the exif. From the time shown they are sequence shots and other sequence are hours apart


Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.