Great For Critters ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"Keeping My Eye On You"

(1/250 sec.@ F/9, ISO 160, 200mm fl, shade, 55-200mm Tele Zoom VR)

Growing up, I always thought I'd be a veterinarian. That's how much I loved animals. Then I discovered being a vet has nothing to do with cuddling them all day and everything to do with working more on their insides... and suddenly being an artist looked real promising.

Today I thought I'd share something fuzzy and sweet though. Compliments of (insert fanfare here...) the telephoto lens. I was down at the Pier the other day, and there huddled on the lawn near the yacht club were five goslings and Mother Goose. I have a lot of respect for wildlife photographers by the way. I mean, even just to get these shots, I had to approach only when the mother looked the other way. I had to get down on all fours (in public, ahem) and I had to find a way to quickly find an uncluttered composition while metering and choosing my exposure. I can't imagine all the work that goes into photographing grizzly bears, or elusive birds of prey. These were just geese for heavens sake!

"All Eyes on You"

(1/250 sec.@ F/9, ISO 160, 200mm fl, Center Weighted Metering, handheld)

The thing is, my telephoto is really a modest lens. It's only an f.4.5 55-200mm Nikkor zoom. It's not lightning fast by any means, Nikon makes better telephotos now that reach to much nicer lengths at much faster apertures and shutter speeds. Since I wanted a decent aperture, I had to put my ISO up to 160, which is actually the perfect setting for the D80 giving no noise in lower light or shade I've discovered after using it for 2 years. The shutter speed was not ideal for rapid movement, but everyone remained fairly still in the short amount of time it took to shoot before they got tired of me. I also knew that as I moved about in the shade to recompose, my lighting would change slightly, so I kept my histogram up on my view screen which shows me which channels are exposing properly. I didn't worry so much about the green channels as I did about the blue and red channels being properly exposed due to the cool cast the shade light was giving.

Working in RAW allowed me to add a stop of light if needed, and I used curves in PSPx2 to brighten the contrast a bit while keeping the color hues true to outdoor settings. Slight high pass sharpen, and the photos were done.

Wasn't sure which one I liked more, so I posted both. Spring means all sorts of fuzzy critters are out and about. Try photographing some this week. And thanks for the ramble folks! Have a good one eh!

For the Ladies ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"A Graceful Exit"

1/2500 @ F/8, ISO 250, 200mm fl, 55-200mm nikkor zoom VR, handheld, Colored Edges Filter in PSPx2

The Swan ~ by Mary Oliver

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?

Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -

An armful of white blossoms,

A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned

into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,

Biting the air with its black beak?

Did you hear it, fluting and whistling

A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall

Knifing down the black ledges?

And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -

A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet

Like black leaves, its wings like the stretching light of the river?

And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?

And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?

And have you changed your life?

The image above was taken today, and I could not think of a more graceful way to thank all the women from my family, my friends, and fellow photographers that have been so encouraging to me as I stretch my wings in my photography journey, and in life period.

I couldn't do any of it without you ladies! Happy International Women's Day!

You Looking at Me? ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"Stare Eyes" ~ Great Horned Owl

(1/640 sec @ F/5.6, ISO 250, 135mm fl, 55-200 Nikkor Tele zoom VR, Bright side light, handheld)

Sorry for the later post today, but here we are! I decided I should post an actual image depicting the main use of any telephoto lens... to get closer! Telephoto lenses are the go to lens when you can't or shouldn't get any closer to your subject physically, but still need that shot that has that wow factor. And what better place to do all that than at the bird exhibition at the local fair grounds...

I try to get out to local community fairs, zoos, and conservation areas frequently. There's always a variety of interesting people, animals, and nature to photograph. And basically my telephoto zoom never leaves my camera for the day. Any number of things may be going on, and if the crowds are out enjoying the weather like I was the day I took the above photo, then your telephoto is a definite must. There's so many times you need to get in close, and simply can't or with this fellow, shouldn't!

This was a demonstration of various birds of prey. And the Great Horned Owl was one of the main attractions that afternoon. As beautiful and quiet as he was, they asked everyone to stay put and behave themselves. Like any photographer worth her salt, I snuck down to the side as close as I could... and let my camera do the rest. I jacked up my ISO a bit even in the bright afternoon light, to ensure I could freeze any of his actions for good detail, and had my auto focus on. I also kept the Vibration Reduction on since I was handholding for the series of photos I was going to take. Standing at least eight feet away, I zoomed in to compose the shot to include his handler, and as I pressed the shutter halfway to meter for the light, my auto focus beeped. No one else took notice, but Mr.Owl suddenly swiveled to stare right at me! I knew I good opportunity when I saw one and got this image before he turned to eat the mouse the handler offered next.

Regardless of the fact I'm no wildlife photographer, my telephoto never leaves my kit. It's useful in so many different situations and applications... and that's the point of quality gear. That it can adapt to many situations. And that it'll get you to adapt to different kinds of photography too.

Keep exploring who you are as a photographer... or whatever you love to invest your time in. And thanks for letting me ramble on about owls, and lenses, and... and have a good one folks! See you for Wide Angle Wednesday!