Mid-March birding can be a bit of a challenge in Southern Ontario since the spring bird migration is only in its earliest phase with robins and grackles starting to arrive. We are left with a limited number of species… many of which some folks do not find particularly exciting to photograph. Birds like Canada geese, gulls, fairly common ducks, swans, and small species like sparrows and chickadees.
Category Archives: Animals
Bird Kingdom Outtakes
This article features a selection of Bird Kingdom outtakes that were captured during an earlier visit when I was creating images for my 1200mm EFOV Test article. Photographing birds at an indoor facility with a equivalent field-of-view of 1200mm has some limitations, not the least of which is finding subject birds at suitable distances.
Intensive Practise Session
This article discusses a recent bird-in-flight, intensive practise session I did along the shoreline of Forty Mile Creek Park… and some of the planning that went into it.
In my mind, casually grabbing a camera and going out to create a few impromptu photographs does not constitute a practise session. There is no clear objective. There is no forethought or preparation. Nor is there any discipline involved with the activity.
Gulls Landing on Snow
This article features a selection of recent handheld images of gulls landing on snow along the shoreline of Forty Mile Creek Park.
1200mm EFOV Test
This article shares some 1200mm EFOV test images that were captured handheld at Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls Canada. In an earlier article, Jigsaws or Drills, we discussed that prime lenses and zoom lenses are different types of tools.
Neither type is ‘better’ than the other, but simply more suited to specific photographic approaches. My preference has always been to own and use predominantly zoom lenses as they better suit my shooting style.
Jigsaws or Drills
Sometimes we get drawn into heated discussions, like deciding whether jigsaws or drills are the best woodworking tools. 🙂 I appreciate that some of you may be thinking that the comparison posed is ludicrous… perhaps even bordering on asinine. And yet as photographers… we sometimes get drawn into these types of pointless comparisons on a regular basis… especially in online chatrooms.
New Zealand Birds
This article shares a selection of photographs of New Zealand birds captured handheld with M.Zuiko 75-300 mm f/4.8-6.7 II and M.Zuiko PRO 12-100 mm f/4 IS zoom lenses. As regular readers know, I spent some time deciding on which lenses to bring on our recent photography tour of New Zealand… especially when it came to a birding lens.
Eastern Rosella Taking Flight
During a recent trip to New Zealand I had a single opportunity to photograph an Eastern Rosella taking flight. This brightly coloured parakeet is native to south-eastern Australia, and was introduced to New Zealand in the early 1900s.
Bird Kingdom BIF Test Images
This article features some Bird Kingdom BIF test images captured handheld with an M.Zuiko 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom. As regular readers know, Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls is one of my favourite spots to visit… especially when wild bird migration periods are over.
Dry Run
Doing a dry run with the camera equipment planned to be used for an extended photography tour, is always a prudent thing to do. Our initial gear assessments can have us lean in a certain direction. It’s not until we get out in the field and spend some time doing a dry run, that we can put our thought process to the test.