Some from the Archives.

As it is freezing cold outside I have been going through my archives to select, delete and improve.

Here are some that I was particularly pleased with.

Taken at 2000th s. A Great-tit coming in to land on a bird feeder.

Air Braking.

I took this shot of an Owl at a falconry display and superimposed the image onto a suitable background.

Barn Owl.

This image was taken through my caravan window.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker

A very interesting set you've presented Fogey. I admire the final photo for it's sharp focus and beautiful detail. The second photo of the owl has a bit of a distracting background that, although blurred, still has enough detail to tug at the viewer's eye for attention.

By coincidence I happen to be reading a photography book called "Captured" by Moose Peterson, a famous wildlife photographer. It's a fascinating book covering decades of his work. He explains, in great detail, the process of how he captures his subjects. He has a great fondness for endangered species of birds.

Over the many years learning his craft Moose points out why he uses the gear in his bag. He's a lifetime Nikon user and has access to every piece of kit that they offer. He uses really fast glass including all three of Nikon's teleconverters added to 400mm, & 600mm telephoto lenses not to extend their focal length necessarily but to control depth of field. He wants his subjects to be tack sharp and all their surroundings completely blurred out.

Not everyone can afford or justify lenses selling for $10,000 each, myself included. He points out that he doesn't have every lens Nikon makes but those he does own are the best and fastest lenses out there. This philosophy has given him the edge over other's offerings.

Thanks for that Bob.

I was looking at the lenses for Nikon just the other day and daydreaming what it would be like to own one. Wishful thinking at its best.

Because I wanted to upgrade my Nikon D90 to the new D7000 I had to sell the D90, a Nikkor 60mm F2.8 Micro & my Nikkor 35mm F1.8 lenses along with a brand new top of the line Nikon SB900 flash. Since I am no longer working I'm living on a very tight budget and needed to give up a lot to get the new body. I have just the Nikkor 18-200 F/3.5-5.6 VRII lens remaining. Don't get me wrong, that is a super versatile lens but not very fast glass. I'm adding the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 lens as my Christmas pressie to myself. It's due for delivery in just two days. Using a 52mm filter size I'll have all my good filters of that size from the lenses I sold so I'll be set in that area.

My new D7000 has greatly exceeded my wildest expectations and will lift my ability to shoot in low light. I'm already shooting at ISO 4500 with acceptable grain levels. The addition of the 50mm F/1.4 will allow me even more control of depth of field in portraiture as well as close up nature photography.

I think I have spent all that I am going to spend on my kit, unless, of course, I win the lottery.

Nice work Fogey - love the shot of the owl!

My fav is the owl shot too, it almost looks 3D, it has so much depth.

This post makes me want to try taking some bird shots, all I need is some patience

And some good panning techniques, Ken. The shot of the Great-tit was a case of taking just shy of 200 shots over a period of 3 1/2 hrs. The one above was the 151st.

If you want to practice your panning techniques, try photographing seagulls in flight.

Some nice work - love the owl!

xx