Any Photographers Out There?

[Windwalker]

Looking through some of my photos I posted on Facebook previously. Here's a nice shot of Grizzly Falls down in King's Canyon I took. This was a tripod shot with a variable neutral density filter which slowed the exposure time down to over 20 seconds. No post production, of course. There was a lot of wind from the falls moving the trees, but it didn't affect the shot as they needed to not be a point of focus anyway, and blurring out is a good thing in these cases.

 

[Windwalker]

The potential problem with wildlife photography is you need a fast lens. A 70-300 isn't very useful if the best aperture you can squeeze out of it is F6.3. There are cameras called "bridge cameras" which basically do what you want. The lenses aren't very fast nor is it pocketable, but it is an all-in-one package. There are some excellent pocket options that have a 1" sensor, manual controls, etc. But they don't have the reach you want (See: Sony RX 100 V).

This was shot with my Sony FE 70-300mm. I'd have to check what the aperture ended up at as I was shooting in shutter priority. The lens does go down to f/4.5-5.6, depending on the focal length.

The exposure is not the greatest on the bird itself, but I like the wings in how the light is shining through them. I have better ones from this shoot, but don't feel like hunting through all them. Shooting hummingbirds is a skill in intuition, and a lot of half-missed shots. This was handheld, trying to catch them as they darted about.

The second one he was stationary, looking up at a bee flying above him. I like that shot a great deal. Again, all in-camera with no post-production. These were shot in jpeg, not raw.

 

[Quetzal]

This was shot with my Sony FE 70-300mm. I'd have to check what the aperture ended up at as I was shooting in shutter priority. The lens does go down to f/4.5-5.6, depending on the focal length.

The exposure is not the greatest on the bird itself, but I like the wings in how the light is shining through them. I have better ones from this shoot, but don't feel like hunting through all them. Shooting hummingbirds is a skill in intuition, and a lot of half-missed shots. This was handheld, trying to catch them as they darted about.

The second one he was stationary, looking up at a bee flying above him. I like that shot a great deal. Again, all in-camera with no post-production. These were shot in jpeg, not raw.

View attachment 19763

View attachment 19764

Wow, I stand corrected! That 5.6 did a fantastic job of freezing the hummingbird wings, which says a lot! I have a Sony a6000, what do you think of the sony 70-300?

 

[icehorse]

The potential problem with wildlife photography is you need a fast lens. A 70-300 isn't very useful if the best aperture you can squeeze out of it is F6.3. There are cameras called "bridge cameras" which basically do what you want. The lenses aren't very fast nor is it pocketable, but it is an all-in-one package. There are some excellent pocket options that have a 1" sensor, manual controls, etc. But they don't have the reach you want (See: Sony RX 100 V).

The closest camera that I'm aware of is the Lumix ZS-100. It goes from 25-250mm and from f2.8-5.9

It gets pretty good reviews, but I have to think that if it's range was 75-250 or 100-300 or some such it's images could be even better.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

This was shot with my Sony FE 70-300mm. I'd have to check what the aperture ended up at as I was shooting in shutter priority. The lens does go down to f/4.5-5.6, depending on the focal length.

The exposure is not the greatest on the bird itself, but I like the wings in how the light is shining through them. I have better ones from this shoot, but don't feel like hunting through all them. Shooting hummingbirds is a skill in intuition, and a lot of half-missed shots. This was handheld, trying to catch them as they darted about.

The second one he was stationary, looking up at a bee flying above him. I like that shot a great deal. Again, all in-camera with no post-production. These were shot in jpeg, not raw.

View attachment 19763

View attachment 19764

Beautiful!

 

[Windwalker]

Wow, I stand corrected! That 5.6 did a fantastic job of freezing the hummingbird wings, which says a lot! I have a Sony a6000, what do you think of the sony 70-300?

Awesome, I have two bodies I use, both of them are the A6000! I absolutely love that camera. It's a Lamborghini at an Oldsmobile price. That lens I got is fantastic. You'll notice how rich the colors are? That's the glass. Plus, it's got switches on the side of the lens to switch between AF and Manual; another to turn off or on OSS (you want it off if your shutter speed is 1/500 or faster); and a switch to toggle the range for zooming in, either greater than 3 meters, or the full range. That comes in handy in a number of situations. All told, not having to drill into the menu system to find all these really makes setting up for a shot, way, way faster. You just have to remember to check them as the shots change, like OSS is off and you're shooting at only 1/100 sec. I've blown a few shots this way.

It's an expensive lens, but it is their G series which makes it a professional lens. The other lenses I have are the Sony 10-18 f/4 wide angle (beautiful glass!). As well as the 30mm prime 1:1 macro lens. As well as the kit lens of 16-50mm. Here's a couple more, one with the 10-18 for the Sequoias, and one with the 30mm prime macro with the Hen and Chicks, as well as another with my 70-300 shooting some gulls (I love that shot). Of course the full resolution originals look much, much better than these.

 

[Quetzal]

Awesome, I have two bodies I use, both of them are the A6000!

I am fairly new to the hobby, I had a Canon SL1. Great little camera! But I wanted it all! I wanted low light performance, small body, mirrorless, etc. When the 6500 (I think thats the latest) was released and they hit the a6000 on black friday, I had to go for it. Paired it with the Sigma 30mm f2.8 and WOW. What a 1-2 punch! My one complaint with that piece of glass is flaring, which I can usually overcome with small shifts.

As well as the kit lens of 16-50mm

I was not a huge fan of that lens, but what can you expect with a kit lens? Super small and portable, though!

Love your photos! Look great!

 

[Windwalker]

I was not a huge fan of that lens, but what can you expect with a kit lens? Super small and portable, though!

I don't shoot a lot with it, but when I need to it does a fairly decent job. What's great about the 70-300 on an mirrorless camera like the A6000 is that the focal length is 1.5 X what it is on a full frame. So that 300mm is actually 450mm, without a loss of light.

Love your photos! Look great!

I love doing photography! Here's a couple others to share.....

This first one I just shot a last month of Shiprock in NM coming out of the reservation, heading toward Durango. I'm planning a trip out that way next Spring to spend one day shooting out there. Again with my 70-300mm. It was a very surreal experience. Again, all of these are in-camera with no post prod manipulation.

This next one is another with my 70-300 of a Leopard Lacewing butterfly. The colors are gorgeous on this.

I'm probably going to be printing these out on canvas or metal and start selling them. I have many more. Photography is a form of meditation for me, I think probably shows in these.

So what other artistic outlets do you have as a hobby?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

I don't shoot a lot with it, but when I need to it does a fairly decent job. What's great about the 70-300 on an mirrorless camera like the A6000 is that the focal length is 1.5 X what it is on a full frame. So that 300mm is actually 450mm, without a loss of light.


I love doing photography! Here's a couple others to share.....

This first one I just shot a last month of Shiprock in NM coming out of the reservation, heading toward Durango. I'm planning a trip out that way next Spring to spend one day shooting out there. Again with my 70-300mm. It was a very surreal experience. Again, all of these are in-camera with no post prod manipulation.

View attachment 19771

This next one is another with my 70-300 of a Leopard Lacewing butterfly. The colors are gorgeous on this. View attachment 19772

I'm probably going to be printing these out on canvas or metal and start selling them. I have many more. Photography is a form of meditation for me, I think probably shows in these.

So what other artistic outlets do you have as a hobby?

Beautiful work, there, Windwalker!