Bryan, With my personal vision problems (I was almost blind 2 years ago) and my old camera was getting flakey ... I've had problems. That time I dropped my camera and it rolled down a rocky hillside and fell into a puddle ... well that didn't help it any. Now I have new bionic eyes (lens implants) and a new camera. The camera is an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and I went for the optional lens 75-300mm. The bird photos all required full zoom even from a relatively close distance. A tripod was absolutely necessary, and I recently got a remote shutter release cable which made all the difference. There's no way for me to take shots like this while on a moving boat. My main problem up here is being able to get close. I've also photographed hawks and snowy owls and others, and they do not tolerate my getting any closer that 100-150 yards. It's possible to drive down the road and not disturb them, but soon as the car stops, they fly. At best, they let me have about 60 seconds from the time my car stops, til they leave, and that's barely enough time to get the tripod set up and the lens focused and set up. I have to be quick! I found a good spot to photo snowy owls but my attempt to get closer didn't work out all that well. In my attempt, I discovered what flows downhill under the snow from manure piles and I found myself standing in it and sinking fast as the glop filled my boots. That stuff never freezes even when it drops below zero. Ya gotta love farms! Photography 10 or 20 degrees below zero has its own set of difficulties. Late winter each year a local group hosts the Winter Raptor Fest, and there I can use my short lens and no flash, and walk right up to the birds. Here is a page of my photos that will definitely make you all envious: http://www.fortedwardchamber.org/winter.raptor.fest/ The last photo on that page is my veterinarian Gordie Ellmers. He gave me a lot of great hints and encouragement. Of course he takes his shots via a yard-long lens 1000mm and he can get these shots from half a mile away. There's a link to his photos also, they are a real treat! Fred Tug 44 ---------------------------------------- From: "B. V." <bvcom@mac.com> Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 10:40 AM To: fred@tug44.org, "TWL Great Loop" <great-loop@lists.trawlering.com> Subject: . Re: GL: Osprey Nest Beautiful pictures, Fred. It takes quite a lot of patience and talent to capture such moments. I presume you use a tripod and what, a 150-400 mm lens ? Or did you "zoom in" some of the pictures ? Nikon or Canon ? Bryan

http://www.fortedwardchamber.org/winter.raptor.fest/

Have you ever thought of submitting your photos to National Geographic, Fred??? Beautiful stuff, for sure! * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** D C "Mac" Macdonald ** * Grand Lake & OKC - OK * ** AGLCA (#217) & USPS ** * * (no current boat) * * ** USAF & FAA, Retired ** ** Amateur Radio K2GKK ** * * Since 30 Nov 1953 * * * k2gkk hotmail dot com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > From: fred@tug44.org > To: bvcom@mac.com; great-loop@lists.trawlering.com > Date: Mon, 12 May 2014 08:47:11 -0700 > Subject: Re: GL: . Re: Osprey Nest > > Bryan, > > With my personal vision problems (I was almost blind 2 years ago) and my > old camera was getting flakey ... I've had problems. That time I dropped > my camera and it rolled down a rocky hillside and fell into a puddle ... > well that didn't help it any. > > Now I have new bionic eyes (lens implants) and a new camera. > > The camera is an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and I went for the optional lens > 75-300mm. The bird photos all required full zoom even from a relatively > close distance. A tripod was absolutely necessary, and I recently got a > remote shutter release cable which made all the difference. There's no way > for me to take shots like this while on a moving boat. > > My main problem up here is being able to get close. I've also photographed > hawks and snowy owls and others, and they do not tolerate my getting any > closer that 100-150 yards. It's possible to drive down the road and not > disturb them, but soon as the car stops, they fly. At best, they let me > have about 60 seconds from the time my car stops, til they leave, and > that's barely enough time to get the tripod set up and the lens focused and > set up. I have to be quick! > > I found a good spot to photo snowy owls but my attempt to get closer didn't > work out all that well. In my attempt, I discovered what flows downhill > under the snow from manure piles and I found myself standing in it and > sinking fast as the glop filled my boots. That stuff never freezes even > when it drops below zero. Ya gotta love farms! Photography 10 or 20 > degrees below zero has its own set of difficulties. > > Late winter each year a local group hosts the Winter Raptor Fest, and there > I can use my short lens and no flash, and walk right up to the birds. Here > is a page of my photos that will definitely make you all envious: > > http://www.fortedwardchamber.org/winter.raptor.fest/ > > The last photo on that page is my veterinarian Gordie Ellmers. He gave me > a lot of great hints and encouragement. Of course he takes his shots via a > yard-long lens 1000mm and he can get these shots from half a mile away. > There's a link to his photos also, they are a real treat! > > Fred > Tug 44 > > ---------------------------------------- > From: "B. V." <bvcom@mac.com> > Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 10:40 AM > To: fred@tug44.org, "TWL Great Loop" <great-loop@lists.trawlering.com> > Subject: . Re: GL: Osprey Nest > > Beautiful pictures, Fred. It takes quite a lot of patience and talent to > capture such moments. > > I presume you use a tripod and what, a 150-400 mm lens ? Or did you "zoom > in" some of the pictures ? Nikon or Canon ? > > Bryan