new BIF technique and quick stop to SJWS

[jeff lapoint]

i've been having a heck of a time trying to get those darn terns in flight. i had been trying to shoot them with my 400 attached to a monopod (with mostly shotty results). last weekend i got fed up with the monopod and decided to hand-hold the camera, use AI servo, and track the little buggers like i was using a shotgun. i'm sure this is old news to 99.99999% of photographers, but it is something i was never told/taught to do and i thought i'd share.

http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26630639-L.jpg

http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26630636-L.jpg
http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26630638-L-1.jpg
http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26630634-L.jpg

and an egret for good measure (and to make the egret haters do a little http://dgrin.com/images/smilies/rolleyes1.gif)

http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26630635-L.jpg

on thurs i was able to sneak out of work a bit earlyhttp://dgrin.com/images/smilies/icon10.gif and the DW and i decided to check out the san joaquin wildlife sanctuary in irvine. unfortunately, the better half left the map at homehttp://dgrin.com/images/smilies/ne_nau.gif and we ended in a remote part of the santuary (read: long hike). it was nice just to be outside! i was lucky enough to run into a few critters...

http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26820019-M.jpg
this hawk landed right next to me...to bad i couldnt get the shutter speed higherhttp://dgrin.com/images/smilies/bncry.gif

had to switch to the 200 2.8 for more light and found some babies being fed

http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26820010-L.jpg

http://lapiz007.smugmug.com/photos/26820016-L.jpg

soft and alittle noisey...but i know where they are for next time and maybe you can all follow any improvement with me!

thanks for looking and for making it through the entire posthttp://dgrin.com/images/smilies/clap.gif

-j

[Prezwoodz]

Looks great. The one with the baby feeding looks like the baby is bigger than the parent!

The bird shots look very sharp. Good job with the handheld!

[Ann McRae]

Hi Jeff

The diving tern is superb. All of the tern shots seem a tad dark to me, and the 'perfect' animal shot has some catchlight to the eye - it is sooooo hard to do! Otherwise, they are really good. Love the feeding swallows.

ann

[jeff lapoint]

Hi Jeff

The diving tern is superb. All of the tern shots seem a tad dark to me, and the 'perfect' animal shot has some catchlight to the eye - it is sooooo hard to do! Otherwise, they are really good. Love the feeding swallows.

ann
thanks ann!

i think i may have been shooting egrets at the time and left the -EV on to avoid blowing out the highlights. now that you mention, it they do look a tad dark to me as well. i fear it will take a few thousand more shots to get the eyes properly...i can barely see their eyes when they stand right in front of me! thanks for stopping by and i very much appreciate the comments.

-j

[bfjr]

they look just great on my Mac monitor :thumb
way to go DocJeff
teach when we see each other again
let's plan a trip to this new wildlife joint :D

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