Back From Bosque
Jan 13, 2020 11:59:42 #
Greetings and Happy New Year!
Some members will remember that I posted several inquiries over the past few months as I was preparing for a week-long photo trip to Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. Several other topics came up as well in the discussions. Right up front, I can report that it was a great trip.
Now that I am back, I wanted to touch base on the discussion topics that came up before I left.
Bird Populations: I had no basis for comparison, but it seemed that we saw large populations only at the Flight Deck and the Highway Pond in the morning, and in Bernardo and the Highway Pond in the evening. We circled the South Loop several times with only sporadic results. The garden at the Visitors Center was surprisingly rich with birds of various species. I have posted a separate set in the Photo Gallery of “Other Birds of Bosque.”
Stabilizer and/or VR for Nikon 200-500: I used the stabilizer and kept the VR on for the entire trip. My results varied, with some super sharp shots mixed with not-so-sharp. The not-so-sharp shots were mostly BIF in low light or at a distance, so I am not too disturbed by my keeper ratio.
Use of Crop frame and FF cameras: I followed the suggestions of several members and paired my D500 with the 200-500 lens on a gimbal, and used the new (to me) D810 handheld with other lenses as appropriate. I was delighted with the D810 except for the time I tried it with the 200-500, in which case it seemed to hunt more than expected. Need to probe this further. I found one benefit of using two bodies was allowing me to switch and keep shooting when the memory buffer filled up on the other body.
In addition to my shots of individual birds, I am happy to present some more wide-angle images. Enjoy.
Some members will remember that I posted several inquiries over the past few months as I was preparing for a week-long photo trip to Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. Several other topics came up as well in the discussions. Right up front, I can report that it was a great trip.
Now that I am back, I wanted to touch base on the discussion topics that came up before I left.
Bird Populations: I had no basis for comparison, but it seemed that we saw large populations only at the Flight Deck and the Highway Pond in the morning, and in Bernardo and the Highway Pond in the evening. We circled the South Loop several times with only sporadic results. The garden at the Visitors Center was surprisingly rich with birds of various species. I have posted a separate set in the Photo Gallery of “Other Birds of Bosque.”
Stabilizer and/or VR for Nikon 200-500: I used the stabilizer and kept the VR on for the entire trip. My results varied, with some super sharp shots mixed with not-so-sharp. The not-so-sharp shots were mostly BIF in low light or at a distance, so I am not too disturbed by my keeper ratio.
Use of Crop frame and FF cameras: I followed the suggestions of several members and paired my D500 with the 200-500 lens on a gimbal, and used the new (to me) D810 handheld with other lenses as appropriate. I was delighted with the D810 except for the time I tried it with the 200-500, in which case it seemed to hunt more than expected. Need to probe this further. I found one benefit of using two bodies was allowing me to switch and keep shooting when the memory buffer filled up on the other body.
In addition to my shots of individual birds, I am happy to present some more wide-angle images. Enjoy.
Snow Geese Flying Home for the Evening
(Download)
Sandhill Cranes Landing at Dusk
(Download)
Sandhill Crane Feeding in Cornfield
(Download)
Morning Fly In of Snow Geese
(Download)
Snow Geese Lift Off
(Download)
Jan 13, 2020 12:17:37 #
These are awesome, I like the first is me favorite. Travel is great. I've been lucky over the year. I've been to 24 states and Canada and Mexico. Unfortunately I only started photography, shortly before the visit to Mexico. As great as traveling is, any time you learn while doing it, it's even better.
Jan 13, 2020 12:19:24 #
Jan 13, 2020 13:12:29 #
Jan 13, 2020 13:12:50 #
What a great location. I remember the 19 degree morning I spent there several years ago. The Sandhill Cranes were just barely moving about before sunrise to break the surface ice on their shallow water refuge in order to take off with the sun for the grain fields.
Nice one with the full moon.
Nice one with the full moon.
Jan 13, 2020 14:57:11 #
Jan 13, 2020 14:57:12 #
Jan 13, 2020 17:06:57 #
Jan 13, 2020 19:20:13 #
Jan 14, 2020 06:14:40 #
Jan 14, 2020 07:19:19 #
Jan 14, 2020 07:34:25 #
Love the moon shot! Looks like the work you put in paid off. Nicely done!
Jan 14, 2020 07:41:46 #
Bob Mevis wrote:
These are awesome, I like the first is me favorite. Travel is great. I've been lucky over the year. I've been to 24 states and Canada and Mexico. Unfortunately I only started photography, shortly before the visit to Mexico. As great as traveling is, any time you learn while doing it, it's even better.
Thank you ,Bob. If you are not familiar with them, you might be interested in Road Scholar, which offers educational travel. In this case, photography and birding. They have many others.
Jan 14, 2020 07:45:56 #
JFCoupe wrote:
Nice set of images. The last one of the geese really catches my eye.
Thanks, JF. Snow Geese are known for their mass fly outs. I probably have several hundred captures of similar images. It really is a spectacular sight.
Jan 14, 2020 07:46:59 #
Bobspez wrote:
Great shots.
Thanks for looking, Bobspez.
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