Posts: HallowedHill | Ugly Hedgehog

Thank all of you for your kind comments.

Thank you all for your kind comments. As to the bones I learned the bears normally stick to the brains and the gut as these are the most fat concentrated parts for gaining weight for the winter, and leave the rest of the fish laying around for the scavengers. My uneducated guess is what bones they get that way are such that they just crush them.

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Slightly different take on Brooks Falls

Recently returned from Alaska and while I spent a total of 3 hours at the falls, there wasn't a single bear that tired to catch a salmon as it climbed the falls. However I thought this was worthy:

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Choice of wide-angle lens

dennyo wrote:

I am traveling to Italy next month ... Denny

Last year we went to Venice , Florence, Verona, and Rome.
I took my Nikon 55-300 and 17 -55 lens. I used the 17-55 more than 90% of the time. If you have it, take a very fast wide angle prime as most of the museums and churches will let you shoot, but not with a flash. If I was doing it again I would take the 17-55 and a wide angle prime with a f/1.2-1.8 range for the low light situations and leave the longer zoom at home. Hope this helps and have fun.

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For you Olympus guys out there

rayr wrote:

I shot birds in flight and wildlife with a Nikon D750 and a Tamron 150-600 G2 for a couple of years and 3 or 4 months ago switched to an Olympus EM1 Mark ll and absolutely love it. I don't come home with a back ache now from packing the 6 pound rig around all day. For birds and wildlife the EM1 Markll and the Panasonic/Leica 100-400 is a great combo.

I recently made the same switch and bought the same lens and added an Olympus Pro 12-100. Not cheap, but it it is a GREAT system and I couldn't be happier. I do find with the 100-400 I need a monopod to steady it, even with the in camera stabilization. As others have noted it likely isn't as tack sharp at the longer end as the Oly 300, but I hate changing lens and that factored into my choice. Hope this helps.

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Long lens for Alaska

I just returned from Alaska and you can't take a lens long enough. I have an Olympus OM D E-M1 MarkII and a Pan/ Leica 100-400: that results in a equivalent 200-800. I still wasn't enough for some shots, most notably a female bear and her cubs fending off a male bear that was happening @ 1/2 mile away. That said, the rig was goods enough for 80% of of the shots requiring a long lens, and I did get to see the encounter with the bears. And you will want a wide angel for landscapes. You likely won't be able to use a tripod most of the time ( infact I didn't take one and was glad I didn't as I wouldn't have been able to use it much) so use something you can steady or prop it or yourself on something. Just accept you will miss out on something, make hay with what you can get, and have a great time.

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How about Olympus

Bought the original OM-1 back in the seventies and used it for years.When digital came along finally bought a Nikon D 50 and used it until a few months ago when I bought an Olympus OM D E-M1 Mark II... and I wonder why I ever left Olympus. Call me odd, but the ergonomics and set (including the menu) up just work for me ... did then and do now. I have to work around the low light limitations and I never print larger than low twenties by high teens, so it just works and the Oly/ Pan/Leica lens are top notch.

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Brooks Falls Brown Bears

I jealous! My wife and I just spent two weeks in Alaska and took a day trip to Brooks Falls. Spent 5 hours there, with two hours on the lower platform, and the obligatory 1 hour on the upper. Saw a lot of bears at the falls and elsewhere when there, but nothing like this. Salmon were running, and bears where on tip of the falls, but they seemed disinterested in the fishes and no opportunity for the iconic shot.

Neverthe less got some great pics, but nothing like this.

Just take number 1, blow it up, and put it on the wall! Great exposure, composition, and you'll likely never get as good a "pose" again. Just spectacular.

And did I say I'm jealous?

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So you are a Nikon/Canon/Sony/Whatever guy. But why?

Long, long ago and far, far away I decided I wanted to "take pictures". I researched the dickens out of it and bought an original Olympus OM 1 a couple of Olympus lens and a Vivitar zoom and was of to the races. When digital came along I switched to a Nikon D 50. More recently, I needed to get a new camera for several reasons and now shoot a OM D E-M1 Mark II with an Olympus Pro 12-100 and a Pan/Leica 100-400 and couldn't be happier. For whatever reason the Olympus system, then and now just fits: ergonomically and (o.k. call me crazy) the menus. It just "works" for me intuitively.

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Photography and retirement

I'll be 69 in March and stopped practicing law 12 years ago. Went back to school and earned another degree and still work 3 days a week in the new field. But, on the other four days I have stepped up my photography. Re did my equipment, but then I tend to keep a camera 10 plus years or until it stops working. Also spend time processing shots from years ago with my round-tuit! When it stops being fun, which I don't anticipate, I'll find something else to do. The keys for me: avoid gas and don't let it become an obsession. Good luck and ALWAYS have fun and do what you enjoy.

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Improving My Photography Skills

Hi Jim:

I to use Windows My Pictures file to store my shots. I do it chronologically by year and within that by event: IE. Christmas, vacation at ..., etc. To my mind's way of working this is easy for me to remember and avoids saving multiple copies of each shoot. For example, I just got back from Alaska with some shots of bears eating salmon. Do I store this under Alaska, bears,salmon, streams, or mountain? I might post process this for any of those, but it will always be under 2017 Alaska trip, and in the sub folder Brooks Falls. Think about how you most remember things: by date, person, event or subject matter? And keeping them in the computer's OP avoids the problem RMALARZ mentioned if you ever change systems. Works for me but the key is how do you remember things, and then what makes your post processing easier and quicker.

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Seward Ak. Boat Tour Advice

Can't help with the Seward tours as we had to skip something and that was the choice.

With respect to wildlife though, know the luck plays a huge part. We went to Brooks Falls and I was on the upper platform for an hour (the NPS time limit there) and the lower platform for two hours. Although the salmon were running and bears were on top of the falls, there was not a single instance of a bear at the top even trying to catch a salmon in the iconic shot. We also did the 92.5 mile Denali tour and saw moose, caribou, sheep, and grizzlies. But the closest one was a quarter of a mile away and most were closer to half a mile away. I got some great photos, but not the iconic shots.

Moral: recognize that you can maximize your chances by tour and tour guide selections, but wild life is just that, and they don't posse for pictures unless you get lucky and even then have some skill. We had a great time, I got some great shots, but don't set your expectations to high, be realistic and you'll enjoy the trip more.

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Best lens for Italy trip

Teacher22 wrote:

Hey Hogs...I need some good advise about the best walk around lens for my Italy trip..
I will be taking my Sony a7rii and have the following lens to pick from:
Sony 16-35 F4
Sony G 24-70 F2.8
Sony 35mm 1.8
Sony 24-240 3.5-6.3

I'm trying to keep the weight down even though the 24-70 is the most heavy and my favorite. I will be in Rome, Florence and Venice.
Let me know what you think.

My wife and I took a trip to the same cities this time last year. I took my Nikon 55-300 and 17 -55 lens. I used the 17-55 more than 90% of the time. If you have it, take a very fast wide angle prime as most of the museums and churches will let you shoot, but not with a flash. If I was doing it again I would take the 17-55 and a wide angle prime with a f/1.2-1.8 range for the low light situations and leave the longer zoom at home. Hope this helps and have fun.

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Camera gear for Italy

tnste wrote:

I have been a reader of UHH for several years and ... (show quote)

My wife and I took a trip to the same cities this time last year. I took my Nikon 55-300 and 17 -55 lens. I used the 17-55 more than 90% of the time. If you have it, take a very fast wide angle prime as most of the museums and churches will let you shoot, but not with a flash. If I was doing it again I would take the 17-55 and a wide angle prime with a f/1.2-1.8 range for the low light situations and leave the longer zoom at home. Hope this helps and have fun.

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Life at the Bottom of the GC

Very nice photos. #8 is my favorite: just go ahead and blow it up, frame it, and put it on the wall. Excellent dynamic range and use of scale. I really like that one.