I just replaced my D810 with D850 for which I have high hopes but no tangible results yet - except to notice that with a 300mm lens f4 PF with a 1.4 teleconverter, the focus acquisition is much faster on the 850. You might check out what Artie Morris said recently on his birds as art blog about why he switched from Canon to Nikon and why he is now using a D850 and a D5.
i like my lens combo of 300/1.4 which takes it to 420mm effective and is excellent for walk around work. here's a recent album of herons and ducks on our C&O canal https://flic.kr/s/aHsmbhVmjE and an album of more birds on the river here: https://www.flickr.com/gp/53535718@N06/7ME714 Some of these are a bit noisy and thus the switch to the 850, but i really love the lens. I am not fast enough with a tripod when these birds take off.

By the way, I saved some $ getting a used series II of the 1.4 and it works fine. go to nikonusa.com for those.

caught on my bike ride home Friday on the C&O Canal in Georgetown

(Download)

I really love my Fuji X100F. check out Ken Rockwell's review. It does everything you need outdoors except telephoto.

very beautiful. The ones I like best are scenes that almost look B&W and then you see a whisper of color.

Breathtaking!

cool. how long exposure?

thanks all. it was a fortuitous shot as some of my better ones tend to be. I was standing there working on composing a shot with the rocks as stepping stones into the fog, when the guy came literally paddling into my field of view. I thanked him afterwards and emailed him a copy of the image.

thanks, Paul. C&O Canal in DC. lock # 7, if I remember right.

DSCF7175.jpg by patmalone51, on Flickr

paddle boarder on the Potomac today
DSCF7151.jpg by patmalone51, on Flickr

Birds need a lot of length, the more the better. Even birds at the feeder in the back yard. But those super-long lenses are VERY expensive and require a tripod, I would recommend the Af-S 300mm f4E PF ED and also a 1.4 teleconverter, which takes it up to 420mm. You can get both refurbished and save a few hundred. Still kind of pricey, low four figures, but grandmothers are worth it!

here are some recent bird photos I took with this 300/1.4 combo: https://www.flickr.com/gp/53535718@N06/Y3fB7K

Good shots and great stories, Paul. for your next trip: I always enjoy going to Tsankawi which is part of Bandelier NM near Los Alamos -- unexcavated ruins and petroglyphs. Chaco Canyon is also outstanding. By the way, the rangers will tell you that those roof beams such as you shot are very important to carbon-dating the approximate building dates on these structures.

thanks. I should have mentioned: This is on the Potomac River just north of Great Falls taken from River Bend Park in Virginia.

in the air stream
_PAT3214.jpg by patmalone51, on Flickr

terrific shots! would love to see some lens and settings data. you mentioned EXIF on the downloads but i'm not seeing that - maybe i'm looking in the wrong place.