Great shots. My wife and I are going next summer. What tripod are you using for travel?

As an old large format guy, set up a still life scene so the lighting will not change and practice using your spot meter and writing down the reading at different points in the scene and shoot that reading. This will give you a better understanding of highlights and shadows. Then you will learn the best settings and the results of each. It's like playing the zone system.

When I was in photography school in the late 70's, someone brought us rolls of plus-x and tri-x plus Kodak paper that had been frozen since the 50's. It was gorgeous.

Thanks for all the input.

Jim

Thanks for all the replies and advise. Happy Thanksgivings to all.
Jim

I have the Nikon D7100 , but mounted the old version of the Nikon 80-400 lens only to find out that the motor on the lens can't keep up the motor on the D7100. It's very difficulty to track birds and such. Anyone having the same problem. May end up having to sell it and purchase the new version or is there a way to speed up the motor in the old lens?

Jim

I used to shoot with 4x5 to 11x14 view cameras. Buy a piece of black clothe to cover your camera and head. Someone mention it before. You'll enjoy the clarity. Another suggestion is to get up and photograph the waterfalls before the sun comes up. The early light is very nice.

Once you install all your feeders, get a Christmas stand and place a large limb in the stand next to the feeders. This gives the birds a place to land at the feeders but allows you to photograph the bird in a more natural setting. I grew up on a farm so the next suggestion sounds crazy, but works like a charm. Place a small amount of seed each day and when you do whistle the same tone each day. The birds and squirrels will respond and come to the feeders. It takes about 2 weeks for the birds to respond, because they know dinner is being served. We would whistle every afternoon when it was time to feed the horses, mules, and pigs. The animals would be as far as 400 yds away in the pastures, but when they heard the whistle they knew supper was ready and the horses and mules would enter into their individual stalls. This is like the mouse in the maze and gets fed when ringing the bell. Another tip, depending on the size of your deck is a pop up blind used by hunters. Since hunting season is over you will see them on sale at all the sporting good stores like Cabala's, Pro Bass, Sportsman's Warehouse and many others. I've hunted for decades so you see all kinds of things happen. I've had owls land on limbs next to me before sunrise and I could reach out and touch them. I've made ground blinds and had a field mouse crawl up my arm. All kinds of fun things to see. The pop up will also protect you and camera on raining days and in the snow. Animals and birds need to feed heavy on cold days to keep up the metabolism rate to stay warm. Anyway I hope you try this because it works well.

One more suggestion. Go to a store that has a large selection of binoculars. Also go when you have the last hour of daylight. That's when you see the difference in glass. Most glass will look good during the mid-day hours, but if you're hoping to view animals, the last hour of daylight is when they come out to feed and get water. I hunt, so this is prime time and good glass is important at that point. Same thing with a camera lens. Vortex is still the best bang for the buck :-)

Go with Vortex. Great glass and the best warranty on the market. Even if you buy a used pair of Vortex, they are still under warranty. If you run over them with your truck, drop them off a cliff, they will repair or replace them!

Just downloaded the "free" Google Nik Collection. Haven't had time to work with the entire collection, but it seem to be some very good software. Using it with my Photoshop Elements 11. Anyone else using this collection and how do you like it?

Is anyone using Phase One and do you like it versus Photoshop or is this an entirely different software?

I should have said his Canon is digital and shooting at ISO of 50. His digital prints are 4x6 feet. Excellent quality.

My friend as been a professional architectural photographer for the last 35 years. He shoots 4x5 and at the same time shoots a full frame Canon with shift tilt lens. He shoots ISO 50 most of the time and his prints from the 35mm, up to 4x6 feet, look stunning at their proper viewing distance. We shot waterfalls last fall using 35mm only and he shot at ISO of 50 while my Nikon D7100 will only go to 100 ISO at f-stops of 16-32. He just purchased to new Canon 50 Megapixel body on Monday. I think the key is the correct steps from raw image to the final print.

Cut my teeth on the Deardorff with inter-changeable backs. 4x5 to 11x14. Nothing like an 11x14 contact print. We shot product illustration and fashion on large format. Processed in-house..... oooh how I miss the old days. Ran across an old box the other day that had my B&W tanks and 4x5 hangers. I know how you feel "kymarto"!