jak86094

While I've been getting out and taking lots of photographs, I haven't posted in a while. Just thought I'd share s few recent shots. Sorry up front to those who are tired of bird photos, but that's most of what I've been shooting with my Nikon D500. The zoom in my Nikkor 200-500mm telezoom recently froze (second time this has happened with two of this lens), so it's in the shop leaving me with a Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8, which lacks the reach of my regular lens. Makes it hard sometimes to get crisp photos, but hopefully you will enjoy some of these.

All of these photos have been cropped, processed in Lightroom, and put through Topaz Denoise AI and/or Topaz Sharpen AI.

jak

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Cinnamon Teals (Tamron 70-200)

(Download)

Great Blue Heron basking in the sun (Tamron 70-200)

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Snowy Egret (Tamron 70-200)

(Download)

Wilson's Snipe (Tamron 70-200)

(Download)

Greater Yellowlegs

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Hooded Merganser male (Tamron 70-200)

(Download)

Hooded Mergansers (Tamron 70-200)

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Cedar Waxwing (Tamron 70-200)

(Download)

Red-tailed Hawk dropping from perch (Nikkor 200-500)

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American Kestrel male (Nikkor 200-500)

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rockdog Loc: Berkeley, Ca.

Always a pleasure to view your posts jak. It is not necessarily about reach as you have shown here. Great control of light and the results hold up to your crops. Happy to hear you are getting out.
Stay safe, Phil

hj Loc: Florida

Very nice set.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

I don't know why you haven't been posting, these are wonderful

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Always good to see your shots, jak! Thanks for sharing. Sorry about the lens.

jak86094

rockdog, Thanks for looking and for the kind comments. One thing I'll say...I'm practicing moving closer to the subjects since I don't have the reach with the lens. The problem shows more in photos I have NOT posted. These were some of the best. Practice, practice, practice. Thanks, Phil, hope you are able to get out frequently and enjoy the clean outdoors. Stay well. jak

jak86094

Thank you very much, hj. I am very lucky to live in a place with good weather, lots of chances to get out, and in an area that attracts many birds, both permanent residents and migrants. Take care and stay well. jak

jak86094

Thanks very much. I think the main reason I haven't been posting is for a good reason...I've been out taking lots of photos. I've become involved with a group of folks who survey numerous locations for avian species and their populations. That usually means lots of eyes watching for interesting subjects...wearing masks and keeping our social distance. Each survey finds dozens of species. Finding and counting them usually takes hours. Then, if I want to go birding someplace on my own, that gets added to my day. Afterward, we post the list of our findings to Cornell University's eBird site, then I process and add any decent photos of what I've seen. I may take anywhere from 100-400 photos in a single survey plus any photos that I take on my own birding jaunts, so it takes quite a bit of time when I'm home to sort, cull, and process the photos. While I usually take the time to go through UHH's daily post, I don't always take the time to post there myself. I just thought I had some nice photos that I wanted to share, so...

Please find time to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Take good care of yourself and stay well.

jak

jak86094

Mike, so nice to hear from you. Be sure that I always find time to look through the daily UHH post, so I've been viewing your numerous photos through the days. Luckily, I've been out taking lots and lots of photographs. SoCal weather has been nice most of the time, though some days the Santa Ana winds pick up and make it difficult to look for birds. We've also had our share of wildfires, including one last week. The smoke isn't very good breathing. Combined with Covid-19 and its limitations and it's nice that I have hobbies (birding and photography) that allow me to go outside, keep my distance, and still take lots of photos. Because of Covid, the Nikon repair facility in Los Angeles has not opened, so with the failure of my telezoom lens, it has to go all the way back to New York, and I'm sure they are limited in how fast they can do repairs by Covid restrictions, etc. It'll be weeks or a couple of months before I get my big lens back...so now I'm doing a lot of skulking practice, learning how to approach my subjects without scaring them off. So far, I don't do very well. Take care and stay well. jak

Doddy Loc: Barnard Castle-England

Excellent jak..well done.

jak86094

Thanks very much Doddy. Be kind to yourself and stay healthy. jak

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

JAK, fantastic set and the limitations of the Tamron lens did not hurt your captures. The set not only shows off your camera ability but your post processing also. Reminds me of what I could do in a darkroom back in the old days.

Greg

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

jac!! I've been wondering about you. Glad to know you are OK. Really nice set of photos. Sorry to hear about the 200~500. I would be lost without mine. Trouble twice with two different ones? That scares me!

jak86094

That’s very kind, Greg. Thank you very much. Please take good care of yourself and stay healthy.

jak86094

CPO, that’s very kind. Yes, I’m just fine. Glad you like the pictures. I must be hard on that big lens. After the first was repaired by Nikon I didn’t have any other problems with the first lens (before it was stolen). There could be some kind of design or manufacturing defect. Thankfully, it’s under warranty. The Tamron lens is nice, just lacking in reach. The practice trying to get closer to my subjects can only help when I get the 200-500 back. Take care and stay healthy. jak