Hi everyone,

I will be attending a workshop in Yosemite National Park during the first week in May. The shooting locations are in the valley and the south end of the park, not in the north end (Tollumne Medows, etc.). From what I have read, both online and offline (Yup, I still buy paper books :)), I gather I won't really need much over 400 mm or so, maybe not that much. Some sources suggest anything over 200 mm is not really useful, but opinions vary.
I shoot with a Nikon D7500 (APS-C sensor, 1.5 crop factor). I expect to work most with my 16-80 f/2.8-4 lens, which is 24-120 full-frame equivalent. I also have a 70-300 mm and 100-400 mm lens. The 70-300-mm lens is quite a bit smaller an lighter, so I'm considering taking that rather than the 100-400 mm lens. I will also take my 85 mm prime macro lens. I do have an 11-16 mm f/2.8 lens, but I suspect I can do small panoramas and leave that home.
I am flying there, so I'm going to lug whatever I decide to take in my backpack. I will include both a tripod and monopod, polarizers and ND filters for all the lenses, and a bunch of other gadgets.
So my question is, for those who have actual experience in Yosemite, will a full-frame focal length range of 24-450 mm be sufficient, or do I need the 450-600 mm range also? I realize the answer is "it depends", but educated opinions are valuable to me.
See seven-oaks.net/dickspics for some of my work.
Thanks,
Dick

Certainly many people are disgusted by vultures, primarily because of their association with dead animals., Without vultures though, the fields, forests, deserts, sea shores, etc, would be more disgusting places. Vultures are nature's trash service. An Egyptian Vulture, which is an endangered species. Beautiful in its own right.

This was taken from a hide in Portugal with a Canon R6, 600 mm f/4.0 off a tripod. SS 1/2000, ISO 1000, f/4.0 at a range of about 50'. Small crop from L and bottom; some poop cloned out below

For this series there were only a handful of us watching as it had started to rain fairly hard and the crowd left and it was early evening.
She and the cubs went back to grazing in the same area in and out of the willows. Again, something spooked her
and she started running. This time she just stayed around the willows even though there was not a crowd to keep her from going anywhere she wanted.
It was a very fun afternoon!

Part 2
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-742205-1.html

Part 1
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-742107-1.html

Every day at the beach can turn up something new for me to discover and hopefully photograph. This last week has just been one surprise after another what with a number of the usual birds, two different soft shell crabs in two days when I had never seen any before, clams burrowing into the sand, the tide being out farther than we have usually seen it before, a strange jelly like substance we saw quite a lot of, sand dollars, wavy top shells etc.

I hope you like these photos.

Please feel free to make any comments.

Dennis

This mom and cubs had been in the area for a few hours. Later in the afternoon the bison showed up and they had her a bit spooked as well as the cubs. The bison for the most part moved on, but there was still something back beyond the willows that had her on high alert. We never saw what it was but we watched her keep an eye out and move the cubs around.

So this is what it looks like when a mom and cubs run right at you! She was on the other side of the river and the consensus was we move pronto if she hits the water. She did stop just short of the river and unfortunately I believe it was because she saw all the cars. I say unfortunately as because of us I don't think she went where she wanted to. I think most photographers truly love the animals and never want to do anything that is harming them or altering their life. That is why we get the big lens to give them their space. Yet, there are times we fail. Sows with cubs will actually seek out the roads and people as the big bores are a danger to the cubs. The sows have learned the bores avoid people and roads which makes them safer for her and her cubs. So, I suppose we just have to do our best which is good most of the time.

Part 3
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-742207-1.html

Part 1
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-742107-1.html

Not much of a test but found some worthy subjects and the results show why I am not sorry to have spent so much money for a Z9.

Cloudy day, about 64 F, little wind. Tide 'way out! Seems that a wobble in the moon has caused us to have the lowest tides since 2009! No birds!

Found some bees to photograph. Z9, 500pF, 1/3200, f 8, ISOs from 1000 to 1600, no EC or CPL-some cropping and pp did occur. No background manipulation. The Rose of Belfair shot was a Not processed with a painterly filter.

So far I luv the detail and color rendition the Z9 presents. The high-key shots were handled well. The backgrounds looked good when I shot these images. Still working with the 3D AF. I still have a great dealt learn about this camera.

Download and enjoy!

Thought I would try using the Luminar AI Sky Replacement feature on a couple of images I took in April of the Washington Monument in D.C. CC welcome.

"The Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills and eventually completed by Thomas Casey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, honors and memorializes George Washington at the center of the nation's capital. The structure was completed in two phases of construction, one private (1848-1854) and one public (1876-1884). Built in the shape of an Egyptian obelisk, evoking the timelessness of ancient civilizations, the Washington Monument embodies the awe, respect, and gratitude the nation felt for its most essential Founding Father. When completed, the Washington Monument was the tallest building in the world at 555 feet, 5-1/8 inches."

FREE???? Yes... "As difficult as it might be to believe that this videography powerhouse is available legitimately for nothing, the fact most certainly stands. You can take full advantage of its capabilities in video editing and color grading, no watermark, no trial period, no questions asked.

DaVinci Resolve 17 is a full-feature post-production suite. It features multi-cam editing, keyframing, transition editing, and the lot; whatever you need for professional end-results. Version 17 even offers an additional 200+ free features.​​​"

So, Steven, you ask "my computer is old, and may not support that program." Steven, since it is free, download and give it a try.
https://www.makeuseof.com/is-davinci-resolve-free/

PS: DDR5 is the latest memory and should at 4 Gb be fine