I have not been able to get out and shoot my usual shore birds, but I keep my right index finger limber and practice on subjects that I don't find particularly interesting, but it gives me a chance to keep looking at results, analyzing EXIF, and working to be better...

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Great set per usual. I am envious of both your access to great subject matter, and more importantly, your ability to capture such amazing images. Subject, exposure, focus, and composition are all really top notch. Kudos my friend

Welcome and don't forget to have fun! The best thing about digital is that once the equipment is in your hands.. the shooting is FREE!

Some thoughts:
1) Don't get all caught up in G.A.S (gear acquisition syndrome). The D7200 is a VERY capable camera, and the "kit lenses" should not be looked down upon until you have actually found what your shooting style is (landscapes, macro, BIF, etc) and when you find that the lenses SEVERELY hamper your success.
2) One of the hardest parts of having digital "immediate feedback" is that most want to blame the equipment. So much has to be learned and practiced. This is not a hobby where one stops learning
3) Learning. Steve Perry, Steve Perry, Steve Perry. YouTube is your friend.
4) Learn how to read and analyze your EXIF data. That will allow you to try different camera settings, modes, and exposures on similar subjects to find the sweet spots for your style of shooting.
5) Ugly Hedgehog. There are some here who are very blunt (read snarky) in their critiques etc. My suggestion, is if they don't post links to their work, their opinions are just that opinions. Find some experienced posters here, find whose work you admire, and learn from them.
6) Did I say have fun? Some days are frustrating. Don't worry about the perfect keepers every day.... just keep practicing and getting better..... you will and you will really enjoy that D7200!!

You are on FIRE Vic!!! another great post!!

1st off, nice captures and to get the camera to about 15' and have the bird land within the "capture zone" is work that is not easy to accomplish!!. A couple of thoughts to add to the many responses here:
1) If you are using a wireless remote, I am assuming that you are "pre- focusing" on the area on top of the post. If that is the case, then DOF might be part of the issue here also. With your aperture set at 5.6, you have a very shallow DOF and depending on which part of the post the bird lands on, you may be just slightly out of focus.
2) The smaller the critter, the more movement (even minor movement) they produce. I find that 1/500 is often too slow for small birds. You have alot of ISO to play with in this situation, I would probably have set the camera up at 1/1000 or 1/1250 for birds this small and fast.
3) I think that these captures are close enough that some slight sharpening in PP would make a significant difference.

Overall, a great effort and really really good results. Best of luck with all of these suggestions!!!

Somebody is going to get a heck of a camera at a GREAT price!!!!

Wow those are great captures. Yes, almost every image can be critiqued and pixel peeped. Seldom can enthusiasts capture "perfect" wildlife images. How do you improve? Well, keep practicing. I have a couple of MINOR thoughts that you might play with:

1) When I KNOW (I realize this is wildlife/BIF photography here) that I will be shooting birds with significant white plumage, I usually set my EC to -0.7 to help eliminate some of the blown out whites.

2) When selecting images to share, I usually discard wildlife images that have man-made structures etc. in the background. Unless there is something super unique in the capture of the subject, a "busy, non natural" background is a killer for me. (hard to keep that eagle from flying in front of the fence though, right??)

For me, practice, practice, practice is the key. I have found myself of late sitting at a local urban "duck pond" practicing on the common Mallards and Canada geese. I personal find these subjects rather boring, but by using them for practice with my BIF photography, I am discovering that when I have the time to find, or come across what I find to be more interesting subject matter, I am better prepared and get better results when the results matter most to me. Remember, pixels are free, and EXIF data is one of the best learning tools we have in digital photography.

Keep shooting and learning. NEVER a perfect shot, but always better.....

The link is my Flickr page that is linked below here on my signature line....

While I am not as old as your story indicates that you are, we have a very similar background in the hobby. A bit over a year ago I was given a D3400 kit with 2 lens. I found an instant draw to wildlife photography, especially birds and BIF. After about 16k shutter actuations on the D3400 I knew that I needed more options for my style of photography. I started looking, and found a used D7500 in mint condition. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy it. I know others will try to put you into a D500, or one of the full frame Nikons. All are fine. But for me, I find that the D7500 hit the sweet spot of many customizable features, great focus system, and the same processor as the D500 and the D850!! I think you are on the right path looking at refurbished and used. There are several online retailers who can be of assistance. (Adorama, B&H, Cametta, et al.) If you can, find a camera store and "feel" the bodies before you buy.

You can click on my link below to see some results.

Things at the FWA have been quiet, and the critters that I have seen have been super skittish and it just reinforces my GAS for longer glass. So today it was nice and I just went to a local urban park area, took a lawn chair and had a seat in the sun. Patience paid off, and here is a smattering of my results:

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I upgraded from the D3400 to the D7500 about 5 month ago. Would I have liked a D500 Hell Yeah, but the budget allowed for a refurbished D7500.

I really enjoy this body and am pleased with my purchase. See the link to my flickr page below.

Now I need that big glass like you have....

[quote=Keen.... The way to get customers is to give them what they can't easily, or affordably, or at all, get elsewhere. The way to keep customers you have is to treat them well. Non-metered parking, low prices, honest deals, layaway plans, photo classes, knowledgeable store staff, a wide product selection, trade in deals, used, and refurbished, items, rental gear....[/quote]

I TOTALLY AGREE with the quoted part of your statement. But the question is, do the online retailers have to meet these requirements for you also? Layaway at online camera store? Photo classes provided? Who pays for the lot for you to park at free? If all things are equal, and the local store has no parking lot and the city has metered parking, should the local store be penalized? The state enforces sales tax, not the local store, so do we penalize the local vendor for the cost that is not the local store's responsibility?

My local store is 2.5 hours away in Indianapolis. Roberts Camera is for me the ideal camera store. They have a physical presence in Indy, offer great, friendly and knowledgeable staff, A trade in/used department that seems ethical and fair, a rental department that has a good variety of equipment at a reasonable price, offer classes (some free, some for cost) AND they have an online presence that is second to none.

I visit as often as I can (which is more often that I am able to make large purchases), and shop there almost exclusively either in person, or online. I value their presence and (within reason +/- 5%) do not worry about price competition.

I am not looking forward to the day when there is no local merchant for us to visit and have the tactile learning experience as well as the human touch in a transaction. It will be a lonely world when we all sit at the computer and just want things and they appear.

So by that line of reasoning, people who are rich lack ethics? How does one define rich? Is it a sliding scale? Do moderately rich people have moderately more ethics while poor people are the most ethical?

Do people who buy online to avoid sales tax have more ethics? Do they use less state services? Are they not, by definition consuming state provided services without paying for them? Is that the definition of ethical?

Sounds like a thought from someone who has a jealous view of those who might be perceived as having more wealth.

No response to this post needed as there is no correct answer. I just thought I throw in some questions and maybe give some pause....

The quick and easy route is to, once you are offended one too many times, just click on that person's name and put them on your blocked list. No fuss no muss

Great shots. I love that area. I spent some summers there in what seems a lifetime ago. There was a place called "Smalls Falls". It was an out of the way swimming hole/waterfall "hidden" a short walk behind a county highway rest stop. Are you familiar with that spot? As I fondly remember, I think there would be some amazing waterfall/landscape shots there....