With Ventura and Sonoma I have set up the iPad as an extension of the display. Then drag an app window to it and tap the top bar to resize it. I have done this with Topaz Photo AI and Photoshop. Apple Pencil can then be used for editing masks. Apple Pencil doesn’t always work with all UI elements on the relocated app, e.g. some drop-down menus. Some tasks involve the keyboard, such as toggling between brush modes, so I keep the iPad near the keyboard. When done with pencil work, drag the app window back to the main display and resize it.

I have found this to be better than mousing for fine mask editing. But it’s not exactly what was described above. It is not a separate entry device that the app would understand.

I’ve had Topaz Photo AI for just a couple months, after it came out on top when I compared it to DxO and Photoshop’s new AI features. I also migrated from a 2017 MacBook Pro with Intel CPU and GPU to the newest M3 Pro which has integrated GPU cores and Apple Neural Engines. What used to take Topaz 10 minutes now takes 15 to 30 seconds, because it runs in hardware instead of software.

Upscale takes 1/12 the time.
Denoise takes 1/25 the time.
Sharpen takes 1/33 the time.

Nope, I watched for 20 minutes or so. It was plucking fish from the water, and the water surface sometimes “boiled” with agitated fish trying to escape.

Recently I’ve enjoyed seeing a lot of photos catching Herons, Egrets etc. with a fish in mid-air being flipped into swallowing position. I’ve been trying to replicate those shots, but the local water birds have not been cooperating. However, I now present a photo of a TURKEY VULTURE doing exactly that! Who knew, TV’s occasionally go fishing!

In this case the river was drying into small, isolated pools which trapped many fish. The Snowy Egrets - and this one Turkey Vulture - had a feeding frenzy. Here’s a pic of 3 Snowy Egrets each with fish in beak.

And I got one mid-gulp. Not *quite* the repositioning flip, but I’ll take it.

Santa Ana River, Orange, California, USA
Olympus E-M5 II, M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II

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dpullum: My Oly has several Sequential modes, and I was using Sequential High with mechanical shutter, which can take up to 10 frames per second until it fills the buffer, then about 5-6 frames per second sustained. (I recently upgraded my memory card to the fastest I could get, and it doubled the sustained rate.)

I followed this bird for 13 seconds as it came in to land, and I see I took 5 bursts of 10 to 19 shots each. The downside of the High mode is that it autofocuses only on the first shot of a burst and then keeps that focus as long as you keep shooting. (Sequential Low mode refocuses each shot, but can only capture 5 fps.) Since the bird was coming toward me, it would eventually get out of focus. So I let up on the shutter button every 3-4 seconds, pressed it again and the camera reacquired focus... most of the time.

This shot happened to be in the last burst, shot 3 out of 19, at about 50 feet away. At that distance, sometimes I led the bird and sometimes I trailed it - keeping centered is hard! Shutter speed was 1/3200, f/6.3 for a Depth of Field of about 1 meter. Autofocus locked in on the tail.

So I guess you could say it was a lucky shot but I set it up so I should get a few lucky ones. This was the only shot with those nice wakes. I liked the smooth water, so I did post-process out a few specks to make it even smoother.

Snowy Egret leaving wakes
Santa Ana River, Orange, California, USA
Olympus E-M5 II, M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II

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There was a large nest in the next tree over. Maybe this bird has a family?
The last time I saw one of these was 15 years ago and 125 miles up the coast.
Irvine Regional Park, Orange, California, USA
Olympus E-M5 II, M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II

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Yep, that’s me, recovering glider guider!

Yeah, I love the chevrons on the wings.

Birds at the San Joaquin Marsh yesterday.
Olympus E-M5 II, M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II

Red-Tailed Hawk (immature)

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Green Heron. I love the chevron pattern on the wings.

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Great Egret

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Hooded Merganser. A first for me.

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Tree Swallow busily feeding their young in the nesting box.

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Spotted Towhee

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I did get to visit Fort Snelling State Park and walked Pike Island (about 4 miles round trip). Although another fellow said he saw some eagles, I didn't... did hear and see some Hairy Woodpeckers, and a quick glimpse of a Pileated and some sort of owl, too quick to get a pic. But a deer crossed the trail right near me and hung around for a photo series. See my post "White-Tailed Deer in the snow" in the general gallery.

Thanks again for the tips! With another storm coming in I'm not sure I'll get to go out again this trip.

This deer crossed the trail right in front of me and was browsing for food.
Fort Snelling State Park (Pike Island), Minneapolis, MN, USA

Olympus E-M5 II, M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II

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Thank you all so much! I’ll be staying in Maple Grove, so all these are within easy reach.

I'll be in the Minneapolis area for about a week soon. I've done some winter landscape photography and have gear for 2-4 hours in the cold, but I'm not equipped to go out into real wilderness. From what I've read, if there is moving or otherwise unfrozen, eagles and swans and geese can be present through the winter. Can anyone recommend some local parks or refuges that remain open? Looking at eBird, places like Mississippi Gateway park, Medicine Lake and so on seem to have a lot of sightings in recent weeks, so they must be relatively accessible in the snow.

What are the chances of seeing owls in the parks vs. having to go further afield?

What about other mammal wildlife in the winter?

Thanks in advance.

This female Kestrel perched in a tree about 115 feet from the trail, in a protected area so this is as close as I could get.

Irvine Regional Park, Orange, California, USA

Olympus E-M5 II, M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II @ 300mm

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