** Weekly X-Series Photo-Sharing Thread 21 APR – 27 APR **

Weren't too many birds on or around the cliff top later in the morning so I took some surfer pics from up there instead.

Bird detect worked fine for the wingless flyers at that distance.

With the 1.4 TC.

Failure is not an option

We think of birds that hunt as very successful yet they miss a lot. Failing to find catch food is not an option, they must succeed. In this set I'm showing two of 5 failures of a turn fishing and one sequence from a successful dive.

1) Came up empty
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/4700s 400 ISO 0.0 EV

2) Came up empty
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/2200s 400 ISO 0.0 EV

3) Diving
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1600s 400 ISO +1.3 EV

4) Steering while diving
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1600s 400 ISO +1.3 EV

5) Hitting the water
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1600s 400 ISO +1.3 EV

6) Coming up with a fish
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1600s 400 ISO +1.3 EV

7) It held on to the fish
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1600s 400 ISO +1.3 EV

8) Swallowing the fish
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1600s 400 ISO +1.3 EV

9) It sings a short song after catching the fish
X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1600s 400 ISO +1.3 EV

Comments and suggestions welcome,

Morris

Well illustrated story.

It was suggested to move this to the weekly thread for more views. I would have really liked the shot but considering the circumstances, not so much. The fishing lure, securely hooked in the fishes mouth, is tangled/attached to the Osprey. Depending on how severe the attachment is, the Osprey could be in danger. I had to ditch the tripod, trying to follow the flight, and ended up flat on my back when it landed in the tree directly above my head. The 70-300 may have been a better choice in this case, if I had one.

The big difference is San Jacinto is gong to dry out real quickly with the heat we are about to get. San Joaquin may be greener a little longer. Yes I have bug spray and netting. Won't be able to get out there for a few weeks though. Thanks for the warning.

Bob

Great capture even if you had to be on your back. Whatever it takes to get the shot! And thanks for posting here.

Bob

Thank you, Morris! Much appreciated! The two old power plant shots were taken with 5 images each with the intention of doing HDR processing. I don't know about a "grunge" processing style - I just mess with it until I get the look and feel I want. I'm not a fan of "typical HDR" (for lack of a better term), but find that shooting five images, each with slightly different exposure gives me great latitude to produce the kind of image I saw in my mind's eye. Here's a shot Bliss pointing a sage grouse, by way of one example of this technique:

By way of a completely different example, this is the lighthouse on Ocracoke Island as a storm blew in:

And yet another different application of the technique - Keim farmstead near where I live:

Thanks again,

Greg

BTW, C&C is always welcome

Just wonderful! Thanks for posting!

5 exposure blending works real well in your hands. I've said many times here and on DPReview I really like your processing style and results. The LightHouse is especially good (even if it was taken with a Sony 😁).

Bob

Thank you Greg,

Morris

Thank you,

Morris

Stunning location Jacob!

That's a great shot of the avocet in flight, very crisp

[quote="@Morris"]
Failure is not an option

We think of birds that hunt as very successful yet they miss a lot. Failing to find catch food is not an option, they must succeed. In this set I'm showing two of 5 failures of a turn fishing and one sequence from a successful dive.

..... snip...

Another great series Morris.

Couple of birds from my clifftop walk. A bit obscured by branches but there wasn't much on offer.

Red Wattle bird, likely named so due to the red tag below it's eyes

Rainbow Lorikeet pair feeding on (what I think is) a Banksia flower.

Thanks

Paul

Spring colours at Exbury gardens.

Thank you,

Morris

Yellow Legs Launch

This greater yellowlegs blasted off when another one approached it from the rear.

1) X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1900s 400 ISO +0.3 EV

2) X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1900s 400 ISO +0.3 EV

3) X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1900s 400 ISO +0.3 EV

4) X-H2S NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens 500mm f/5.6 1/1900s 400 ISO +0.3 EV

Comments and suggestions welcome,

Morris

Great series.

Thanks, Bob. The obvious downside of the technique is that it doesn't work at all for real action-type shots. Not as much to work with if you only have one frame, but you can still add some "personality" in post-processing:

Static subjects of various kinds are much better subjects for this methodology:

Ah yes, the Sonys. For me, photography is almost always an adjunct to some other activity - hunting in wilderness places, sailing, running the dogs in rugged country, etc. So, I use the little Sony RX100V and VII when I can't manage an ILC and a sack of lenses; which is pretty often in my life. When all I am doing is photography (rare); or the outing is not too onerous, I'll lug the Fuji equipment. Especially in tricky conditions, it is MUCH easier to capture good images with the Fujis, than with the tiny Sony cameras. But the Sonys do a surprisingly good job when I simply can't manage something as big as a Fuji ILC. While not nearly as user-friendly as the Fuji stuff, the Sonys are infinitely better than the iPhone or, worse, no camera at all.

Greg

Another very good series, Morris

Bob

The Sony RX100 series are very pocketable and useful..... the only "real camera" my wife will consent to carry on a trip.... and I have tried many.

Bob

Thank you Bob,

Morris

Not many comments from me here due to lack of time, but what an incredible selection of fine images you all have submitted. The "new" weekly series is certainly off to a splendid start. Thanks for sharing everyone, I am enjoying your contributions tremendously.