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Instead of shooting stills today, I thought I’d shoot some video at Wilde Lake. The video camera allowed me to capture some antics that I’d never have been able to with the still camera.

Click the little triangle to play the clip.

Note:Some folks have reported problems loading the video clip. If the clip does not load automatically, please go here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerenm/2526651994/

Today found us at Wilde Lake again. Gee, there’s a surprise, huh? While there, we ran into friends Michael, Lisa and Bob, and Warren and his wife. We had a great time, taking pictures and talking about the wildlife surrounding the lake.

We got all the usual (and some unusual) shots of the Great Blue Herons and ducks. But, what was really exciting was photographing this pair of Baltimore Orioles. First, these are little birds, and I’ve actually managed reasonably clear pictures of them. But, even more exciting is that is appears that their little babies hatched today! We weren’t entirely sure while we were there, but, upon inspection of the photos, there was definitely feeding action going on! Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any good shots of the feeding itself — there’re too many leaves between the nest and the ground.

The more time we spend around Wilde Lake, the more we’re convinced that’s where we want to move, but not just for the lake and its wildlife. The people who visit the area, be they residents or folks just dropping by from other areas, are far more friendly than at the other area lakes. Moving there certainly won’t be cheap, and we’ll have to make many sacrifices to do it, but it sure will be worthwhile.

As usual, more images can be found at flickr.

Headed out today with the intention of shooting some comparative shots with regards to my continuing 70-200mm f/2.8L IS sharpness issue. Today, comparisons between a 40D body and a Rebel XTi body. I tried to shoot images that were as close to identical as possible.

 
This image was made with the 40D, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS zoomed to 200mm. I’m shooting at ISO800, 1/1250 sec @ f/8, handheld.

This image was made with the XTi, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS zoomed to 200mm. Again, I’m shooting at ISO800, 1/1250 sec @ f/8, handheld. 

If you look closely, you might just barely tell a difference. At any rate, it’s not significant. Since I’ve previously tried two identical lenses on a single body, again shooting images as close to identical as possible, I’ve pretty much reached the conclusion that the "issue" is more with me and my expectations than with the lens/camera.

More of this morning’s pictures are up on my flickr photo stream.

We ventured over to Wilde Lake today for some shooting — twice, actually. I’m still having focus issues, mostly with the 70-200mm lens, and I wanted to run some tests. And, it was a lovely day and we didn’t want to be cooped up in the house for all of it.

The tests were pretty inconclusive — and fairly unscientific. For our first trip over, I shot with my 70-200 on my 40D body, and the second trip, I used Donna’s lens on my 40D body. The results pretty much indicated that, as long as things aren’t terribly far away, focus is really good. The picture of the Black Crowned Night Heron (above, left) was taken with Donna’s lens and my 2X converted. I was, maybe, 20 feet from the bird. Even though the original was pretty grossly under-exposed, the shot cleaned up quite nicely. And, it’s super sharp.

Distant subjects, like these two shots of a Great Blue Heron in flight, are a different story. The one on the left was taken this morning, with my lens. The one on the right, was this afternoon with Donna’s lens, and both had the 2X converter involved.

My next test will be to see if maybe the problem is in the body. I’ll try one of the lenses on an XTi body and/or Donna’s 40D. Or, maybe it’s just me…

See more pictures on my Flickr stream.

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Okay, here’s the "more later" I promised.

This photograph was made in what might be considered an unusual manner. But, I’ve stumbled on to something that really seems to work well — using a telephoto zoom in conjunction with an extension tube to allow it to focus super-close. In this case, the lens is my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, and the extension tube is a Promaster 36mm tube.

Working with this combination is a little touchy. Unlike a normal macro lens, which is usually a fixed focal length (prime) lens, a multi-step focusing technique is required. First, you sorta frame and really-rough-focus by moving the camera in relation to the subject. Then, you rough-focus with the zoom ring. Finally, you fine focus with the focus ring (or autofocus). If your subject hasn’t moved on you, then you’re ready for setting the exposure and tripping the shutter.

This procedure wouldn’t be to hateful on a tripod with focusing rails. However, when shooting at the Flights of Fancy butterfly live exhibit at Brookside Gardens, tripods aren’t allowed. So, this was done hand-held. I made 307 exposures this way over a two-and-one-half hour period, of which I "finished" 34. You can see those images at the new Orchard Studios gallery pages. You’ll find them in the featured galleries section for a limited time, along with pictures from our recent trip to western Montana.

It is very, very, very good!

I took this photograph today using the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS that I’ve been off-and-on complaining about. We were at the annual Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy event, and I was experimenting. More on that in a later posting, but I was so taken with this image that I wanted to get it up on the site right away!

For this shot, the camera’s set at ISO800, and the exposure is f/8 at 1/160. The pop-up flash is on, fired through a Gary Fong Puffer. The lens is zoomed all the way to 200mm, and, since Brookside doesn’t allow tripods in the butterfly house, I’m handheld. There is nothing to complain about here. Sure, I maybe should have been at f/11 or so to gain a little more depth of field, but frankly, I’ll take this kind of performance any day.

We took a walk around Wilde Lake tonight. Unfortunately, we got there a little late for photographs, although I did manage to snag a couple of good ones of this Great Blue Heron. He posed fairly well for us for a while, and then got tired of us and went off to find some dinner.

Even if it wasn’t a great night for photography, we did get to see a few neat things — a pair of Baltimore Orioles, a mama duck with some really tiny ducklings, a couple of sand pipers and a few duck squabbles — and talked to some really nice folks as we walked.

It’s interesting to me that the Wilde Lake area really seems more like a community than other parts of Columbia. It’s as if James Rouse’s dream is still alive and well there.

Once upon a time, before the Interstate Highway System, our nation’s roadways were dotted with something called "motor courts" — the forerunner of our modern hotels and motels. Most were family-owned and operated, and the layout was pretty much the same — a U-shaped, single-story building with the rooms (which consisted of a single bedroom and a bathroom), and a separate building with an office and restaurant. Some motor courts had separate buildings for each room.

With the advent of the interstates, motor courts have been largely by-passed, and many, like the one shown here, have gone out of business, replaced by multi-floor chain hotels with fancy meeting rooms and glitzy bars. The motor courts that still survive often now have full time residents living in their rooms, or, the motel portion is closed in favor of the more lucrative restaurant portion of the business.

Guys, you know how it goes. You work your butt off, and bring home your best offering to your bride, only to be flatly rejected. Well, it’s no different in the animal kingdom. Take, for instance, this Osprey pair we saw this past Sunday at Blackwater …

Our hero has literally brought home the bacon, in the form of a freshly caught fish …

He presents the morsel to his mate …

  Her response to his hard work? "You expect to bring that into this house? Get that thing out of here!"

Our hero is obviously taken aback — shocked even! Why would she reject his gift — reject him?!?

Dejected, he flies off to find a sympathetic friend to offer him some consolation.

He spies his friend, Mr. Bald Eagle.

After a brief conversation, they both agree that he’s screwed, and maybe Mr. Bald Eagle will have better luck. The osprey drops the fish, and the eagle dives to pick it up.

Still bewildered, the osprey flies home to his mate.

Typically, even though the situation is now long over, the female just can’t drop the topic, and she continues to berate the hapless male.

After a time, she finally calms down, and the male settles in to see what other "trouble" he can get into.

The images above are from a series of about 60 images, and are presented in chronological order. I apologize that some of the images in this sequence are soft or blurred. I was firing fast, using a very long lens. Even so, the birds were at quite a distance, and I was forced to severely crop the images. An example of one of the full-frame shots is below:

All images in this sequence are copyright © Geren W. Mortensen, Jr., All Rights Reserved.