Wildlife Photography across the Water: florida.birds.d7000.

Friday, 23 December 2011

Florida day 3

Although we were in Sarasota i fancied a small trip up the coast to the famous Fort De Soto, I have been there a couple of times, In the spring its totally amazing as birds land and walk near your feet, I went this time last year when it was very cold and miserable and it was devoid of anything at all, The weather here has been great and as soon as we neared the island we could see lots of birds including rosette spoonbills, I didnt have much time as we are with friends but i did manage to wander off and get some waders and terns, I used the D7000 with the 600 to get decent reach without having to use a 1.4x although i will say that the birds will wander close enough if you are still not to need such a big lens, The D7000/600 combo is a good one, The D7000 really is very good with good glass, The AF was quick as you can see with the willet landing, I followed it in getting shots along the way all of which were sharp, Most of the shots were taken early afternoon in bright sun which isnt the best but it was basically all the time i had, The oyster catcher was early evening and i had to use some fill flash to lighten the dark back, Overall a good result from limited time

Dave

Friday, 31 December 2010

Nikon D7000 AF-Florida

As you know i have had the D7000 a few months now and am very happy with it, The 'hot pixel' problems that people were complaining about in various forums have been fixed by the latest firmware update, I had 4 hot pixels when i looked at the video in a dark room but they did not bother me as i dont use the video function, Now that the firmware update is installed the pixels have been mapped out and all is well with the world,
When i was in Florida just before Xmas i used the D7000 to shoot birds at the beach, A mixed bag ranging from egrets to gulls,skimmer and grackles, I thought that it would be a good test for the D7000's AF system especially the grackles which are about the size of a European blackbird, I didn't spend to much time trying the grackles but the camera did nail a few and performed very well overall

As i had my wife with me it was not an out and out shoot, I just set up and as when birds flew by i just snapped away, The pelican was actually taken at a local lake to where we were staying, We were taking a drive and happen to stop at a scenic area when i noticed the pelican in the distance dropping down to grab some fish, As it got closer i grabbed the camera which was set up on the back seat and grabbed some shots-very opportunistic photography, The top grackle image is probably only 40-50% of the image, The rest have small crops or are full frame

Hope that where ever you are in the world that you have a great and safe New Years and a successful 2011

Dave

Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.