Service and repair

At some point your camera gear will need to go in for repair, At the moment i have the Nikon D7000 on its way to Nikon as the rear command dial which allows you to scroll up and down through the custom functions and images does not work in the up direction which is a pain, Its been the same since coming back from Japan and it seems like a good time to send it in as i am busy behind the PC, I spoke to Nikon and filled in their on line form and printed off the shipping details-all very professional as always, I hope its not away too long
On the other end of the spectrum i have now had to deal with Sigma as i found that the 180mm Macro will not work at all with the D7000, The lens is about 2.5 years old and purchased new from BH Photovideo, I spoke to a lady on the phone who took all the details and was told that the lens was an old one and could not be fixed, I had already told her the model and after some moaning on my behalf that a lens under 3 years old could not be classed as an old lens was told as it was not a DG lens it was old-I had already told her it was a DG lens-DER, So i was put through to somebody else to go over it again, I gave the serial number and was told that it probably would not take the firmware upgrade-$10 as it seems it was older than the 2.5 years and must have been sitting on BH's shelf for some considerable time, So i may have 2 choices if the firmware upgrade does not work
1.Live with it and only use it on my D3s which works fine
2. Have a new circuit board fitted at $100+
I guess this is a lesson learnt to anybody looking at buying a 3rd party lens, If i had purchased a Nikon lens it would work on any Nikon body, The Nikon 200F4 micro currently sells for $1700 whereas the Sigma is -just checked BH and it shows as discontinued-Great, Seems like they have dropped the 180mm and just have the 150mm in the long macro range
Its a shame as the 180mm Macro is a very nice lens-beautifully sharp, Pretty well built and the controls are smooth, I will send it in and depending on the outcome decide if i will repair it (if possible) keep it or sell it
Fingers crossed that it will take a firmware update however the guy on the phone wasnt very positive about that, Here is the first image taken from my pond taken with the D3s and 180mm macro

Dave

Wildlife Webcams to watch

Just a quickie from me tonight to share a couple of webcams that are most definitely worth a watch.

The first one is from Nottingham Trent University and it is following the fortunes of a nesting Peregrine pair.  I have loved watching this and it surprises me still to see how late the adult birds fly.

As I type this, one of the parents is just sitting off, keeping an eye on the four chick, that are getting bigger on a daily basis.

The second one is from Rutland Water and is following a pair of nesting Ospreys as part of the English re-introduction programme.  Two chicks have hatched in the last couple f days so we will now see much more of the adult bird movements now they have chicks to feed.

Check in and have a peek.  It is great to watch.

It would also be great if you could let us know of any other favourite web cams that you have at this time of year.

Martin

Guest Blogger-Graham Goddard

 I am pleased to have Graham Goddard as todays guest Blogger, Although i have not actually met Graham in person i have watched his progression in wildlife photography through various forums and we have exchanged a few e mails about shooting fox and badger, A couple of things struck me about Graham, Firstly he has good fieldcraft-The most important thing for successful wildlife photography and like me he likes to go out and find his 'own' wildlife and has tackled some difficult subjects like kingfisher,barn owl and badgers with success which shows determination-all the traits that you need if you want to be consistently successful, Read on

I was very flattered to be asked to prepare an article for WATW, so a big thanks to Dave and Martin for asking me to do so.

I have my own blog  and write regulary on there, but at first, the thought of preparing something for someone else was a bit daunting. Should I write about some techniques I use, locations I visit or the equipment I use ? In the end, I decided to write about a project that I've found utterly challenging, but very satisfying indeed - more of that later though.

Firstly, a little about myself - I'm a self taught amateur photographer and keen wildlife enthusiast. I've had a life long interest in nature which I think I can thank my parents for - they own yacht which as a child I sent most of my summer weekends and holidays upon.

We cruised the Essex & Suffolk coasts and rivers and on main holidays, made our way to France, Belgium and Holland. My opportunities to get up close to sea and shore life was ever present and as a young RSPB member, ticking off my first Avocet sighting in Holland or my first Sandwich tern was exciting.

About 4 years ago I decided to buy a DLSR - in a slightly drunken moment, I bid on a 30D plus loads of kit on ebay. I won it, and have not looked back since.

The 30D (and all the kit) has since been sold off and upgraded as invested more and more money in this expensive hobby. I now spend a lot of my free time photographing, planning projects, going on trips and observing the wildlife in South-East England and East Anglia.

One project that I've devoted almost a divorce inducing amount of time to is Badgers, which is the subject of this piece.

I discovered a set a year ago. Having no experience of these animals other than on TV or from seeing the odd dead one at the side of the road, I had no idea how to go about seeing them, let alone getting any shots.

My discovery set me up for one of the most frustrating, but enjoyable projects that I've so far attempted in photography.

Enlisting the help of my friend Calum, I started putting a little food down for them so that we could at least confirm their presence.

We then started our vigils and I've lost count of the hours spent at that set last summer, waiting for darkness and straining to see any sign of movement in the gloom.

Over time, we got plenty of sightings - owls, deer, fox, hare, bats - even the odd bloke with his dog. The badgers were scarce and I was beginning to think that there must be and easier way to do this.

We did get badger sightings, but they were very brief, the badgers were very wary, and they usually appeared a long way from my carefully placed, pre focused and remotely triggered camera.

The set itself is on farmland that I have permission to access but what didn't help was that the farmer had planted a huge crop of sweetcorn adjacent to the set - so guess what, the badgers developed a liking for the corn and whilst we could hear them running around and eating it in the field, sightings were rare.

October arrived, the weather turned, and we decided to stop for 2010.

This year, we started the project again in April. Regular visits to place a few tasty morsels after work were shared between us and we were delighted that on our first vigil, we were greeted to the wonderful sight of not just one, but five cubs, all foraging for the peanuts we'd left for them.

As April and May have progressed, the badgers have got used to my presence, the shutter noise and crucially, my scent. I've been able to get closer to the set and, crucially, the cubs are now bold enough to venture out before sunset.

Just sitting and watching these super creatures is a pleasure and photographing them in broad daylight is an experience that will live with me for years to come.

I am looking forward to seeing the cubs grow as the year passes and if Dave and Martin ask me to write an entry again, I'll let you have an update.

I've a few more projects on the go at the moment, so check my own blog if you want to see the results of those

For now though, here's my favourite shot so far.

cheers


Graham
GJG Photography'

It would be great if Graham could do an update in a few months, i have mentioned in previous blogs that i tend to shoot in a project style i.e take 1 subject and spend some time shooting it over a period of time, Badgers can be one of the most difficult of subjects to shoot especially if they are nocturnal only animals-some venture out in daylight and some will only come out well after dark
Again thanks to Graham and look forward to the update

Dave

A couple from an Evening wander

I popped out last Thursday evening for an hour or so to check on progress of the orchids at my local patch.  The Bee Orchids are just starting to show their heads, and the Spotteds are getting on with it now.  Just one was in bloom was out, nestled down in the undergrowth.

Nothing special, but I am looking forward to a lot more to come in the forthcoming weeks.

A little further away in the same area, I found a few Burnet Moth cases on grass stems and some of the caterpillars before they have turned into the chrysalis.

This one was set up quite nicely with the only challenge being the wind blowing the stem around.

With the very strong winds that we have here at the moment, I was glad to make the effort to get out after a busy day at work, even if it was for only an hour.

Martin

Food Raider PT2

The weekend had flown by, The weather has finally agreed that its summer and 90 degrees and blue skies were the order of the day, It was a very busy weekend for me but i did manage to get a few shots in, I had carried on watching the Raccoon raiding my feeders on both Friday and Saturday night, I had made a few adjustments to the set up to try and get the feeder pole out of the shot, This done i then decided to wait and watch and see how the Raccoon chose to feed-what side and position, After a couple of nights it was obvious that it liked to sit on the left and side so last night i set up again as before-D3s with 200-400 and 2 SB600 flashguns either side of the raccoon, I had a soft-box on the left one but the right one was au naturel, I increased the output from the flashguns as last time they were about 1/2 stop or so dark, 8.20pm and the first raccoon shows and feeds on the dog food left for the fox and then goes, 8.45pm and the fox shows and has a sniff around where the food was and goes, the all quiet until 10-45pm when a raccoon enters the garden and has a sniff around and then comes over and climbs up on the fence and starts to feed on the bird seed, I give it a minute to settle before taking a shot, I had decided to shoot in landscape mode this time and remember last time how far the raccoons tail hung down but once it was totally settled i knew i had not left enough room below, I think i will need to set up a hide and do this properly, The raccoons have no problems at all with flash and do not react in any way to them which is great so you can get in 20+ shots easily before they decide to leave
The raccoon started off feeding with a long stretch and was probably the best shot of the night

100% crop showing some determination

I am pleased to announce that we will have a guest blogger on Wednesday

Dave

West Midlands Bird Watchers Fair

I took a trip up to Middleton Hall yesterday to visit a small Bird Watchers Fair and take a quick glimpse at the newest RSPB reserve that has just opened there at Middleton Lakes

At the Fair, it was good to catch up with a few folks and look at one or two bits of gear.

One of the most useful was to check in with Manfrotto/Gitzo and get the details of where to order some replacement feet for my Gitzo 5541.  The feet screw in (or off) when you don't want them too, unless you Loctite them on.  So I shall order a new set one (or two) as I lost one last year.

I took a peek at the newest Fluid Head from Manfrotto,  MH055M8-Q5 055 Magnesium Photo-Movie Head with Q5 Quick Release,  a beautiful (but expensive ) piece of kit that would be great for video use for any DSLR capable of video.  In addition, for still, it can also be easily switched into portrait mode.  Good load capacity that means it is a viable proposition to use with a 500 lens.   Mmmmm - will have to think about that one - how much video do I shoot?  Very little in all honesty.  Link is below if you want to buy one.

Also caught up with Opticron to get my binos checked over.  I though there was an alignment problem, but had it confirmed it was fine.  Had a look at the Leica HD's - my favourite Bino 'want' - but given that they have gone up by over £400 in two years, for the same reasons that Canon lenses went up so much - i.e. exchange rate, plus general price hikes, plus extra VAT, they can stay on the shelf for now.

Moving outside - it was great to meet up and chat with the Butterfly Conservation -  Warwickshire people again, and I will look forward to their open day next Sunday. They also confirmed the Nutmeg moth from my recent post.

Back into the Hall, I bought some new books, again that I have linked below for you, and you can save some money over what I paid.  But I was happy to support the guys at the show.

The Dragonfly book is a true field guide and gives masses of information over and above the basic id information.  Excellent photos, detailed differences, habitats, locations in the UK, nymph and larva stages - all round excellent book and a must to have on the shelf.  The second book on Moths and Butterflies is again an excellent and different book, and well worth adding to the regular books that I have promoted. Again, excellent photos, plus caterpillar images too, which the reference works do not have. Again, a perfect companion to the core books.

Finally, it was good to catch up with Mike Lane, who wrote a guest blog for us a couple of years back.  He was there promoting his wildlife photographic travel company with some great destination options.  I know that if I was in the market for the sort of trips that Mike runs in a competitive market, I would most definitely choose to go with him.

It was a year ago today that I was in North Uist, and with no Scottish trip currently planned for this year, I have been yearning to get back there, but looking at the weather that they have been having recently and forecast, I am content that I am not there at this time.  It will still be there next year.

That's it for today.  Hope you all had enjoyable weekends.

Martin

Food Raider

For the last few weeks i have noticed that my bird feeders are emptying very quickly and even if i fill them in the evening they are nearly empty the next morning, A couple of weeks ago i slept with the windows open as it was a nice cool night and was awoken at 3am by a ting.ting.ting noise coming from the garden, I looked out of the window and could see a silhouetted shape of a raccoon, I have watched it regularly since then and its been coming earlier and earlier, So last night i set up my D3s (quiet mode) with the 200-400 on a tripod and had a SB 600 flashgun on each side of the bird feeder, I wanted a black background so did not put any flashguns behind-a simple set up, I wanted to take a test shot so used my mini schnauzer which is a similar colour and adjusted the guns as needed, I did not want to burn out any light areas on the raccoon, I did not have a hide set up so i thought i would use my wireless remote, I set the camera up visualising the raccoon and feeder and hoped it would be about right, And then it was just a matter of waiting, The first signs were at 8.20pm when it came into the garden and checked the areas where i put food out for the fox and then went and started to eat some corn i had put out for the deer that were there earlier, Suddenly the raccoon shot up the nearest tree and after a minute a  deer came into view, A couple of minutes later the raccoon descended from the tree and went and fed with the deer, I was amazed, They fed on the corn inched from each other without a problem, I cursed putting the corn out and thought that maybe that would be that, It was gone 11pm when 2 raccoons came back into the garden, One of them climbed the fence and started to feed from the bird feeder whilst the other stayed underneath and fed on anything that fell from the one above, I waited a couple of minutes and then pressed the shutter and with a blinding light-nothing, The raccoons carried on like nothing had happened, I carried on shooting for the next 30 minutes until they left, i quickly went and grabbed the camera etc and bought them indoors and quickly checked the screen, I had not left enough space on the left but apart from that all was good, The exposures were a little dark but not too bad and easily lightened in processing-not bad for the first try and now i can refine things
Every photographer should have an Alfie-better than a grey card

Best shot from the first night

100% crop showing that the DOF was good, I set the camera to manual mode 1/125@F11, I used a Nikon SU800 to control the flashguns and a Hahnel remote release to activate the shutter-from indoors

Dave

Day Trip - Butterfly Site, Prestbury Hill, Gloucestershire

As I write this blog on Thursday evening for Fridays post, the Swifts are flashing by my window, screaming as they chase each other.  Wonderful sight.

Last week, Jac and I went down to a site in Gloucestershire that is managed by the Butterfly Conservation site.  The forecast wasn't brilliant and being a south west facing hill was exposed to the strong breeze.  This made getting top quality images difficult and I was happy enough under the circumstances to get some record images of a few species that I had not seen before.

Given the conditions, all these images are handheld, and as such in a number of cases the depth of field has suffered with not enough as I tried to make sure I had a fast enough shutter speed.

 An early 5 Spot Burnet

 Brown Argus

 Tatty Duke of Burgundy

 Same again on a cow pat......nice!

 Green Hairstreak

 Common Forester Moth

 Peppered Moth

 Mother Shipton Moth

 Small Blue (f)

 Small Blue (m)

 Small Heath

Wood Tiger Moth

The new  butterfly species for me were Brown Argus, Duke of Burgundy and Small Blue.  I shall get back to this site when the weather is a little kinder and see if I can get some better images.

Martin