Pic of the Day

Tufted Titmous, Baeolophus bicolor:  Horse Cove; Gurley, Alabama

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/320 second @ f6.3, ISO 800

Pic of the Day

Tufted Timouse, Baeolophus bicolor:  Horse Cove; Gurley, Alabama

     It was another beautiful day in North Alabama, and another opportunity to photograph feeder birds here at the house.  As spring draws near, the birds around the house have become boisterous singers and there is not a moment when I do not hear dozens of birds singing at the same time.  Spring is looking good! 

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/80 second @ f7.1

Pic of the Day

Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor - Horse Cove, Alabama

     This afternoon I shot a few more images of a Tufted Titmouse near my feeder.  Most of the shots I got were birds staging before and after flying to the feeder.   This Titmouse alighted on a branch with a sunflower seed, and after devouring the seed it flew to another branch and began preening.  I shot numerous images, but it was this backlit shot with light shinning through the feathers that made my day!

Nikon D7100, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/200 sec. @ f7.1, ISO 500

Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor; Horse Cove, Alabama

     _{I spent a little time shooting  some more test shots this afternoon with a Nikon D7100.  My bird feeders are in the shade after 4:00 PM, so I set the ISO at 1000 for this shot. The D7100 is handling the noise quite well, I'm quite impressed with the camera.  In the morning there should be light on the birds and I will shoot a variety of ISO settings to see how high ISO’s work in sunlight.}

_{Nikon D7100, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/50 second @ f6.3, ISO 1000.} 

Pic of the Day

Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor - Horse Cove, Alabama

     Thunderstorms came through North Alabama this afternoon.  Here at home the rain fell lightly, though surrounding areas were heavily soaked.  Before the rain started falling I setup near by bird feeders to test the new Nikon D7100 under low lighting condition.  

     I set the ISO to 800 and waited for birds to appear.  It only took a few seconds before this Tufted Titmouse alighted on a nearby branch.  I took numerous image and I am quite impressed with the D7100.  At 800 ISO the image is almost noiseless.  Before I had the opportunity to check higher ISO raitings the rain started falling, so I quickly got my gear inside.  I’ll check out higher ISO’s another day.

     Though I did not use the 1/3^rd crop function of the D7100, I did crop the DX file to the 1/3^rd crop factor for this image.  The original image from the camera measured 13¼ inches by 20 inches, at 300dpi.  This image was cropped to 11½ inches to 15½ inches at 300dpi.  I’m looking forward to checking out some the D7100’s other features over the weekend.

Nikon D7100, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/100 second @ f4.5, ISO800, Camera on Tripod

Pic of the Day

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas

Painted Bunting • Passerina ciris

Black-crested Titmous • Baeolophus atricristatus

Bronzed Cowbird (juvenile)  • Molothrus aeneus

     Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas:  After being on the road for 39 days I was ready to get home, but still had three stops to make. So, when I saw the sign for Palo Duro Canyon I wanted to keep going, and I did.  A few more miles down the road I stopped for gas, got the I-pad and did a search on Palo Duro Canyon.  The canyon did sound interesting so I plotted a course from my current location, and sure enough I was on a road that would take me Palo Duro.  After filling-up I was on my way.

     I was not sure what to expect, but the sub-title “Grand Canyon of Texas” did up my expectations.  When I arrived I was happy that I made the trip.  Palo Duro is a grand canyon, though smaller than the one in Arizona.  What I really enjoyed was the bird photography blind behind one of the gift stores in the park.

     When I arrived at the blind there was one other person shooting.  The blind is open on the backside, and allows as many as eight different photographers to work.  The feeders and birdbaths are close enough that full frame images can be taken with a 500mm lens.

House Finches, Northern Cardinals, and White-winged Doves made-up the bulk of the birds, but while I was there a Black-crested Titmouse, Painted Bunting and Bronzed Cowbird flew-in.  I got a couple of good shots of the bunting, titmouse, and cowbird, and that alone made the drive to Palo Duro worth it to me.

     Though I only spent a couple of hours it was a productive couple of hours and I am already planning a trip in the spring when I can spend more time shooting.  The Painted Bunting, Black-crested Titmouse, and Bronzed Cowbird shown here were active and easy to shoot.  Next time, I hope to get a Golden-fronted Woodpecker.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas:  Nikon D3, 24-85mm 4.5-5.6 lens, 1/1,600 sec. @ f8

Painted Bunting:  Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/80sec. @ f7.1

Black-crested Titmouse:  Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/125sec. @f8

Bronzed Cowbird:  Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/100sec. @ f8