[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Terry989

Thanks for the complement. I'm in awe of the of photo's I see on this sight and appreciate the skill and patience put into each of these shots!

I picked up photography as a hobby a couple of years ago since it meshed well with my love of nature and being outdoors. I photograph mostly nature and landscape, but enjoy trying other areas and expanding my skills. Work keeps me very busy at the moment, but I hope to slow that down in a few years and spend more time with this hobby. What I'm lacking at the moment is a good long lens. I'm still considering the Canon ES 300mm f2.8 IS II or perhaps the new Sigma 500mm f4 DG HSM OS Sport Lens (which may be too much lens for me at the moment!)

Don't let the generally high standard here keep you from posting. We love newbies. We all started somewhere.

I'm not sure that you can have "too much lens."

Cost and weight are the two big considerations. My test for the cost is, will I use it regularly? If you think you can answer "yes", then, if you can afford it, do it.

My go-to first recommendation these days, particularly for a Canon shooter, is the exceptional EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II. It works well with the 1.4x TC-III on the 80D, 7D MkII, 5D MkIII and above.

If you go the 300mm route, or any of the other Canon primes, consider buying used from a reputable dealer. They hold there value well, usually 80% of new, for lenses issued in the last few years, so you can recover your investment when it's time to move up to a 500 or 600mm.

Try hand holding. The 100-400mm has excellent IS and is easily hand held at low shutter speeds.

Dave

[jmg]

20160728 - Los Feliz Fountain - IMG_4337-Edit_100 by JMG, on Flickr

[Josh (PA)]

So many great pictures in here. I really enjoy everyone's work.

Here's a quick shot from this AM:

Peek-a-boo by Josh, on Flickr

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

So many great pictures in here. I really enjoy everyone's work.

Here's a quick shot from this AM:

Josh, you certainly understand you AF system, or you could have never gotten that shot.

[Josh (PA)]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Josh, you certainly understand you AF system, or you could have never gotten that shot.

#manual focus.

To your point, there was no way my old d90 was going to figure out what I wanted to focus on.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

^^^Very cool shot, Ed.

I love the pastels behind the bird.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

#manual focus.

To your point, there was no way my old d90 was going to figure out what I wanted to focus on.

I don't know Nikon, but on my Canons I would have gone to single-point AF. I've found MF to be very unreliable, though you did a good job here.

Dave

[Terry989]

Young and hungry Titiotus spider photo taken at midnight - Sonoma County, CA. Fastest spiders I have ever worked with!

[Itsed65]

Originally Posted by dcstep

I love the pastels behind the bird.

Yeah all my shots that afternoon had an "Easter" quality to them. That is the first time I had been to Grizzly Island, and I may go back this weekend. I had to buy a state pass in lieu of a hunting or fishing licence to get access, but the pass is good for all California wildlife areas, so I need to do some research.

[Itsed65]

From this past fall

Coyote #51 by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[TrevorM3]

i never want to see a spider that close, again..

[Terry989]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

i never want to see a spider that close, again..

I understand the sentiment! My wife is deathly afraid of spiders so I have to sell her on "know your enemy". This one is nocturnal, so it is unlikely you'll run into one.

Titiotus is large and intimidating, but harmless. Well, maybe anyway. He is apparently a battle veteran as you can see his left foremost leg is smaller that the others, so he lost it is a fight somewhere and is in the process of regrowing another - - - a handy skill!

[jmg]

I think one of them spotted me.

20170305 - El Dorado Park - IMG_9398_100 by JMG, on Flickr

[Arsonism]

2299 by Shane

Another fun weekend, new unit, same old drills.

[Itsed65]

Black and White Eagle Portrait by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[Terry989]

Perfectly framed Eagle - - - looks great in B&W! Did you shoot in B&W mode or did your process RAW to get this?

[Itsed65]

Originally Posted by Terry989

Perfectly framed Eagle - - - looks great in B&W! Did you shoot in B&W mode or did your process RAW to get this?

Thanks! I always shoot RAW. I use Silver Efex Pro for B&W conversions which is a great (if old) plugin for Lightroom or Photoshop. It is now free through Google, although that also means it will never be updated again

[Josh (PA)]

Moonrise over Hammondsport by Josh, on Flickr

[Itsed65]

The osprey are back!
This poor girl. Her mate just came back to the nest and gave her the fish, then when she took off with it, she lost her grip:

Dang! by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[Weebl]

At first I thought what kind of animal has a backend like that, kind of gross. A full 45 seconds later I realized it was a can.
Nice.
You are lucky in Texas, I am just about hosed in CA.

Originally Posted by Arsonism

2299 by Shane

Another fun weekend, new unit, same old drills.

[dcstep]

I just Shared 250 images of a surfing contest at the Bonzai Pipeline, on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. I had visions of identifying the surfers and the tricks that they were doing, but the time just never lined up. Rather than do nothing, waiting on perfection, here is the album now, so that you can see the sequences and amazing stuff the elite pro surfers can do. Feel free to add Tags if you recognize a surfer or trick:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep...57676298138034

Sample shot:

Carving by David Stephens, on Flickr

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Itsed65

The osprey are back!
This poor girl. Her mate just came back to the nest and gave her the fish, then when she took off with it, she lost her grip:

Clutz in every specie.