Grab shot grouse (thank God for IS)

[stevefossimages]

Caught this ruffed grouse in heavy cover up the Echo Trail near Ely, Minn., this afternoon when I was out with a photo excursion client. Grab shot seconds after we saw the grouse and jumped out of the vehicle.

Not very careful, this bird. I reckon its days are numbered. It was part of a group of six birds, and grouse hunting season is just around the corner.

30D, 100-400L IS at 400mm, iso400, 1/40 at f8, handheld, full frame

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/bokeh-grouse.jpg

[Gary Fairhead]

Nice image here Steve and the very sharp eye and feathers coming out of the oof surroundings is a nice effect here.

[canonloader]

Great shot Steve. Lot of detail. :)

[plsurfer]

1/40!! great shot.. as usual, sharp! i like how it is almost framed by the leaves in front of it

[Alex Paul]

Excellent Steve :)

[downywp]

Very nice shot, nice detail and colour. :-)

[MikeI]

1/40th @ 400 mm and f/8?? Handheld??

Wow!! This would be a great shot for a "Couldn't have done it w/o IS" thread. Unbelievably sharp for the settings....very nice capture!

[Reigh Higgins]

Very nice shot Steve. Thanks for sharing.

[hTr]

Great Shot Steve

[stevefossimages]

Thanks everybody. We've got a grouse population nearing the peak of its cyclical population upswing, and they are darn near everywhere gathering grit along the gravel roads on any given afternoon.

Mikel, that's what this thread is REALLY about. I probably was just a little too subtle about it by just using the parenthetical reference in the title. :D

[philc123]

Thats a great grab shot! Well captured. :)

[Cooper911]

So this is a grab shot? Very well done...and at 1/40 too...you must have big steady hands. The eye and the head are very sharp and the detail is spot on. Very well done.

[stevefossimages]

Thanks again, guys.

Coop, my hands are bigger than average but not huge, and I suppose they're pretty steady. Mostly, it's a lot of opportunity to practice. There are any number of chances to photograph birds and animals all along the roads around Ely, and it's quite common to have something jump or fly across the road and stay put just enough time for the shooter to trigger a burst. Young-of-the-year ruffed grouse in particular aren't very wary of people yet and offer some nice chances for quick images.

[Stephen Stephen]

Nice capture here Steve. I don't have IS just SS (Stephen Stabilisation) ;) but I guess that's why I have to discard more shots than my L Series colleagues.

[Nighthound]

Excellent shot Steve. Looks like your 100-400 is very sharp fully extended. I lucked out and got a good sample myself, great multi-purpose glass. The IS has saved many a low- light shots for me.

NH

[stevefossimages]

Thanks, Stephen (SS:D) and Steve.

Steve, I've shot four copies of this lens over the last several years (one I own and three owned by clients), and each was as sharp as the others.

[Paul A]

Wow, you're showing the best of that lens, excellent shot. Much better to hunt with the camera!!!

[stevefossimages]

Paul, for almost everything these days I like camera hunting better than gun hunting, myself. :D

[Reyno]

Beautifully captured image Steve.

[Jim7226]

Nice, Steve!