Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Lens !!

Chris1966 wrote in post #19012694
Was out shooting Smew with a fellow birder who shot a Canon crop body with the 100-400II lens. The light changed and he stopped shooting because he felt the shots would no longer be worth it, and I had to agree with him based on my own 7DII. But as I now had the Nikon D500, I still went on for a bit before we went off to search for a few goldfinches.
Not meaning to speak ill of Canon, it's much more nuanced than that, and what a lens that 400DOII is, but the 7DII is just só long overdue for replacement (sensor wise) that it gives me freedom to have the Nikon D500 around for the coming years until Canon finally works out what to do about the 7DII replacement

The main issue is that the 7DII cannot handle difficult light, and you are forced to always search for optimal light, which I ultimately found too much off a constraint on my freedom to go out shooting when I feel like it, instead of only when the light is perfect. With the Nikon D500, I now have back the freedom to work on the images in post. There is much more to say about how the combo's compare, but for now I am not ready to "dump" my Canon set yet, and besides, the people on this thread have gone through it all before me anyhow...

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What a beautiful species. I had to google Smew, as I'd never heard of it. I can see where they could be a challenging capture with the white / black contrast. Very nicely captured here.

I can relate 100% to what you're experiencing in contrasting the D500 & 7DII. Honestly, It's just one of those situations where a person really has to experience both in order to truly appreciate the difference. The best way being starting with the 7DII & becoming comfortable with it 1st. I can say that, because I shot one from the time they were released until I switched in late 2018.

The following Hermit Thrush, while not great, would not have been possible with the 7DII.

Chris1966 wrote in post #19012914
Nice to read about your experience Matthew. So we all have our ways, solutions and "tricks" to get close to birds! Where I live (in the Netherlands in North Western Europe), civilization has claimed almost all of the land, and even our forests and woodlands our cultivated and small. Agriculture has intensively exploited the main parts of the non-inhabited land in the last 60 years, and sadly many of our birds have vanished and/or are dwindling in numbers.
Next to that, Europe, and mainly mediterranean Europe, has a long tradition, going back centuries, of shooting migrating birds out of the air for sport or consumption. (hope you are still with me and not stopped reading because of getting depressed :rolleyes.
This has led to two types of birds in my country, that is halfway off one of the largest bird migration routes: domesticated birds that are easily approached, and "wild" birds that are notoriously shy of people and stay well out of reach of even a 600mmm lens. We have a lot of birding hides here, and these are about the only way to get up close to a lot of birds. Just walking around in woodlands, you may start to believe there are no birds at all, only hearing them in the distance.

There is one area that is an exception and that is the area that started me birding in the first place. They are the Frisian Isles, a number of small isles that have a unique tidal system that floods a large part of land twice every 24hrs and also exposes it twice every 24hrs, resulting in an abundance of seafood. These isles are directly situated halfway the large bird migration route, and so a large number of migrating birds that breed in the (virtually uninhabited) upper north of Europe, and spend the winter in north and central Africa, stop at these isles and stay for two weeks to restore their body fat before resuming the migration.
Totally shy of people, there are still some tricks that allow you to get close, and one of mine is using the rising or setting sun in my back as a camouflage, where the bird only sees my silhouette, and if sitting motionless may wander off in my direction.
That is how I got the below shot of my favorite duck, the Eider. It still took me 784mm on crop though!

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Another beauty and species unfamiliar on our side of the pond.

We may not have the concentrated sport hunt that you mentioned over here, but we have no shortage of rapid growth and territorial encroachment here. Add to that the relaxation / repeal of pollution laws, sale of public land, and allowing oil drilling & fracking in pristine areas of Alaska, Montana, & the likes and we have a recipe for self destruction. Humans can be some selfish, greedy, careless fkrs!

Young chacma baboon

A few more of the male Smew. I just love the Nikon D500 raw's ability to give a soft touch to high contrast shots.

Tough light, tough birds, but think they came out ok

EyeSpyEagle wrote in post #19013004
What a beautiful species. I had to google Smew, as I'd never heard of it. I can see where they could be a challenging capture with the white / black contrast. Very nicely captured here.

I can relate 100% to what you're experiencing in contrasting the D500 & 7DII. Honestly, It's just one of those situations where a person really has to experience both in order to truly appreciate the difference. The best way being starting with the 7DII & becoming comfortable with it 1st. I can say that, because I shot one from the time they were released until I switched in late 2018.

The following Hermit Thrush, while not great, would not have been possible with the 7DII.

Nice job, and congrats on your inaugural Hermit Thrush encounter! Sniped him right through some challenging branch obstacles too!

MatthewK wrote in post #19014879
Tough light, tough birds, but think they came out ok

THese are both excellent, Matt. I really like the windblown Junco.

MatthewK wrote in post #19014891
Nice job, and congrats on your inaugural Hermit Thrush encounter! Sniped him right through some challenging branch obstacles too!

Thank you!

Still sifting Vegas shots... Down to last day now.

Here's a Yellow-Rump with a snack.

EyeSpyEagle wrote in post #19014990
THese are both excellent, Matt. I really like the windblown Junco.

Thank you!

Still sifting Vegas shots... Down to last day now.

Here's a Yellow-Rump with a snack.

Yellow-rumps, yet another insanely tough bird to photograph, right up there w/ the Juncos, dude! They just don't give you too many good chances for a clean shot before they scatter away, but it looks like he sat still for you long enough

Full confession: I've broken down and set up a backyard studio. I consider myself a purist, and take pride in my ability to get shots out in "the wild" vs. using feeders and staged settings, but when it comes down to it... I'm just getting tired of coming back empty handed, especially after these past few months of nothing. So, until Spring migration and more bountiful offerings are available, I'm taking the easy route That's why I've been able to get semi-respectable Junco shots, it's not because I finally cracked their code and outsmarted them, no: it's because I bought them lunch. Thus, I don't consider these authentic shots, and it's a hollow victory over my all time nemesis bird:

MatthewK wrote in post #19015702
Full confession: I've broken down and set up a backyard studio. I consider myself a purist, and take pride in my ability to get shots out in "the wild" vs. using feeders and staged settings, but when it comes down to it... I'm just getting tired of coming back empty handed, especially after these past few months of nothing. So, until Spring migration and more bountiful offerings are available, I'm taking the easy route That's why I've been able to get semi-respectable Junco shots, it's not because I finally cracked their code and outsmarted them, no: it's because I bought them lunch. Thus, I don't consider these authentic shots, and it's a hollow victory over my all time nemesis bird:

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Beautiful image, regardless of the stage.

Kudos to you for being Man enough to admit that!

I have to admit, I really like the setup "Tom in Az" has created. It's enough to make me wish I had a nice large yard and were closer to the country.

Matthew that is a beautiful photo, no doubts about it.
As to staged events, that doesn't look as such and you've been upfront.

I'm not one for staging as such and many birds at my place live here in the bushes and alight onto all manner of things.

That looks natural and yet you see some have cut limbs and other obvious tell tales.

Like you I'm a bit of a purist but it's hard to be a hardened adherent when they come to you and sit on obviously man made stuff.

I certainly enjoy your posts and this hasn't dampened my admiration.

Keep it up and look forward to the spring, thaw, whatever you call such.

A couple of females

one more, in flatter light. We actually call these aimiable little ducks "Nuns"where I live (literally translated)

Lat few images from the Smew outing. They live on small fish and like to chase each other around when there's a catch

EyeSpyEagle wrote in post #19015726
Beautiful image, regardless of the stage.

Kudos to you for being Man enough to admit that!

I have to admit, I really like the setup "Tom in Az" has created. It's enough to make me wish I had a nice large yard and were closer to the country.

Yeah, Tom has some supremely awesome perches in his setup, always love seeing his results! This past fall, on my trip out to Wash State, we met a husband/wife birding team who live right at the edge of a birding hotspot, and their backyard was the ultimate... that's the model I'm striving to imitate one day, just need a better backyard

avondale87 wrote in post #19015731
Matthew that is a beautiful photo, no doubts about it.
As to staged events, that doesn't look as such and you've been upfront.

I'm not one for staging as such and many birds at my place live here in the bushes and alight onto all manner of things.

That looks natural and yet you see some have cut limbs and other obvious tell tales.

Like you I'm a bit of a purist but it's hard to be a hardened adherent when they come to you and sit on obviously man made stuff.

I certainly enjoy your posts and this hasn't dampened my admiration.

Keep it up and look forward to the spring, thaw, whatever you call such.

Richard, I most appreciate your understanding. This is most certainly a temporary adventure, just to get me through to better days once the Spring birds return. Getting a good setup is a lot more difficult than I anticipated, at least in my backyard, so I have a bit to learn in order to perfect it. It'll be fun to find fun/interesting perches for them, because the challenge is going to be keeping my photos interesting (sam background, same perch, etc). Lastly, I have to fight off the squirrels, they'll eat all the feed if I'm not vigilant

Basically, here in the US, birds are on a spring/fall migration schedule. In around April/May when the weather warms, they return from their wintering grounds inCentral/South America/Mexico in order to mate. They stay here over the summer, and go back south starting around September. Wash, rinse, repeat.