Today's Wetlands Shoot

Very nice series, Mitch. #3 looks like the very rare Loooong-Necked Egret

I love the way you guys get Wood Ducks into these shots. I've been trying for months to get a good Wood Duck image and I can't get close. We saw maybe 10 along the river on Sunday but they were all on the far side. A shot would have been worthless.

Thanks Downy. I think I need to go back and find that wren and get some shots with the right camera settings this time.

Thanks Ed. I call that egret shot, "Up Periscope".

To tell the truth, I didn't even see the woodies out there till I looked in the preview window and zoomed in. They were moving very slow and I was concentrating on the egrets. But there seem to be a lot of wood ducks around here this summer.

Lol, funny stuff, Mitch

Thanks Bea. The more I shoot birds, the more I see the humor in some of what they do. And it's always fun if not funny.

Mitch, great series. The last capture has me laughing. That last one could be the makings of a great poster.

Nice series, didn`t realise that egrets necks were that thin.....and long.

Mark

Thanks Bill. It's a continuing play on the Don't Take My Picture thread from the other day.

Hey Mark, well, front to back, they aren't that thin, but seen side to side, they seem to be real thin.

Very enjoyable series Mitch! There's an egret at the wetlands I go to that won't come closer than 100 yards. The TC reels him in nicely for you. May have to consider getting one of those for my bigma.

Wonderful variety of shots!

Thanks Dennis. We have many, many egrets here now. I'll take a pano shot of them some time soon. I'll bet there are a dozen or more in view at any given time.

When I got the Bigma, I already had both the Canon 1.4x and 2x TC's, and they WILL NOT fit the Bigma. The part that sticks out of the Canon TC's is just a hair too fat to fit in the back of the Bigma. Also, I have both the 1.4 and 2x Sigma TC's now, and the 2x just doesn't give good quality. Of course, neither of the Canon TC's were worth using since I never got good quality out of either of those on the 400L and 30D.

I'd ask jpalmer, Jason, what he uses, cause his shots are all excellent, even when he stacks them. I think he uses Kenko. But try before you buy if at all possible.

Mitch, thanks for the heads up on the TC's. Very good information!

I have to admit, the Sig 1.4 TC does give good quality images. At least good enough that I can clean them up in CS2 if need be. But the 2x jumps to f/13, no AF and no matter what, the images are just plain soft. I have tried everything I know to make it work, using the tripod, mirror lockup, remote cord, and on a beanbag, which is very stable, and still they come out soft.

I wish we had a decent camera shop here so I could try some others before buying, but, no such luck. You buy it online, you eat it, if it's no good.

Mitch, your series are always very entertaining. I always enjoy both the great images as well as the comments you supply,
keep them coming,

Thanks Dustin. I do have a lot of fun putting these together.

Very good series. Well done.