“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ― Eudora Welty
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
“If there were dreams to sell,
What would you buy?
Some cost a passing-bell;
Some a light sigh.”
~Thomas Lovell Beddoes
Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35 @ 20mm| f20| 1/80 second| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod| Release Cable| 3 frame HDR
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
I’ve been trying for weeks to get a decent shot of a Kite that lives in Moss Landing without success. That Kite likes to perch on a tree out in a Marsh which is too far away for my longest lens. Here’s the best I’ve been able to get. It’s soft, and there isn’t much detail. I used a Nikkor 70-300mm VR on a tripod for this shot in mid November 2011.
I hoped by renting the Nikkor 300mm f4 I would have better luck. I’d be able to use my Tamron 1.4x Extender with it and have a bit more reach. With that in mind I took the rental lens with me last Saturday to Merced National Wildlife Refuge with my friend Rainey. We made a detour on the way to try to find some birds at another park and along the way we spotted this Kite perched on the branch. I was busy clicking away when I noticed it opened its beak, and then I heard it call then in came this other Kite! Oh, how I hoped I nailed the shot with its beak open!
While this photo isn’t as sharp, or have as much detail as I would like it to have I’m thrilled it’s decent and I did get the shot with its beak open. You can see a little more detail, but it’s still too far away for this lens plus extender. Also when using an Extender there is generally a loss of sharpness. With my aperture wide open and focused on the perched Kite I missed the opportunity to get them both in focus. I was focused on the perched one.
I’m learning though. One thing I’ll do differently the next time is stop the lens down to f8. I expect the clarity will improve a bit.
A brief word on the Nikkor 300mm F4 lens. This is the 3rd time I’ve rented this lens . Each time I rent it I want one of my own! It’s a great lens. It produces wonderful colors, and superb details if you can get a bit closer, and the Bokeh is yummy. I do wish it had image stabilization though. Hand-holding this lens isn’t easy so I’m using a tripod, or a pillow when I am shooting out of the car window.
Right after I took the picture above the perched Kite took flight. I got a little of his profile, and the sun peeked through the fog and overcast morning for a little while which lit up its chest nicely.
I do love the thrill of the chase so, I’ll continue to look for Kites maybe the next time they’ll be a bit closer.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 70-300mm VR & Nikkor 300mm f4 w/ Tamron 1.4x TeleConverter
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Yesterday myself, and friend Rainey Shuler, who I’ve blogged about before here went out to San Luis Wildlife Refuge to do a little birding photography. We had hoped there would be some interesting and uncommon birds there.
On the way we ran into a “Road Closed” baracade so we stopped in another Refuge to get some back road directions, and while talking to the hunters and Ranger there we learned there was a Tule Elk herd at the Refuge we wanted to go to. So getting the directions we needed we headed out. We were in luck! These Elk in the photo above weren’t too far from the road.
Rainey and I set up our tripods and took some photos of the Elk. When we started shooting the sun was blocked by morning fog and mist, but soon the sun began to burn through the haze to light up the meadow and Elk just right . About the same time these two started sparring. It was great fun to discover this herd here, and more exciting to see this since I didn’t see any of this behavior while viewing the Tule Elk in Northern CA these past 2 years.
In addition to these magnificent Elk we saw a Coyote, Hawks, Kites- the bird, Heron, Egrets, and a little bird I’ve not identified yet. We left this refuge and headed over to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, and met up with another friend for lunch. I’ll be posting a few of the exciting birds I saw there in the coming days. It was a good day for birding and photography, but made even better by the company of wonderful friends.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 300mm + 1.4x Tamron extender effective range 420mm| f5.6| 1/1600second| ISO 500| Manual Mode| Tripod
Black Phoebe, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
I took this while out in Moss Landing, CA. It was making continuous sorties from this perch. It was entertaining to watch.
I have to thank Digital Art by Shari for the ID! Thank you!
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 70-300mm VR@300mm| f5.6| 1/200 sec| ISO 320| Manual Mode| Tripod
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
This was a fortuitous shot. One of those shots you imagine before hand then all too often it never happens when you get to the spot. While scouting out positions to shoot Bonsai Rock at sunset I decided to wait in the shade of this pine tree while my friend Dali was taking off his waders as he had just come out of the lake. I was gazing at the lake when this kayaker rowed just outside my frame. I couldn’t believe my luck! I have so often wished for a surfer, sailboat, or ship to come along when shooting bodies of water. My second thought is usually, ” if I were able to paint I’d put X right there”. I was thrilled. I know something like this won’t happen every time I want it to.
Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35@ 22mm| f14| 1/40 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held| Circular Polarizer
Dali in the Lake
A Look Back, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
On the 21st of Oct. I had the pleasure of hiking with the Monterey Bay Area Hiking Group in Salinas, CA. It was the toughest hike I’ve done all year. Yes, even tougher than Horse Heaven Trail up to Mission Peak! There are 6 or 7 really, really steep mountains to conquer. The grade on each was 25-30%. Tough!
We hiked to 3 peaks; Eagle Peak, Ollason Peak, and Simas Peak. Here I’m looking back at Eagle Peak from the trail just under Ollason Peak. We had made a summit to Eagle peak first. The morning started out really foggy and soon I was cold and damp. It was such a relief to get up above the clouds and fog and into the sun. 8 hikers started the hike and all 8 finished!
Hiking Stats:
10.79 miles, 3,288ft gained, 6hours 12 minutes
Elevations of the Peaks- Eagle Peak-1,607ft, Ollason Peak-1,188ft, Simas Peak-2,245ft
Nikon D700| Nikkor 18mm AI-S| f8| 1/500sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held
Salinas, California, Toro Park, Hike, Nature
Circadianreflections Blog 
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