Snaphappy's 2014 project 365

snaphappy

Senior Member
Had a great photo weekend with the snow almost completely melted around here we headed to a local lake to explore
Loon
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I practiced patience and FINALLY one came close enough for me to capture
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
Horned Grebe- It took some research to find out what this teeny tiny water bird was
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It sure had a some interesting feathers and looked like a cross between a chicken and a duck to me LOL
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
on the move
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I'm trying to force myself to use and get better at using my tripod. I wasn't sure I could get my tripod adjusted and catch this guy as it flew especially since it was so far away from me but think I did alright. I find the tripod so limiting and annoying when trying to capture moving subjects but I know I would not have been able to keep it from blurring handheld so will keep practicing
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
I'm very out of practice capturing birds but I swear these little birds can't stay still for half a second! Did some research and believe these are yellow rumped warblers
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snaphappy

Senior Member
Forgotten
As I hiked and tried to avoid an amazing amount of moose leavings I found some new subjects.
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I did try to do a bit more PP with my iPhoto than I usually do to see if it made them better or worse. When it comes to PP I just never know what do but I wish I'd lugged my tripod up with me
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
Sad
found by an old vehicle
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Hunter leavings
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Bike wheel becoming part of the forest floor
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A very sad hill of dumped garbage
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Normally I wouldn't lift my camera to shoot these things but thought I'd give it a try since I've seen others do it but I don't think I can portray the story the others do so well
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
on the move
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I'm trying to force myself to use and get better at using my tripod. I wasn't sure I could get my tripod adjusted and catch this guy as it flew especially since it was so far away from me but think I did alright. I find the tripod so limiting and annoying when trying to capture moving subjects but I know I would not have been able to keep it from blurring handheld so will keep practicing

Very nice shot! Did you have the "pan" loose on your tripod for this? Dunno how else to explain it other than my tripod has a dial on the head that can be tightened/loosened to allow a free panning motion while keeping everything else set.
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
Yes Pretzel by forcing myself to use the tripod that day I realized I could leave the swivel and ball head slightly loose so that I could move to capture the frustrating little birds that don't stay still for ben a second :) The birds were all so far away that I was using my Tamron and handheld for me is impossible with the weight and my little arms. So far I've really only used my tripod for my poor attempts at macro and then for my long exposure night photos so I've never attempted to leave anything loose on my tripod. Once I realized and started leaving it slightly loose it sure made things easier :) I definitely need to practice more with using the tripod because it is helpful
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
I spent most of the day with the tripod and when I'd had enough of frustrating birds staying out of my range I went for a hike :) I really only attempted the duck because hubby said he didn't think I could get it LOL
The duck was about 100+ft from shore. I only have one camera so this was my set up without my camera attached to the lens (my tripod was good and tight!). It was a pretty windy overcast day so my lens hood is on keep blowing stuff off my glass. I could see tons of birds on the other side of the lake but nothing clear enough to show here at that distance
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snaphappy

Senior Member
Marilynne I was stunned to be able to actually figure out what it was! I believe it is the Audubon's warbler which gets called yellow rumped warbler. It looks grey when still but in flight looks very blue. 1st 2 photos were while I was at the lake and the other 2 were in my front yard
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
Thanx Marilynne I will add to my favourites so I can identify easier :)
Todays birds I can identify easily
Don't mess with momma duck
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She has 24 eggs under her and she is ferocious momma :)
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
Spring has finally arrived because the hummingbirds arrived on Monday morning yeah but Mondays attempts weren't great
So after catching up on some threads and seeing @BackdoorHippies hummingbird set up I creeped up closer and waited and waited for them to decide I wasn't too much of a threat.
The bright sun washes out the colour but there's no point in using anything lower than 1/1000 shutter (learned that last year), my tamron is f5-6.3 and my nikon 70-300 isn't much better but gives me less reach. I upped ISO to 640 but even that makes my photos more pixely (??)
Hummingbirds came back although were more on edge so I used my tripod with the ballhead slightly loose so I could manuever easier.
Here's my set up taken with cell because I only have one camera :)
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snaphappy

Senior Member
Girls at the feeder even at 1/1600 it didn't stop the wings!
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I know there is at least 2 girls but they look alike
 
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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
You're so fortunate to be far enough west to get varieties of hummingbirds. Unless one is blown a thousand miles off course we don't see anything but Ruby-Throated. The Rufous in your photos (nice!!) is the same size, but most of the ones we saw in California (Anna's, Allen's, etc.) all seemed to be a good bump larger than what we see - and far less timid.

If you have the IR remote for the D7000 you may be able to get closer to the feeder, but you won't be able to grab the tree shots, which are actually much nicer.
 
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