Hark's 2017

hark

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I'm certainly off to a late start. Went out a couple of days ago and took a few photos. In the Post Your New Purchases thread, I mentioned getting a new CP filter for my 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens due to color issues with my previous CP filter. Since the new CP filter hadn't yet arrived, these were taken without a CP filter.

This little guy allowed me to take his photo right before he flew off.

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There were so few people at the park--and very few ducks, geese, and seagulls. Even the 2 ducks lying down appear to be a little chilly.

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I love the texture of these weeds plus the yellow bush added some color to a dismal winter afternoon.

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hark

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I replaced the CP filter on my 70-300mm because the one I was using switched the greens to an annoying and not so pretty green/yellow. It's too early in the year to tell if this one will be any better because there isn't a lot of green around right now.

There were several seagulls lounging around--not too many people though because it was pretty chilly.

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I did a heavy crop of the above image and sent it to ON1 Resize to enlarge it. I can't remember who originally posted about this software when they released a free version, but it works quite well. :) The above image was already slightly cropped to a 5x7 ratio from the original.

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And below is the Canal that runs from Easton, PA down to Bristol, PA. There were small patches of water beginning to ice up and just a few walkers along the towpath.

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hark

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Yesterday they forecast 8-12" of snow. We wound up with 5" which was quite fine by me (I'm the one who cleans it up). ;) So I decided to go out and take a few photos. Here are two from yesterday.

This is a walking path that was not yet cleared. Sure made for a picturesque image.

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The image below is part of the canal that runs from Easton down to Bristol (Pennsylvania). This lower end needs to be repaired badly. The water actually doesn't flow all the way down to this end (due to the badly needed repairs) so it only gets filled by rainwater. Usually the bed of the canal is either dry and cracked or filled with stagnant water. Recently it was dry but must have filled from some of our rain storms. Over the past few years when I've photographed this lower section of the canal, I can honestly say this was the first time I've seen any wildlife using the water (two geese in the lower right corner of the image). Towns such as Yardley and north of there are maintained very well which supports wildlife year-round.

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cwgrizz

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I'm certainly off to a late start. Went out a couple of days ago and took a few photos. In the Post Your New Purchases thread, I mentioned getting a new CP filter for my 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens due to color issues with my previous CP filter. Since the new CP filter hadn't yet arrived, these were taken without a CP filter.

This little guy allowed me to take his photo right before he flew off.



There were so few people at the park--and very few ducks, geese, and seagulls. Even the 2 ducks lying down appear to be a little chilly.



I love the texture of these weeds plus the yellow bush added some color to a dismal winter afternoon.

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This is good one. I like everything about it.
 

hark

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Last week we had snow. Today our temps were in the 60's! Crazy weather, but since I am not fond of snow, I am thrilled. Here are a couple from this afternoon's walk at my local park.

I've never seen so many cars at the park. In fact, there were so many people here that some had to park on the grass. I waited and waited...and waited some more for this stretch of walkway to be vacant, but it just wasn't going to happen. Meh...the people add a little interest...at least that's what I'll keep telling myself! ;)

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Although they may be difficult to see, there is a couple who were skimming stones across the water.

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hark

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Guess I didn't update photos from the beginning of March.

When a local mall was built in the 1970's, some of the small businesses in towns really suffered. Bristol, Pennsylvania just won a grant from a TV show contest that will help to revitalize small businesses. However, before they won the contest, building a dock at the waterfront was already underway.

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I can't decide if the statue in the following photo is pointing to the dock construction, or if she is doing a Herve Villechaize impersonation--ze plane, ze plane! :shame:

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hark

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Two of these are posted in my thread concerning the shutter error. Usually I don't do any type of birding unless they are stationary, but this goose was really animated and vocal. Possibly mating season?

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For a moment, I wondered if the Loch Ness Monster had relatives in the lake! Seriously though, I didn't know geese would partially submerge themselves in water while swimming. I've only ever seen them floating/swimming on top of the surface.

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And apparently humans aren't the only ones who do spring cleaning! ;)

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hark

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This afternoon I played with BBF on my D7100 but decided it isn't for me. Last summer I injured the lower joint of my right thumb, and while pressing the back button to focus, I could feel twinges of pain. The other thing I didn't care for is that I wear glasses. I use my left eye to look through the viewfinder which allowed the right lens of my glasses to press against that thumb. Smudges on my glasses...meh. I could live with them but not with the discomfort in my thumb.

The other thing I noticed with BBF is that the VR would engage with both the back button and the shutter button. I assumed it would only work with one of them.

So I switched back to using only the shutter button in AF-C. It still tracked the birds' movements, but even though I left it at FOCUS and not RELEASE, the majority of my shots were blurred. That could be user error though. I'm not the best when it comes to handholding a DX body with a telephoto lens. I used my 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens at 300mm. Because I have chronic tendonitis in my forearms, I'm not the steadiest with hand holding longer lenses--and it's always more noticeable on DX compared with FX.

The ducks were not at all interested in posing for me. :shame: Most of them I shot from their rear view, but I really didn't care since I was just testing out the settings. ;)

Our weather today was really dismal. Rain and thunder. This afternoon there was a respite from the rain so I ran out to test BBF. Neither of the following was shot with BBF due to my thumb, but both were in AF-C. These were pretty much the only two that weren't blurred. I like the tracking ability of AF-C. What I didn't care for is the single point focus dots are much larger in this D7100 than in either of my FX bodies. The problem was trying to keep the dot on top of their faces (near their eyes when possible). Quite often the focus points would also cover part of the background so that might also factor into some of the blurry images.

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hark

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How times flies! Apparently I haven't posted in my own thread in over 2 months. :shame: I've been working on a new wall calendar for my church like I made last year so most of my photos are from there. It was nice to take a break and go elsewhere today.

So today I decided to give Auto-ISO a try after [MENTION=6277]Don Kuykendall[/MENTION] explained the settings in another thread (thank you so much, Don!). I've used Manual Mode in the past but not with Auto-ISO, and I WILL say I like it better than straight Manual Mode. :encouragement: Since I prefer using the +/- exposure button, it was pretty seamless to work with. I just need to keep watch of my ISO and shutter speed until I can make the shutter adjustments on the fly.

Here were a few from today's outing:

This must be a relatively new pedestrian walkway even though the beams appear to be rusted. The boards (most likely artificial) appeared to be brand new. At the far end, it's obvious they are still working in this area.

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This is the Parish House that is part of an Episcopal Church. I love the architecture of this house and the church (which isn't displayed here).

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This tree stump sits right outside the Episcopal Church. There is a lake immediately behind this which isn't visible, but this stump must be nice to sit on to watch the ducks and fishermen. I was amazed with my Nikon 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G lens. I certainly haven't tired of using it. Wide angle images are something I really enjoy especially when used in this manner--with a large foreground subject.

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And this is a railroad bridge that crosses the Delaware River into New Jersey.

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How times flies! Apparently I haven't posted in my own thread in over 2 months. :shame: I've been working on a new wall calendar for my church like I made last year so most of my photos are from there. It was nice to take a break and go elsewhere today.

So today I decided to give Auto-ISO a try after @Don Kuykendall explained the settings in another thread (thank you so much, Don!). I've used Manual Mode in the past but not with Auto-ISO, and I WILL say I like it better than straight Manual Mode. :encouragement: Since I prefer using the +/- exposure button, it was pretty seamless to work with. I just need to keep watch of my ISO and shutter speed until I can make the shutter adjustments on the fly.

We pay big bucks for our gear and it is sometimes smarter than we are. I like to figure out how to do what I want and let the camera take care of the rest. My new toy is a Variable ND filter and I am loving it.
 

hark

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We pay big bucks for our gear and it is sometimes smarter than we are. I like to figure out how to do what I want and let the camera take care of the rest. My new toy is a Variable ND filter and I am loving it.

I have a 10-stop ND filter that I'd like to try on some trickling water, but first I need to find the tricking water. ;) Have fun with your variable ND filter. :encouragement:
 
I got the Singh-Ray Variable Neutral Density. It goes from 0 to 8 stops. What is so nice is you can pick your shutter speed and aperture and by looking in live view turn the filter till you get the look you want.
I was at a waterfall recently and tried a variety of shutter speeds till i got the look I wanted jut by adjusting the filter.
 

hark

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I got the Singh-Ray Variable Neutral Density. It goes from 0 to 8 stops. What is so nice is you can pick your shutter speed and aperture and by looking in live view turn the filter till you get the look you want.
I was at a waterfall recently and tried a variety of shutter speeds till i got the look I wanted jut by adjusting the filter.

Will keep that in mind when I try out my ND filter. :encouragement:
 

hark

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Must have missed posting a few May photos.

Tried out my fisheye lens--this is going to take some getting used to. I need to learn more about the types of subjects that will work best with it.

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The Delaware River Bridge that connects the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes developed a crack in one of its support beams. It was closed for a couple of months while being repaired. Unfortunately I couldn't get any photos of the crack, but these were taken after they reopened the bridge.

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The underside of the deck didn't used to look like this. It must be some type of temporary covering.

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hark

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This was taken on a different outing. This is the ramp near the boat dock area of Core Creek Park. Was still trying to find suitable subjects for the fisheye lens.

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hark

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Cross-posted from my thread on the Nikon 300mm lens. These were all taken with a Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S lens coupled with a Nikon 1.4 TC. Am looking forward to more outings with this lens/TC combo!

The female mallard duck was raised by someone locally--the duck now resides in a local park. She allowed me to get within 10-12 feet. The male (hybrid mallard) was fine with me being close, too. He seemed to take his cues from her.

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The female quacked so the male woke up, and both got up. She was stretching holding her leg out behind in the photo below.

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hark

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And these are from a Vietnam Veterans event going on through tomorrow. They planted thousands of small flags as a tribute to those who have died serving our country (not just from the Vietnam War).

The flag below is hung under a pavilion.

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There are several of these silhouettes on display. Not sure if they are made from wood or metal but are flat.

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I took this from the other side of the park. It is a magnificent view of the flag even from afar.

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