Tuesday, December 31, 2013:

Peregrine Falcon were called Duck Haw as Kestrel were called Sparrow Hawk because that’s what they preyed on - why I mention this you ask?

Take a look at these test shots from about 300 ft out of this ‘duck hawk’ and see for yourself - it’s NOT what you might think - “more like sheep in wolf’s clothing” of the avian world - enjoy here (click on download ‘top right’ to see the big picture) and Happy New Year - hoping everyone is enjoying the wonders of the wild as much as I do .....!!!!!

Thursday, December 26, 2013:

NPS Japan stop selling D4 via their exchange program - upgrade should be just around the corner - watch for this (winter olympus)? - imho - there should be a TC 1.4 upgrade as well or later this year with new coating - I still brought the version 2 - why? - not going to pay twice the price for marginal increase - I paid $340 - twice of this would be in the area of under $700 - just my guess.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas - while the family is asleep - I sneak out early to do some shooting - in less then 20 minutes - I’m in my new playground - once again it started slow and things were not happening and just about to head home when realizing it was only 9am and the family is still sleeping - hehe - so I stay and saw raptors galore - thanks to the spirit of the universe once again.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Year of third parties ..... with the soon to be release of Tamron’s 150-600mm for less then $1100.00 - unless you’re paid for your wildlife work and are willing to lug that heavy gear around - this lens offers the best of both world - reach and mobility getting to the areas which required hiking/travels/etc - more simples here. Note - these are all wildlife shots with most shot wild open @ f/6.3 - this should tell you where this lens is aiming for.

*** And yes - I’ll be giving this lens a try.

Saturday, December 21, 2013:

Slow but with temps in the 60s without much wind - who am I to complain - and got what I believed it’s a Harris Hawk .

update: another check appears to be either a Swainson's Hawks (dark morph) or Harlan’s Hawk (type of Red-tailed Hawk) or even a dark morph ferruginous hawk - the spirit of the sky is vast in mystery and rather then to seek out to ID it - I’ll leave it as it is - another wild and free spirit that bless me today ....

Friday, December 20, 2013:

In the spirit of all things especially this time of the year - I’m posting a snowy owl shot taken in the fidget temperature of Feb. or 2009 with blistering wind hovering in the low teens.

Imagining the time when I’m fairly new to this wildlife thing shooting my first long training Sigma lens - those were some of the best times I had when everyone was more at ease with each other instead of these days of ‘clique’ bands of brothers with their weapons of choice ready to take over any subjects available before getting too close and spook it farther away so the later arrival would not get a chance of any shot hence the ‘ruffled feathers’ I kept hearing about - I hope things settle down and everyone can have the same experience I once enjoyed.

And in other news  - WOW - what a “A Great Piece of Glass”  ~smiles~

I received my Nikon 1.4 TC and went out to test it before calibrating it and it’s spot on - see it here - IQ slightly better then the Kenko along with just a bit quicker focus but not much - Kenko pro 1.4 TC is simply awesome holding it’s own - why did I get the Nikon TC? - with 24 MP on an unfiltered sensor - anything getting in the way of better IQ should be kept to a minimal - all in all - “A Great Piece of Glass” that’ll make anyone say - HO HO HO ........ and no - I’m not sexist ~smiles~.

Thursday, December 19, 2013:

Well - finally something from Nikon that might interest me after this very long wait - what’s that? - seems the D4 s/X rumor is getting traction and will be available early next year readying for the Olympics - and since CES is in Vegas (Jan 2014) - I’ll be right there to see “what’s new” :-)  - it’ll be interesting to see what’s in the D3300 as an indication of things to come later in the year.

Sunday, December 15, 2013:

Started 6am with temp in the mid-30s and the sun just beginning to break - the skyline was washed with pink and baby blue which warm up to the 60s in the afternoon - last weekend the distance shot of the peregrine with the attached TC on my 600mm = 850mm - I was not too happy so I did a simple AF tune before this weekend - man - what a difference a small adjustment made - tack sharp on shots when I have it in focus - from small birds in the thickets to BIF - they’re sharp sharp - not bad for a $1k body (D7100) - I’m very happy with the Cinnamon Teal - it’s high on my list of birds and getting one in flight was simply awesome and I feel blessed,

Speaking of which - yesterday I talked about my query the red-tailed hawk - well - the spirit of the sky indeed blessed me today when I arrived to my local haunt hoping to see if I can get a closer shot hence out of the house by 6am - but before that - I wanted to use the early light on another one of my query - the Cinnamon Teal which lady luck help - then while the light was still good - I drove to another area and find him perched half a mile down - parked - gear up and slowly walk forward him - and of course - I heard the loud screech call once he saw me and he’s off - but strangely - he banked and slowly did their typical circling flight toward me - and for once - he didn’t screech/hissed - just slowly look down at me - I can only look through my lens in amazement and snap - snap - snap - and watch him slowly draft away - thank you to the creator of this universe ...... this was a spiritual moment.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

OK - where to begin today? - in less then 20 minutes drive to one of my ‘perch’ - I had Peregrine/Eagle/Osprey/male/female Harrier/Red Shoulder Hawk/Kingfisher/Red-tailed Hawk/Coopers Hawk and even a Beaver - yes the furry kind with the flappy tail :-) loads of Night Heron and few others - not all are captured perfectly but I’ll post a few that are acceptable to me here for document sake.

now you would think I be WOW by seeing the eagle or the gray ghost (male harrier) or even the furry little beast (beaver) - but noooooo - on a day where everywhere is slow - what really interest me is this red-tailed hawk (local resident I assumed since I’ve seen him a few times).

Coming from the east coast where I had more then mine share of red-tailed hawks which  seem tame and not wild and free like these here - each time we meet - I hear the loud screeching calls - exactly the sound you hear in western movies in past where they use as eagle calls :-) - now getting this guy close would be a challenge but one that I’m up for it - he’s truly a wild and free spirit and why the native american held them in hight esteem - that’s if for now - here are four sequence of him calling at 80 meters (290 ft) out with the D7100/Sigma 120-300mm attached to a 1.4 TC from my Subaru.

Note: every red-tailed hawks I’ve seen here are not like the one back east where you can almost go up and pat them - these are wild and free and want nothing to do with humans with beautiful markings and colors (I’ve hope they remain free and wild in their own natural habitat without too much human interaction).

Friday, December 13, 2013

150-600mm with stabilization back up by the MTF chart that shows it’s fairly sharp for less then $1,100 so who makes this now? - Tamron - Canon shooters can get theirs first and Nikon next - my Sigma 150-500mm os was decent but this is a game changer - between the new Sigma ‘art’ lens and this - you have to wonder why Canon/Nikon/Sony shooters are paying such a high price for their lens which at the end of the day does not even offer some of the flexibility of these third party lenses - yeah - I’m keeping my eyes on one ....... with this attached to the D7100 - it’ll make a light killer combo for the desert trek - so bring it on baby ...... I love what’s coming from first Sigma and now Tamron (both of which I own/ed) - this should keep Canon/Nikon/Sony honest or think twice before raping us ......!!!

Simples from this Tamron 150-600mm lens here and here.

See this fox in full screen billboard size here where even his tear drops are perfectly clear - if this is truly coming from this lens - I’m amazed - here is the peregrine falcon - check out those eyes - “are you kidding me?” - that’s almost stepping on my 600mm Nikkor’s turf - amazing..... these images more then filled my 27’ Mac monitor - they’re truly billboard size if printed.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Sometimes life is stranger then fiction - case in point  - it’s Sunday and I normally don’t do crazy exploration heading out to new places - Sat. is used for that since I’m a working man and needs time to prepare for Mondays so local haunts suite me best - shorter the distance - the better and that how today started .....

Headed out to my favorite local pond/rivers shooting migrating ducks and along comes the pair of peregrines and one of them perched along river/wash - shooting my 600mm was still short so out comes the 1.4 tc attached shooting away...

After awhile of the same perched shots - my shooting buddy noticed a coyote watching behind us - we turn our lens and just as quickly - he disappear over tall brushes - hmmmm - perched peregrine or coyote - decisions - decisions - nah - peregrine attacking ducks is much cooler then another coyote ...

So we train our lens back to the peregrine - after a few more non-action (shit shots - no - really) - I decided to head back to check the coyote - right over the edge - I saw this harrier hovering right on top of the coyote - wow - set the tripod/lens down and fire away - moments like this never/hardly ever happens - soooo what it’s shooting toward the sun  - and the d7100 buffer chocked a few times with me swearing through and through to come up with a few unbelievable moments of nature (locally) - enough of chattering - let these pictures speak for themselves here.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

So - the D7100 - what’s new based on my limited use?

Pro:

1. 1)Focus - this is coming from the D4/800 tweak and it shows it’s stuff when it was pea soup early morning with the bald eagle as evidence here - yeah - not total darkness - but never the less - it snap on the target.
   

2. 2)Weight - much lighter to shoulder around with mid/long lenses attached even with the battery grip attached.
   

3. 3)Balance and controls - while not pro build quality - they’re well placed and does the job when needed - able to captured some action shots of this eagle with it’s tracking system and the hand feel/holding is pleasant and does not get in the way of snapping off a few.
   

4. 4)24 mp - this allows cropping during action shots unlike perched/stationary subjects where you can take your time and compose.
   

Con: buffer/buffer/buffer - this sucks - if you need critical shots - I don’t advice using this body - forget all those ‘other’ perfectionist who snicker at spray and prey folks - to those of us who knows a few things or two - it’s the difference of capturing the wings in perfect position or not - or the tilt of the head/etc - it’s that simple - having more fps gets a better chance of getting these kind of shots instead of another typical shots (think critical) - because if you don’t - then people viewing your images will - food for thoughts.

Well - that’s it for now - while I’ll continue to post new images - I would not be updating this page much due to the holidays/work/etc which have taken over my brain lately - cheers.

Saturday, November 30, 2013:

The morning started out with thick fog in the low 40s clearing away to a beautiful sunny day - from the corner of my eyes in this thick soup appears to a very large raptors calling - I was driving very slow with the windows open in an off road area where SUV if not careful will get struck - I quickly stop and pull out my gear in a fashion that would make any ninja proud and got it setup in seconds with my 600mm and the D7100 with it’s 24 mp and higher iso range then my D300s which I’ll talk about in my gear lens and camera test page soon.

So here I’m alone with this large raptor in the mist who feels very much at ease with my presence providing me over two hours capturing these images - when the sun broke through with it’s golden light hitting the bird - the idea of the golden eagle quickly comes to mind - but something trouble me being near water - so after his feathers dried and flew - off I went to check with the local Audubon expert who confirmed this is a second/third year bald eagle after 20 minutes with the help of Sibley where one field making assure us this was in fact a young bald eagle (feather not going all the way to the feet) but still an very special and amazing morning and it’s chronicled here with these images.

Sunday, November 24, 2013:

After a few days of rain and snow (yes here in Nevada) - it clear up just in time for some shooting with the D7100 which I reluctantly got (hate the buffer but love the 24 mp for crop)  - put that 24 mp into my D700/D300 and I would be very happy.

Saturday, November 23, 2013:

D7100 - added this to my gear list today - why?  it’s a big country in the southwest and having more mp helps when the subject is distant and cropping is required - the focusing system is from the D4 but with 24 mp - it’s quick - but buffer sucks big time.

****** lots of snowy owls reported back in my old NE/Mass kicking ground - but as I read MassBird - once again - the battle of birding etiquettes/righteousness rage on and I’m glad I’m here and not there - it used to be birders against photographers - then it was photographers against photographers - now it’s birders against birders (makes one think of Rodney King “Why can't we all just get along?” and if I may add - “and just enjoy this hobby”?

Here is a short sample and I’m sure these type of incidents will continue until anger comes to the forefront one day and I beg this question - it’s this all worth it as adults sharing this little playground we call nature/wilderness?

Thursday, November 7, 2013:

It’s great to be back on-line here where friends can see recent updates - lets get started - I received email by good friend Richard Maxcy who recently posted his excellent images: here

I don’t normally post my family/people with landscapes - but when the background is this wonderful - snap ..!!!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Yes - I’m back and having a great time over the summer - huge move to the Southwest and are now just beginning to settle down a bit to host/update this site with some images taken during during that time - enjoy - there will be more stuff updated.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Nikon Monarch 5 4x42 Binoculars (2013) - awesome clarity with settings perfectly placed - finally received my replacement of my older Monarch which was lost - I can see beyond my normal view - yeah - I’m loving these and hope this stays around.

Monday, June 24, 2013

As all things in life - jkwebzone will down mid July till end of the month - all traffic will be redirected to my temp site in that time.

As I’m not selling any services or things on my site - apologies for this temporary inconvenience to all my friends and family who visit here to see “what’s new” is not warranted - until then - I’ll still post some of my recent stuff on Latest Images.

Note* I like to share something from someone with my namesake and that’s Ken Rockwell who I browse many of his excellent articles when I first started out in my journey as a photographer - here - he talks about going/being ‘pro’ in photography and offer his rationale.

I’m not going to rant on since I share and agree with most of what he has written specially the part about photography is not a profession.

*** I give him credit for what he does - sharing/offering/committing his time - energy and experience/expertise writing articles for the public “free”(in the world of quick searches (Google) - folks gets their fill (whatever that may be) and are even quicker to move on if they don’t agree with the views/opinions expressed (I read way too many criticism of him) so - at the end of the day - I ask this question --->what do you have to offer to the public?

Borrowing a term coined by JFK (almost) ---> ask not what the web/public can do for you - but to ask what you can do for the web/public?

Thursday, June 6, 2013

A while back - a friend of mine asked me about BIF and should stabilization be ON - I said YES - and I think my answer kind of shock him and another friend near by a bit at first until I explain why.

As seen from the kind of BIF I do - they’re mostly horizontal or vertical (panning) - this “fly’ against traditional wisdom of BIF (VR/IS/OS off) and shutter speed below 1/500 - stabilization ON to stop motion - now let me put out some rationale why BIF with VR/IS on is good idea assuming you’re hand holding your camera/lens and are panning (remember - panning is basically following your BIF in one direction or another - horizontally or vertically).

Traditionalist (old school) would have their VR/IS/OS off in this scenario - but my own experience says otherwise and I don’t mind sharing a little secret here - VR/IS/OS is on when I do BIF with handheld (panning) most of the time with my style of BIF - the only time I turn it OFF is when my subject moves radically - so why am I spending my time putting this out here today?

Well while reading something else - traditionalist (old school) Thom Hogan share the same experience as I do and you could read it here Rule # 5 and where he stated (quote) but my experience is that VR should be on while panning (end quote) and Rule #6: If you're panning correctly, VR should probably be On.

Note 1: the front page shot of the teal in flight with the Sigma? yes - OS ON - handheld.

Note 2: when I’m on a tripod - that becomes the VR for the two long lenses I own which do not have stabilization (VR) so I couldn’t turn it on if I wanted to :-).

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Nothing like being out of the house by 5:00 AM and hanging out on a shaded blind shooting the breeze with friends and birds when the temp are in the high 90s - such is life after another 60 hour work week.

Friday, May 31, 2013

My eyes must be failing me - why?

Since I’m seeing the older Canon cameras having better image quality then new - yeah - things are slowing down with Nikon announcements and as true to my words of being passionate about photography - I headed over to check out Canon - most of my friends who use Canon enjoy this site -> the digital picture.com - so I place the newest cameras like 1DX - 5D3 and the best lens like the Canon 200 f/2 and see the results - and just to clarify why the Canon 1Ds3 was all the rage when I started shooting - I compare it with the newer 5D3 which have the similar sensor size and really got blown away with the IQ of the 1Ds3 - crisp - sharp - clean - check it out here  - I then check the used market price in eBay and it’s selling around $2500 - 3000 - wow - that’s awesome and it shoots 5 FPS - now if I’m in the market as an Canon shooter - serious consideration would be for this body - now - I’m going to scour the web for images from this camera to ‘see’ if my eyes are truly failing me or if this is the best kept secret from the Canon camp.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Har - just read this on DPR about people stealing images from website.

another good reason I don’t post on public photo sharing sites - it speaks volume on the one hand that your images are good enough to steal - but another is the time spent getting these images - most likely you have to travel somewhere (time/money) - pay hotels and food(money) not to speak of the gear expenses (money) - add that all up and I believed even if you sold your images for a good price - $200-500 a piece - it barely cover the cost of the trip - so as stated on my site - I don’t sell my stuff - I do what I do because I truly enjoy what I do (wow - lots of “I” in that sentence) but that’s my personal reason and mine only - yes - lots of “mine” ~ disclaimer ~

*the opinion express above are mine and mine alone* :-)

Monday, May 27, 2013

Most come to my site to see what’s new and what I’m shooting - but on a day such as today - my thoughts are with the family of fallen heros who gave us today - time spent with my son watching him smile while running through the park - simple yet priceless.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Shot a quick email to my old friend Andray/Andrew asking how things are and if he has anything to share here amount friends - and Steve Lindquist who had a Scarlet Tanager at eye level on Monday - and lets not forget Rich Maxcy who came back from Costa Rica and was happy with his images - can’t wait to see them here.

Note - Rich sent me some images and they’re both exotic and excellent.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Nice fallout over the weekend on Sunday at the ‘Island of Plum’ where friend Steve and I had a great day with migrants from Cape May to Canada Warblers - many birders and photographers were hanging out at Hellcat and the S curve hoping for the vast variety of species we had and once the word were out that the Cape May were spotted - they stampede over to ‘see it’ but were too late - it did return but briefly in the afternoon and was gone in a instance - so with that said - I did managed to get some distance shot of him as well as what I think is a immature/female Cape May - Google searches came up the closes.

Note: all of these shots are without flash (my new thing) of wanted to get them as ‘natural’ as possible.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Everyone comes to my site to check out my latest images missing the part I mentioned about bringing my wide angle lens for landscapes - those I sneak into here - only the few ‘sharp’ eye folks figured that out and commented - hehe.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Lots of stuff from my short travels to the southwest visiting relatives - brought only my old Sigma 150-500mm - no mono/tripod and one wide angle lens with two bodies - D300s/D700 - all handheld shots mostly with the D300s - more will be posted once I’m all settle back to my normal routine.

* For those that ask me via email about my site - myself and my server needed some downtime to recharge our batteries - both are well rested and are up and running :-).

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

*Unnatural act:

There has to be another avenue to express hate or difference of ideas then killing and injuring innocent human beings including a 8 year old boy - as a long time residents of the Boston area - this event yesterday will live in my memory as well as my family for a very long time - I’m hoping everyone that are affected by this event to live life and to survive this - because that’s what all humans do - to survive and to live - that’s our legacy since time began.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Little bit of AWB issues on some Windows/Browsers combo - the Mac’s colors look perfect - it’s tweak now to match the Osprey shots from last Sat. - ultra high ISO yield messed up AWB on Windows/browsers.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

WTF - your camera can now be hacked and your images stolen before you know it?

This is one reason why I brought a camera to do one thing and one thing only (D700) - it doesn’t even have video but takes great pictures - read it here if you happen to owned the 1DX - don’t shoot the messenger (and pun intended).

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Weather was not ideal for BIF once again in the Boston area with gray cloudy sky - but it did hold promise of some sun late in the day - with this in mind - I headed out to check out shore birds but was surprised of seeing one Osprey perched on top of the tree while having coffee - gray sky as background - I almost didn’t take my camera out - however - from shooting these guys in the past - I watched and see that he was bobbing his head toward the pond - OK - now the coffee set down - camera/lens/tripod out - set to manual exposure with auto-ISO  - and watch as he drove and came up with a trout - what surprise (I must be going to the right church) - the auto-ISO went from 2000 - 3200 - my first Osprey with trout here in the Boston area - with a dive shot to boot - I’m happy and might not head up to Maine this year :-) - in Maine - there are no flowers as the backdrop.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

At the heart of the image - that’s Nikon’s slogan - and from my Monday’s note of the Coolpix A sharpness and the amount of details being pulled from this sensor - this statement  hold true (abate the sensor is made by third parties) - I mentioned this in my previous note and I’ll mention this again - who cares who makes the sensor if implemented well and Nikon does this very very well - can you think of one other company doing this? hint - their former CEO has this initial (SJ).

Monday, April 8, 2013

I have used Canon P/S in the past and prefer them over Nikon until this Nikon Coolpix A comes along and blew every other P/S and most DSLR away - from my eyes - the raw images looks like true raw instead ‘cooked’ raw including the new Nikon D7100/800E both without AA filters - see for yourself here - if Nikon is putting out cameras of this caliber in their P/S - I can’t wait for the D400 or the D4X - this is a serious bold statement from Nikon in my view - if price drops just a little - I might want one for those times when I visit some place to shoot wildlife and the scene is dramatic and my lens is too darn long for landscape.

Update: checking out this German review of the Coolpix A and the D700 - the Coolpix A is so sharp - it even shows some moire from it’s removal of the AA fliter.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

*Got my Gannet:

Once again the D700 AF shown it’s agility nailing the Gannet dive at 850mm - shot with a TC 1.4 on the 600mm - the DR is fairly impressive allowing me to tweak the shadows from it’s original image.

Monday, April 1, 2013

*Humbled: This email from Mass Audubon noting my true nature humbled me to it’s core - it perfectly stated/expressed my passion and the reason I do what I do - which is not some power struggle out in the field trying to outdo the next guy/gal - there are people (I called them unknown individuals with nothing to offer but hatred ) out there talking about me ‘making other ‘good’ photographer looks bad’ - not sure what that means but from the words of Mass Audubon - what I do and the images I take speaks for themselves - without more drama - here is the text which will be published on the May edition of Connections:

Hi Ken

Hope you are well. Wanted to share the text that will be appearing in the May Connections, along with your photo. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Also, do you happen to have a photo of yourself holding a camera that could potentially accompany the story?

Best,

Hillary

The 2012 contest was no exception. Of the more than 2,000 images submitted by people from across the state, 18 emerged as the winners. And of those 18, it was the photograph of the solitary sandhill crane taken by Ken Lee on the North Shore in Rowley that nabbed the coveted Grand Prize.

“This particular sandhill crane, typically one of two that stop here in November during their annual migration, had been spotted in the area,” Lee recalls. “So a friend and I went to check it out. It was freezing, but I waited until all of the other birdwatchers left for the day. By that time, the subject was then more at ease, and the last light of the day was glowing.”

Lee, who currently resides in Watertown, picked up photography as a hobby about six or seven years ago, starting with landscapes. More recently, he has turned his 600mm lens to snapping images of wildlife.

“Nature photography is a great reliever of stress and an excellent reason to get outdoors,” says Lee. “This winter, I went to Maine to check out a golden eagle that had been reported. By the time I arrived, I had just missed the flyby, but that was OK—it still provided an excuse to connect with nature.”

It’s one thing to take photographs, but another to share them with the world. “I entered this contest because I wanted to emphasize why it’s important to keep this fragile area and others like it accessible for these living beings,” Lee notes.

Fortunately, sandhill cranes will always have this location as a resting stop. The area where Lee captured this breathtaking image is adjacent to Mass Audubon’s Rough Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary—a recently protected landscape that is part of the Great Marsh ecosystem and a designated Important Bird Area.

Update:

The new Nikon 80-400mm VR didn’t spark my interest when it was release since I’ve ungraded to it’s equivalent - namely the Sigma 120-300mm while waiting on this lens - adding  the flexibility of TC’s - however - this new lens can/does takes the 1.4 TC and it’s image quality is amazing with all things consider - I’m impressed and this might explain/justified the higher price - here is the review done by someone that has this lens.

New Canon 7D release announcement and even Canon Rumors missed this one :-)

It’s called the 7DL  - no 7D2 yet and the latest from the rumor mill is crazy (another 18mp with 19 AF point) - OK - I give up - no 7D2 means no D400 anytime soon - I’ll continue to enjoy my D300s and D700 and save lots of $$$ for the next upgrade - possibly the D4X.

OK- bad April fool joke.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Enjoy the slideshow and see if you can spot one of mine - another little known fact about me - web design and development was my hobby why before wildlife photography :-)

URL: here

Monday, March 25, 2013

There been a few request for my contact info. from people I meet which is now added on my About Me - Contact page - please make sure to put in a relevant subject on the email if you want to contact me - otherwise it would go to my spam/junk email - thanks.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Red-wing Blackbirds calling signals spring with many photographers out shooting early migrants - and when Red-tailed Hawks are mating - it’s ‘Spring in the Air’ - with a little bit of  ‘mile high club’ moments captured on my latest page.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Old stuff is better then newer stuff - shocking - you be the judge here.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Swan song - this fellow has it ‘down’ with his camo gear - this was sent to me from an local photographer - I’m posting this for another photographer who happens to be in Poland  - lets hope he doesn’t shot this guy accidentally with his D4 thinking what a perfect Swan shot :-)

Dual systems: these guys have something more common then Poland and that is they both shoot Canon and Nikon  - more recently with Nikon - one shoots the D800 and the other shoots the D4 - it’s that a trend here?

Monday, March 18, 2013

Google and Nikon? - if this rumor hold true - the Google phone would use the Nikon camera module - this is interesting development since this past weekend - I caution about heavily invested in DSLR to people in my local area - it seems to me there is an shift in traditional photography of where and how we get and received our stuff - from viewing our news to reading NatGeo magazine via handheld devices to desk/laptops - it’s not printed anymore.

What does that means to us action/wildlife photographers? less R/D from the big two because of the smaller market segment - hence why D400/7D is delayed which are strictly targeted to us - this begs the question of why we keep asking ourselves where are these two pro bodies for us wildlife photographer - another thing of interest if this rumor is true - Google also brought one of the best PP software bar none  - NIK software - and since I’m into ‘food for thoughts‘ lately - I’ll ponder about this latest move from Google and post what my third eye tells me soon - interesting times in the Nikon camp - so far this tells me (speculation) Nikon is entering a transformational phrase - what/which directions this means to our hobby/craft will be important moving forward.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

*Silence of the Lambs? all is not golden for the people who are forced to buy something outside of their comfort zone - the D400/7D2 upgrade - by doing so becomes the ‘lambs’ or sheep led to the slaughter by these two camera companies.

This move or should should I say ‘non-move’ by both Nikon and Canon of not announcing their plans officially or through their in-house leaks for this overdue upgrades is something I found troubling as a Nikon shooter - so what are the choices - the D600 - D800? - wait - these are both FF first and DX second via mode settings - and both can’t shoot 8 FPS no matter how many times this been diced and sliced by all the chatters on the web from Thom Hogan to everybody and their uncles on these forums - or forced to pay 6K for the D4 (I’m not a pro and my images does not subsidize ‘toys’ - but wait - what happens if/when the D400 does comes out later this year if I bite the bullet and brought the D4 - would I be pissed or happy to have another body as the backup?

But then this post another problem - which bodies would be my choice for the primary and which would be your secondary? D4 or D400? if the rumored D400 does mostly what it’s specs does similar to the 7D2? - then this would be my primary - then why buy the D4 in the first place? - see what I mean? this whole silence from both of these companies is way beyond me in this days of social media from Twitters to Facebook not to mentioned all of the ‘rumors’ sites out there.

I don’t know about you but I’m enjoying my 4 year old D700 until this all clears up before I’m going to subsiding their “Silence” - as anyone with a sense of balance - be it stocks or bonds - I vote with my wallet and not with my emotion - good luck and good shooting :-).

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Of course when I say cooking the raw at ISO 6400 - this is meant as a “complement’ - because it looks fantastic from an 24mp DX sensor - about the same as my D300s 12mp on ISO 1600 - moving forward - these new generation of sensors from Nikon/Sony/Toshiba should keep Nikon shooters happy if DR/low noise - high ISO are the call of the day.

Personally - I don’t care which manufacturer puts out the sensor as long as it works - and it works beautifully for Nikon - the same goes for my iMac - it has an chip designed and made by Intel- Apple could have design and outsource the manufacturing of their own CPU if it made sense to - but they simply choose the best (Intel) - there by freeing Apple from an being manufacturing company to a design company allowing them to pick and choose the best stuff out there.

The key is the flexibility and the freedom to choose the best to make your product better - you can’t do that when you have to design and manufacture the whole thing from soup to nuts (excuse the pun here).

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Could Nikon be cooking their raw files like Canon - these ISO 6400 files sure looks like they are comparing to the 3200 on Flickr here.

More D7100 images here from Nikon Europe.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Shooting the Pope @ 1700mm with this Nikkor big gun?

Thursday, March 7, 2013

*Food for thoughts - or thoughts for fools?

If I shoot Canon (possibility depending on the tool they put out) - then this rumored 7D2 would be the camera - why am I interested in Canon you ask?

“Baby 1DX ” .... !

Now - the spec’ed 24 mp (looks like a me too move from Canon and sounds suspicious) Nikon’s entry/mid level cameras like the D3200 - D5200 and newly announced and soon to release D7100 all have this ‘magical’ 24 mp - seems like a trend here - but enough of this mp chatter - “the most interesting part of this rumor is the integrated grip with more powerful battery to drive the AF - this in itself would make this an ‘pro’ body in my book“ - speaking of pro - if this becomes fact - what would this do to the 1D4 - one word - obsolete - with half the price to boot - note the specs below:Baby EOS-1D X

24.1mp APS-C Sensor

Dual DIGIC V

10fps

Dual Memory Card Slots (Unknown configuration)

61 AF Points

3.2″ LCD

Build quality like 5D3

GPS & Wifi

$2199

ISO Performance to get close to the 5D3

“Lots of video features”

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Nikon 80-400mm VR AF-S pre-order available from the big three - this is serious fast.

Monday, March 4, 2013

* Results - Theory becomes facts/proof when all 10 shots are perfectly in-focus/sharp without one shot blurred (tracking) - and if you’re playing attention to the last two shots (I place them there to proof a point) - (8 FPS with grip on the D700) is perfectly right - anything more is a throw away - 8 FPS captured the action in most cases - while the last two shots are in-focus/sharp - it’s not the action I’m looking for (my throw away shots) - so in essence - spending extra $$$ for more FPS does not make sense when most likely - some are going to be ‘throw away’ -  my advise to non-pro shooters in this economy - don’t throw your hard earned $$$ away chasing after what pro’s uses especially when their ‘gear’ are provided by the agency they work for and/or if they paid for their gear - they’re making $$$ to subsidized the expense - food for thought - speaking of which - here are some solid rumor on the 80-400mm VR AF-S release date of 3/14/13 here - and if this correct - then it verify my statement on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 below after reviewing Nikon latest lens rebates which place the highest price point $350.00 on the 80-400mm VR.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

*Proof - proof is in the pudding and talk is cheap (think of internet/forum chatter) - with wildlife/action photography - the ability to captured sharp sequence of images is critical (read FPS section below) - here the D700 is vindicated in that respect with 10 images captured (all in-focused and non-blurred of the Red-tailed Hawk from Mt. Auburn this morning.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

*Secret - FPS or shutter release lag time for action/wildlife - which one is more critical? - personally - I prefer faster lag time to FPS for BIF/action focus tracking - below are my own rationale so take it with a grain of salt - shutter/mirror open/close - from the release of the shutter to the next frame (FPS) including the mirror blackout allowing light/image to the sensor - the quicker the process - the quicker the focus/tracking/capture - and most importantly  - the ability to time/gage this ‘lag’ for the next shot - as the saying goes - “when you see the shot - you missed it” ..... !!!

Nikon D3s: 0.04 seconds shutter- release time lag

Nikon D4: 0.042 second shutter-release time lag.

D800/E: 0.042 seconds, almost equivalent to that of the D3S

D700: 0.04 seconds or 40ms

D600: 0.052 second shutter- release time lag

D300/s: 0.045 seconds

Nikon D7100: 0.052 second shutter- release time lag.

Canon 7D: 59ms = 0.059

Canon 5D3: 59ms

Canon 1D4: 55ms standard 40ms via "shortened release lag" custom function.

Canon 1DX: 55ms standard 36ms via "shortened release lag" custom function.

The 36/40ms r "shortened release lag" custom function is one of those 'creative wording' to make it look good on paper but the downside are discuss here.

*Thoughts - Nikon is noted for better/accurate focus and higher keeper rates and Canon is noted for much faster FPS - yet to this day - no one can explain ‘technically’ why this is - my rationale/reasoning being ‘one’ of many.

Anyhow - It’s rain and snow out my patio today so I have time to ‘think’ of these things instead of out shooting and these thoughts could be the results of cabin fever perhaps :-) - which incidentally makes this the third weekend in a row that we have snow storms in the Boston area.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Nikon acknowledged D600 sensor dust problem and issued official statement here.

This is a whole different company then in the past and are firing on all cylinders - silent on the release of new cameras (D7100) and transparent on communication of issues.

Can you say - ‘walk quietly and carry a big stick’? - let’s hope this keeps up where users can finally feel more at ease of owning their gear moving forward - as stated previously - interesting times on the Nikon camp.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

51 points AF with D4 algorithms - this is the most interesting part aside from the AA filter removal and extra 1.3 crop - 1.5 +1.3 putting this sensor almost like an 4/3 2x crop system - can we say (wildlife shooters dream machine)...!!!

DPR release here

Compared to its predecessor the D7000, the D7100 doesn't just offer an upgraded sensor with a higher pixel-count. It also features a significantly upgraded AF system, with 51 AF points (15 cross type) as opposed to 39 in the older model. It shares these specifications, and the Multi-Cam 3500DX designation with the D300S, but Nikon promises the autofocus algorithms from the D4 which could, in part, explain the extended sensitivity range (with the D7100 able to focus in light as low as -2EV, according to its specifications).

Moose Peterson share his thoughts on the D7100 here - yes - Nikon provided him with one to shoot/test and this should tell you which crowd this camera is aim at.

Nikon D7100 ready for pre-order on all major retailers today - this is the first time in Nikon history of keeping a new camera top secret which means once again - they’re serious about competition as I stated previously “competition forced this silence I suppose”.

Canon campfire - I thought  this was an Nikon forum - Nikon folks - please play nice with our Canon brethren as you never know when the shoes is on the other foot - that is to say - if/when Nikon slips and Canon picks up - you might be the one jumping ship ~smiles~.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Update : pics of the D7100 here.

The rumor mills are turning once again on both camps (Canon/Nikon) - the Nikon D7100 is on again (as I mentioned yesterday of Canon 7D2 putting pressure on Nikon) - with the AA filter removed gets my vote - rumor spec here.

If I am in the market for a new camera - I would wait not only to see the upgrades/specs - but the possibility of it’s release bringing down the price of whatever you’re going to buy now.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Canon 7D2 - 24 MP - 10 FPS - 61 AF points - interesting specs/rumor - while it’s being called an mini 1DX - I think most Canon shooters would get this on a New York heartbeat here.

Hope this puts pressure on Nikon to step up their game.

Revised - since the Nikon D7100 is ready for pre-order ‘2/21/13’ and the 7D2 is still rumor - it’s was the top secret Nikon D7100 release putting pressure on Canon to forced the 7D2 specs/rumor - once again - interesting times on the Nikon camp

Sunday, February 17, 2013

*Goal - Nikon is moving ahead of reaching to the top of DSLR world regardless of competitions from Sony/Canon/Samsung/Pentax/etc.

The latest rebates/move on Nikkor lenses shows Nikon is speaking with action and not words.

Considered the natural disasters from earthquakes/tsunami/etc  - they managed to come out with the D4, the D800/E (36 MP) - the D600 (best spec all-around full frame with 24 MP - and the D5200 (24 MP DX body) along with some impressive lens lineup - not withstanding their poor financial quarter report - I say not a bad job overall.

Now if they come out with the D300/D7K upgrade that blows the doors off competitions - then the goal of reaching to the top would be in view - speaking of which - it seems the most discounts/rebates is on the 80-400mm VR which is something Nikon users been clamoring for it’s refresh along with the 300mm F/4 with VR - now if Nikon upgrade this lens - showing they’re seriously listening to their users community and capturing the DSRL market - then it’s interesting time to be on the Nikon camp.

Nothing new under the sun - located another amazing wildlife photographer from Poland.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Nikon D7100 coming like the meteorite here.

If the speculated ‘specs’ are correct - this will be one heck of a camera.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

No surprise with Nikon reporting less then expected earnings - and it certainly make sense from reviewing their latest offerings from the D600 - D4 and everything in between - while you can’t call Nikon not being innovative - think D90 (first camera with video) to the first digital FF camera for sports (D3) and offering the semi-pro DX (D300) and the first real ‘all purpose ‘affordable digital FF (D700) which set new standards ‘then’ (Canon 5D being the first FF but not all purpose with 3FPS) - but not now - these latest offerings would have set another new standards in terms of factors like MP - ISO/etc - but Nikon also set another new standard which I don’t like with this new offerings and that is ‘QC’ and the practice of being silent when users reports issues like left focus to debris on the sensor - while I shoot Nikon and enjoyed owning their products which are durable and dependable in the past - if this new ‘standard/practice’ from Nikon continues - there are other brands/systems that will ‘fit’ my needs - and one reason why choosing the D700 instead of these newer bodies works for me.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Nikon monster coming your way if this rumor holds true - yes - 36mp D4X.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

D700 does ISO 3200 @ the Charles River while snowing here.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

D700 does ducks here.

Friday, February 1, 2013

* Timing - DPR the final nail on semi-pro crop bodies are talked about by Masaya Maeda.

There will be a Canon EOS 70D, but the future of semi-pro DSLRs is probably full-frame, says Masaya Maeda, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Image Communication Products Operations at Canon. However, while he says new concepts are needed to save the compact camera, he doesn't see larger sensors as being the answer for the mass market.

Now would a good time for Nikon to step up and provide some direction - credits to Canon for being more transparent in their communication then “dark side and mysterious Nikon”.

Update - just in - there are some ‘rumor’ of the D7000 upgrade before April - again - this is coming from a rumor site and not officially from Nikon - competition forced this silence I suppose.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

1. *Performance - yeah - it’s digitally old news - but I’m impressed by the D700 - especially
   

coming from the D300s where ISO 800 is pushing the limits of noise if not expose correctly - Now - after taking a few images in/outdoor - here is what I found - it’s 2 stops better then the D300/s and I wouldn’t hesitate going up to 3200 which perform slightly better then the Canon 1D4 - don’t believe me - check here and see for yourself.

Yeah - 1D4 advantage - longer reach - bigger sensor/etc - at the end of the day (pun intended) - wildlife are most active early morning and late afternoon (hello ISO) - I’ll take better ISO any day of the week over little bit more pixel and reach - what good is the image that’s larger but noisier  - ask yourself this question and think this through.

Now - if making those claims based on some gear website test is not convincing enough - I done my own here.

* Price - differences between the two -- average price for an excellent condition used D700 is between $1,700 - 1,900 - for the 1D4 - between $3,500 - 4,000.

Paying $1,600 on the D700 while waiting for the D4s or D300/s upgrade is perfectly acceptable to me.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Lens with a perfect MTF chart - has Nikon did it with the newly announced AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR which includes the new AF-S TELECONVERTER TC800-1.25E ED - is it sharp? - BH and Adorama has pre-order for $ 17,895.00 - I’ll skip this one and get another car instead.

My mint D700 with only 6212 shutter counts arrived today - will take this puppy out on the weekend for some FF fun - yes - I chose this over the D600/D800 because of the ergonomic and speed with the grip.

Sunday, January 20, 2013: Andrew provided me some of his excellent images from this Connowingo trip - check it out here.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Rain and clouds - that’s the reality in NE  and this weekend is no different from the rest - so what do I when time permits and my weekend falls in foul weather? - I go out shooting and make the most what’s available - unlike most that ‘can’ pick and select the sunniest days to go shooting assuring perfect maximum exposure - I don’t have that luxury and do not blame mother nature - why?  - because it forces me to get better at my skills and craft - “making the shot instead of ‘just’ getting the shot” - this is a point to ponder and hopefully this insight is discover on your next outing.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Long eared owl kept low away from the wind more so then the vast amount of people photographing this bird - that is to say the wind chill must be about zero and it was howling at times - as best practice in these type of shoot - get low - snap a few - leave it alone - all told - I’ve about 30 shots.

Daniel Mitev who used to photographed with us in the NE area has been in Bulgaria for well over a year - for those of you who have met Daniel - he has his website/email here.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Happy Holidays - this is the time of the year to appreciate what we have - “family and friends “ Wishing all good health - hope and happiness .... !!!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Most people comes to this site to check out my “latest images” not knowing I work weekend sometimes so i don’t have any ‘new’ images to add - however - working weekends at home allows me to review/edit my older images and i post those here or here where old becomes new :-)

Friday, December 14, 2012

Some great deals offer by Nikon on their D600 with the 24-85 vr  $ 1995.00 with other goodies @ BH and other online retailers as well as the D800/E - I’m not biting until I see what’s around the corner (D300/s) upgrade for 2013.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Just for fun - I did a quick calculation on the cost of each shutter actuations based on your camera cost - for fast FPS cameras  like the Nikon D4 and Canon 1DX both with shutter life of 400K  -  using the D4 for example - each click would cost about .015.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Here is my dream feature/option on the upcoming D300/D7000 upgrade.

Having an E after these numbers (AA filter removal/modification like the D800E)

D400E

D7100E

D9000E

All other features been talked about here and other forums - 24 mp/8 fps with grip//better ISO/DX reach/etc - if Nikon can deliver this feature on their upcoming D300/D7000 upgrade - IMHO - this would be the killer body that even hardcore Canon wildlife shooters 'might' switch.

Also wondering if the feature on the D800E (AA filter/light canceling is patented by Nikon).

If not - then it's fair game for Canon/Sony/Samsung/Panasonic/Olympus/etc to run with this.

Other then that - everyone have a great holiday and keep your shutter humming.

“posted on DPR” as well.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Hey everyone - I’m a ‘celebrity’ - the first email this morning from my colleagues at work was

Boston.com/Globe and here with this lovely lady singing about me on YouTube here LOL.

Monday, December 3, 2012

National Wildlife Federation wrote this article on the effects of Hurricane Sandy and piping plovers survival using my photos on their Wildlife front page and here.

I’m excited and feel privileged to be part of this world organization for wildlife conservation -  it’s my way of giving back to nature what nature have giving me.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Snow and rain - seems the weekends is when Mother Nature decides to punish the hard working people and rewards the people with time on their side where weekdays are mostly sunny - that’s ok with me since I’ve learned long ago to work with adversity - with this in mind - I ventured out to my favorite ‘playground’ close to my house (sweet auburn) and located the usual suspect (young red tailed hawk) perched on top on this tree hole patiently waiting for a squirrel to come out of the hole - I used my D300s attached to the Siggy 120-300 OS handheld to captured this image - nothing special in the scheme of things - but getting the snow in the background is the key here on this shot.

Missing the Shawn Cary ‘s 2012 Photoshare due to my work/job was an bummer but as mentioned above - ‘ I learned to work with adversity long ago’.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012:

Since winning the Mass Audubon grand prize photo contest - people have wanted to see the image on my site so I posted some on my Mix images page here - thank you all for the congrats - much appreciated.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012:

Nikon D4 firmware update A 1.03, B 1.02 released - here: for my D4 friends

Focus accuracy when a lens and teleconverter with a combined maximum aperture of f/8 is used has been increased. 

Update:  it seems reading from people who updated to 1.0.3 - it focus and locks faster with more keepers - read it here on DPR.

Monday, November 26, 2012:

Hey everyone - I’m a ‘Amateur” .....!!!!

Pros gets paid for their work while I do it for free (I don’t know how to put dollar signs on nature and beauty).

Now every year my friend Shawn Carey sent out emails about entering the Mass Audubon photo contest (and just for kicks) I entered some locally captured images as an ‘amateur’ (not expecting anything) and didn’t even kept the date of the finals until an email from Audubon today - I know an “pro” gets paid for their work - but does winning $250.00 from this contest automatically makes me an ‘pro’ - I hope not - that would take all the fun away :-)

2012 Mass Audubon photo contest  - Grand Prize Winner

Their facebook and  blog

Saturday, November 24, 2012:

To see and shoot but at last getting to spend the holidays with family - looking out at the beautiful sunlight and contemplating gear - specifically - the D600/D800/E/D4 and what Nikon has to offer me at the moment - after shooting three D600 bodies (all returned) and two D800/E with it’s amazing sensor - there is something about the ‘ergonomics/designs’ of these bodies that just don’t ‘click’ with my style of shooting - while i like the weight/size/feel of the D600 (which I very much wanted to keep) even gotten used to a point that going back to my D300s feels awkward.

Wow - having said that and looking inward (shots I’d made prior to the arrival of these new bodies from Nikon) and finding not much reason for me to fork out 3 or 4K - why? remember the part about - ‘I do not sell my images” - I also realize the most important thing is not the ‘gear’ (cliche here) but imagination - this word should come from another word (image) - hmmm - why am i writing about this in a perfect sunny warm afternoon @ home instead of out shooting?  read the top part about looking inward - it's a perfect day for me to 'step back' and reflect - why is this important? - ask yourself this question - how many of you sometimes rush out in your quest to acquire another image of (fill the ------ here) spending not only the time and energy but money (gear/gas/lodging/etc) while forgetting the important aspect of photography (creative or direct expression of your vision).

Now let's put this (gear) into prospectives and think outside the box - the D4 is $6k and shoots 10 FPS with 16mp - an 4 year old D700 (less then $2k used with low shutter counts) shoots 8fps with grip at 12mp - given up 4mp and 2fps - both with 51 focus points/weather sealed/and many pro features - now the great sensor of both the D600/800 while excellent - it does not give me 8fps (big gap in the Nikon lineup at the moment) - one that I don’t like  -

now as an non-pro (remember the part that i don’t sell my images) and pros get paid for their work - I'm now beginning to look inward (D700) or ‘settled’ for the D600 when all this dust/oil problems are fixed by Nikon - i’m seriously contemplating (gear) …..!!

Oh well - as the French would say - "demain est un autre jour" - tomorrow is another day.

Monday, November 12, 2012:

just came from my ‘now’ annual pilgrimage to the Snow Geese migration - photos will follow.

Saturday, November 3, 2012: spend a day with friends in Salisbury SP shooting crossed bills - most of the shots were your typical perch on cones - one that I find interesting since this is now November is this May Fly watched by the Crossed Bill wondering of the same.

Friday, November 2, 2012: I dug up some images from my Red Rock Canyon trip and posted them here taken in 2/12/12.

Friday, November 2, 2012:

Looks like Scott Kelby likes the D600 over the D800 as well.

October 26, 2012 4:02 PM:

It’s that time of the year - here is another typical day @ the dam

October 22, 2012 7:07 PM:

OK guys - you caught me - yes - I increased the resolution from 625X to 800X on all images on my site - good catch :-)

October 22, 2012 6:29 PM:

after reading all this crap on the web about the D600 AF is not up to the speed/accuracy of it’s bigger brother is full of boloney (crap) - why? because I have shot and tested both here - and for real examples of this - check out my latest BIF shows here and here - I sense these people writing about the D600 are not testing it for wildlife/BIF

October 21, 2012 5:02 PM:

I don’t do well with big crowds (distracting) so when everyone was looking for the owl - I headed the other way and concentrated on the Red breasted Nuthatch here @ Salisbury State Park.

October 18, 2012 5:59 PM:

it seems not only Moose prefer the D600 (Oct 13) over the D800 (he’s Nikon happy anyway) but now Brad Hill is also saying the same (Oct 17) - interesting that these two professionals (they get pay for their work) share my thoughts -

(Oct 4) was my thoughts - check below :-)

However - both have not noted or mentioned there is an bug with the release/focus problem on the D600 - I mentioned this on DPR Nikon forum and people are sending emails to Nikon for firmware fix.

It's an bug - both a1 and a2 - release and focus are 'not' doing what's it's suppose to do:

"if set to 'focus' - the shutter can only be released when the camera is in focus".

that's not the case.

October 13, 2012 8:13 PM:

Moose Peterson recommend the D600 over the D800 - what can I say - as much as I’m not a big fan of Moose - I have to agreed with him on this one:

October 12, 2012 8:13 PM:

I finally located Kurt’s emails from when he sent me his images - these are just a few from his vast collections being share here - they’re some of the finest images of nature/landscape i’ve ever seen and to imagine these are mostly from the film days when he started this over 30 years ago is simply mind blowing and demands my admiration from this humble soul - if he could pass on 10% of his skills I would be happy.

October 9, 2012 7:32 AM:

during the long drive up to Baxter with good friend Richard Maxcy - we talk about sharing some of his images here from his Alaska trip which he did all of the planning (that’s dedication and commitment) - perhaps he can share it here sometimes - but lets check out some of his excellent images specially Denali.

October 8, 2012 8:55 AM:

with a lingering cold/flu and braving the long trip up to Baxter with good friend Rich doing the driving from Warren for the rest of the way - (thank you Rich - I might not have consider this trip if I had to do the whole drive up) - so lets get to the rest of the trip - we missed the bull on Friday which came in late in the day (heard it from someone) it rained most of the time the next day and we waited out the heavy rain where it finally clear and the sun broke through briefly - we quickly captured this scene on the front page.

October 4, 2012 9:12 PM:

well - i like the handling of the D600 and the ease of use - ISO 3200 looks like ISO 400 on my D300s - smooth - will test it out in the field up in Maine this weekend hopefully getting some moose in the process - stay tune for what I think/feel of this affordable FF from Nikon.

September 30, 2012 6:42 PM:

Andrew provided me some great images and I uploaded them all here - all are copied directly from his CF card without any conversion or editing - enjoy some of his excellent photography.

September 24, 2012 8:53 AM: since taking up this art/hobby - i met many folks out in the field - some just “clicks” - and some don’t - that just the ‘nature’ of things - so with this out of the way - i met Andray a few year back and the type/style of shooting we do just ‘click’ so in speaking with him - he’s will share some of his work on my site - check back soon.

September 19, 2012 11:44 AM:

DxOMark sensor score of 94 with ISO better then the D4 - I ordered the D600  with the kit lens - while not as robust as the D800 - this would be a good starting point for my long road to FF where the D600 will be my backup if/when the next FF/DX with faster FPS shows up - perhaps the D4s or D400 - expected delivery is next week - stay tune.

Delivery estimate: Sept. 25, 2012 - Sept. 29, 2012

"Nikon D600 24.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera with 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR AF-S Nikkor Lens"

NIKON; Electronics; $2,596.95

In Stock

Sold by: Amazon.com

September 18, 2012 1:32 PM: D600 out in the field test here.

D600 cancel - without a dedicated AF and having to ‘assigned’ one to the AE button is not my cup of tea even as the images are excellent from what I’ve seen - maybe if/when the price drops - I’lll revisit this decision - speaking of revisit - here are some shots from Flickr which toke me some time to build: http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/kenlee,wildlife/Interesting

It’s been a long run within the Flickr community with friends which are like family - maybe another ‘revisit’ decision needs to be made here as well as I ponder my next ‘step’ in the art of photography.

September 13, 2012 3:26 AM: pull the triger once again on this new D600:

Order Total:   $2,101.94

Delivery estimate: Sept. 21, 2012 - Sept. 25, 2012

1 "Nikon D600 24.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)"

Electronics; $2,096.95

Available for Pre-order

Sold by: Amazon.com

September 11, 2012 10:30 PM:

the family is back and i’ll be less active with update and images uploads waiting on the official release of the D600  tonight or tomorrow - possibly doing a pre-order if the specs looks right - that’s all folks.

August 16, 2012 6:57 PM:

loads of wildlife stuff in poland here and here  and many more from fur to feathers and even an ibm center in krakow

you can’t make this stuff up or photoshop it - this kingbird landed on this red tailed hawk and proceed to peck on his head.

August 14, 2012 6:34 PM:

Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II recall - i posted here for my canon friends who owns this liens.

August 13, 2012 5:51 PM:

do sandhill cranes mate for life - answer is yes - read here

why am i posting this? the story of this single crane posted on my frontpage is becoming clear since there were two reported in this area where one died from getting hit by a car.

August 12, 2012 11:15 PM:

a very slow day with heat and not much going on but managed a few here  and an long-billed dowitcher

August 9, 2012 7:14 AM - some prospective on life:

Upon hearing about this, his neighbor, a man by the name of Chen, came over to see what had happened.  He said to Zhao, “I am so sorry your horse has run away, that is such bad luck”.  To which Zhao replied, “Do not say it is bad luck, things just are what they are”.  Several weeks passed and it was very difficult for Zhao and his family to do all of the farm work without their mare, when one day she returned with an entire herd of wild horses.  That afternoon Chen came over and said to Zhao, “How wonderful that you are now a very wealthy man with all these horses, this is truly good luck for you”!  Zhao replied, “Do not say that this is good, things just are what they are”.  A few days later Zhao’s son was working at training one of the wild horses and was bucked off, breaking a leg.  Again, Chen came to visit and said, “I am so sorry your son broke his leg, what bad luck”.  Zhao’s response was “Chen, do not say that this is bad, things just are what they are”.  A few weeks passed and a war broke out with one of the neighboring territories.  Officials came to everyone’s house to recruit all the young men to go to war, but they did not take Zhao’s son, as he had a broken leg . . . .

August 4, 2012 4:52 PM - a early 5 am drive up to parker today with swallows as my project -  few passerines and the seasons’s first peregrine/harrier caused my instinctive fingers to fire off a few - normally i would not post small images.

August 1, 2012 7:29 PM: well - my daytime job is taking all of my time but did came upon this: nikon 800mm on a d4 at the london olympic.

July 26, 2012 7:05 PM: i have not posted on my flickr since creating this site and folks asked - so i post one of the plover and it instantly made flickr explorer most interesting which is most interesting to me - i thank all my flickr friends .....!!!

July 24, 2012 7:23 PM: how often do we take the time to visualize our images before clicking on the shutter - and if/when we do - are we thinking of the shutter speed - fstop and the like? - thinking this though might yield some inspiring images instead of hundreds of ‘snapshots’ - i’ll share my thoughts when time allows.

July 24, 2012 7:22 PM - if i still have the d800/e - this would be the grip i’ll get for $145.00.

July 23, 2012 1:57 PM: thom hogan is not recommending the d800/e.

July 16, 2012 9:11 PM - how to check for left focus on the d800/e and d4 from ming thein

July 16, 2012 8:39 PM: The Nature Photographer's Year from dave middleton - excellent information.

July 14, 2012 9:05 PM: spend the day in sandy point shooting newly hatched baby plovers with temperature in the 90’s - to get these shots - i used the 600mm - d300s - and paid with sweat and blood - literally - from the biting green head to blood sucking insects - not to mentioned the killer heat - what a crazy hobby - but someone has to do it.

July 12, 2012 7:42 AM: the nikon 800mm afs/vr rumor? it’s official here

one of the biggest issue with the d4 was the adoption of the xqd card format made by sony - (think betamax) - however -  when the biggest and respectable card maker gives the nod - that’s is saying loads this will be the new format moving forward - cf/sd cards may turn out to be the vhs now and i would be careful not buying any ‘good’ deals on these cards - read it here - i’m also going to bet sandisk will announce soon and the rest smaller players will follow.

Since there are no official 1DX review - i found this blog from someone that owns and reviewed it:

http://blog.martinbaileyphotography.com/2012/06/27/podcast-341-canon-eos-1d-x-digital-slr-review/

i’m not impressed and ironically -  there is a bull frog like the one i shot with the D800e  - compare on “lens and camera test” here  and judge for yourself - for a camera costing almost 7k - i expect better.

July 8, 2012 1:35 PM: ronnie has been aspiring to my photography - while he passed away - he’s images lives on - here are some of his and my fav images - taken with his trusty nikon d200 with 500mm vr:

http://www.pbase.com/ronnie_14187/d100___d200_my_favorites&page=12

July 8, 2012 12:02 PM

birding for specific groups/genre - interesting since this can target specific audience:

http://leesbird.com/

April 11, 2019 4:44 PM:

as all things on the web - it’s a great resource to check/confirm if anyone is already doing what you have in mind - this is one example: http://www.sakertour.com/about_us.php

new firmware updates for the 7d canon - coming in august:

Now, Canon is giving the EOS 7D an exciting upgrade with new Firmware Version 2.0.X! With Firmware Version 2.0.X, the EOS 7D gains a multitude of feature enhancements for higher performance befitting the flagship APS-C EOS. These improvements include a higher maximum burst rate (130* for JPEG Large/Fine and 25* RAW images) for continuous shooting, definable maximum limit for ISO Auto, compatibility with the GPS Receiver GP-E2, and manual audio level adjustment. Additional upgrades also include faster scrolling of magnified images, quick control during playback, in-camera RAW image processing, JPEG image resizing and ratings, plus customization of file names and time zone settings. These significant enhancements are a sure-fire way to make an amazing camera even better than ever before!

READ IT HERE: http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_7d

every nikon lenses ever made: http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html

Mai Po nature reserve - not far from where i came into this world a very long time ago - here are some links if you’re too lazy to google it:

http://www.wwf.org.hk/en/whatwedo/conservation/wetlands/managemaipo/maipowildlife/

bird sightings and counts:

http://www.wwf.org.hk/en/whatwedo/conservation/wetlands/managemaipo/maipowildlife/birds/

http://www.wwf.org.hk/en/getinvolved/gomaipo/

http://www.hkoutdoors.com/hong-kong-birding/mai-po-birding.html

July 5, 2012 8:16 PM: as most thing that happens in life - there is a fix for the left focus issue - don’t even question this guy who is beyond pro in his craft of photography - most people who call themselves pros are simply not in his league.

http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/07/04/nikon-d800e-focusing-update-problem-solved/

July 5, 2012 8:18 AM: nikon 800 afs 800mm vr in the horizon:

Nikon filed a patent 2011197413 in Japan for a 800mm f/5.6 lens:

1. •Patent publication: 2011-197413
   

2. •Patent release date: October 6th, 2011
   

3. •Patent filing date: March 19, 2010
   

4. •Focal length: 800.00mm
   

5. •Aperture: 5.61
   

6. •Image height: 21.60mm
   

7. •Lens design: 16 elements in 14 groups
   

8. •Internal focus
   

9. •Image stabilization
   

Read more on NikonRumors.com: http://nikonrumors.com/2011/10/09/nikons-patent-for-a-800mm-f5-6-lens.aspx/#ixzz1zkYDK1TG

Nano crystal coating - where does this tech comes from - moth eyes? read on - looks like canon new lenses are coming around to this same tech from nikon lenses:

The main difference between older Canon lenses and newer ones are the types of special lens elements (UD glass, fluorite, aspheric, etc.), the quality of each lens element and the type of multicoating. Newer lenses tend to prefer fluorite elements over UD glass, as fluorite does a better job at reducing dispersion, and allows lenses to use fewer elements overall (reducing weight...swapping two UD elements for one fluorite element in the new 600mm f/4 L is how Canon reduced weight from nearly 12 pounds to just over 8 pounds.) One of the most important improvements of Canon's newest lenses is the multicoating. For decades, canon used Super Spectra multicoating, which was good and pretty standard, but not the best. Newer lenses use Subwavelength Structure Coating, or SWC. This type of coating is a form of nano coating, similar to Nikon's Nano Crystal Coat. The general idea was garnered from the design of moth eyes, which reflect a barely measurable amount of light due to their nano-scale structure. SWC is essentially the same thing, and reduces flare, ghosting and reflections to a bare minimum (in most cases, even if flare presents, its nearly invisible, and can usually be ignored in final images/prints since most viewers won't even notice it.)

the above comes from canon rumor :-)

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=4812.0

here is a link that describe it well:

http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/22151/what-does-a-nano-crystal-coat-do-on-this-lens

for in-depth technical read here

Sunday, July 1, 2012: some images around parker river taken early today - left before 10am as temp was getting up in the 80s - a fairly quiet day spent with two other photographers with 600mm nikon and with me that made it three - interesting scene as we were the only one out there.

June 30, 2012 6:24 PM:

wondering why there are less birds around these days: perhaps this might be one reason?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/30/us-usa-birds-mining-idUSBRE85T0JJ20120630

June 29, 2012 8:11 PM: UPS came and pick up the d800e - it’s done - returned.

if you noticed the speed of my site is quicker - it’s because i finally upgraded both my router and cable modem - best money spend hands down - it turns out it was only the wireless router that was the problem - once the new one is in place - it’s rock solid without drop connection - but what the heck - the new cable modem is here and might as well have that in place since it’s docsis 3 rated and backward compatible to docsis 2 and 1.

ups had make one pickup attempts while i was out so the d800e is still here - if he does not show up today - i just might have test it again this weekend and have ups pickup monday - love amazon’s 30 days return policy.

Nickerson Beach: http://www.clarenceholmesphotography.com/2009/09/bird-photography-at-nickerson-beach/

June 25, 2012 8:43 PM: tested the d800e out of the box over the weekend and was surprise by the amazing focusing ability of the d800e and the details are simply out of this world - however - while it did not have the left focus issue reported by some or the green lcd - it did have back focus issues after additional testing on lens align requiring -15 to be on center - this is not acceptable to me even as my friends advice keeping it and send to nikon for repair - this is not what i should expect from a new camera - this should be tested prior to release - with this said - this d800e is going back and i’ll wait for the d600 or d400 when it’s announce - or wait until all d800/e issues are sorted out and have another go - if that does not happen - i’m perfectly happy with my d300s - in some ways - the d800 was dead on when i tested it and it did not show any issues when i had it so it didn’t need any lens align to my eyes - can’t believe that i’m returning the new king of dxomark beating out the d800 by one point of 96 - not to mention over 4 months of wait - oh well - as the old saying goes - "it's better to love and lost than to never have loved at all".

June 22, 2012 9:11 PM: D800E arrived @ 1PM EST while I was in training working from work - perfect for the weekend test - will post some images here after tomorrow.

June 21, 2012 8:29 PM: email from amazon/d800e: - June 21, 2012 04:47:58 PM Fernley NV US Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit

Thursday, June 21, 2012 -DoXMark rated the d800e today one point higher then the d800 and it’s now the highest rated champ on Doxmark - the 2979 iso s slightly better then the d4 2965 ISO - this is interesting to me from the mp view - now if only amazon stop delaying my d800e.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - the saga continue with the d800e from amazon:

Hello,

We're writing about the order you placed on February 06, 2012 (Order# 102-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxxx). Unfortunately, we are unable to ship the item(s) as soon as we expected and need to provide you with a new estimate of when the item(s) may be delivered:

         

   "Nikon D800E 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)"

    New Delivery Estimate: June 21, 2012

If you still want us to ship the delayed items when they do become available, (though they may arrive later than expected) please visit Your Orders on Amazon.com address to approve the delay:

                                                                                                                                                             

http://www.amazon.com/gp/css/summary/edit.html/?useCase=approve&orderID=102-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx

                                                                                                                                                             

Please approve the delay by June 26, 2012 to avoid cancelation. If the item becomes available before that date, we will automatically ship it to you. By approving the new delivery estimate, you are letting us know that you still want the item(s).

We will make every effort to get the delayed item(s) to you as soon as possible. If there are other items in your order, they'll be shipped according to the delivery estimates listed in the order details in Your Account (www.amazon.com/youraccount) at no additional cost.

   

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this delay.

If you have more questions about this order, you can e-mail, phone, or chat with Customer Service using the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/contact-us

   

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department

http://www.amazon.com

Sunday, June 17, 2012:

nikon 1200-1700mm zoom lens:

http://www.nikon.com/about/feelnikon/recollections/r16_e/index.htm

Sunday, June 17, 2012

D800e update from amazon with another delay notice:

Hello,

We're writing about the order you placed on February 06, 2012 (Order# 102-xxxxxx-xxxxxxx). Unfortunately, we are unable to ship the item(s) as soon as we expected and need to provide you with a new estimate of when the item(s) may be delivered:

         

   "Nikon D800E 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)"

    New Delivery Estimate: June 19, 2012

We will make every effort to get the delayed item(s) to you as soon as possible.  If there are other items in your order, they'll be shipped according to the delivery estimates listed in the order details in Your Account (www.amazon.com/youraccount) at no additional cost.

       

For more information about this order please visit:

www.amazon.com/youraccount

If your shipment arrives too late, you may either refuse delivery or return it to us for a refund. For returns instructions, please visit our Returns Center at:

www.amazon.com/returns

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this delay.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

With the d600 rumor running strong and possible announcement coming soon - I’m struggling to want to keep my d800E which suppose to arrive this saturday - why? i’ve been waiting on the d300/s upgrade forever and this is the first time i heard rumors of one - the d400 - specs are what i’m looking for - 8-9 fps - d4/800 AF system and 16/24mp sensor which also is on the rumored d600 - maybe when i see the iq of the d800e in real life - i’ll be assure of keeping it- and I should also quantified i’m impressed by the d800 sharpness and details thus far.

Getting a bull moose was not enough - but getting a newly born moose calf was awesome - so what could possibly top that - maybe a goldeneye with babies?

from the nikon d800 technical guide:

Auto ISO sensitivity control automatically adjusts ISO sensitivity if optimal exposure can not be achieved at the value selected by the photographer. If Auto is selected for Minimum shutter speed, the camera will also ad-just the threshold for auto ISO sensitivity control according to the focal length of the lens (CPU lenses only), a feature you will find particularly convenient when using zoom lenses (see sample photos at right).

To enable auto ISO sensitivity control, select On for ISO sensitivity settings > Auto ISO sensitivity control in the shooting menu.

Focal length: 24 mm Shutter speed: 1⁄25 s ISO sensitivity: 900

Focal length: 70 mm Shutter speed: 1⁄80 s ISO sensitivity: 4500

Focal length: 50 mm Shutter speed: 1⁄50 s ISO sensitivity: 2500

Focal length: 100 mm Shutter speed: 1⁄100 s ISO sensitivity: 6400

Maximum sensitivity

Minimum shutter speed

Choose the maximum value available for auto ISO sensitivity control(200–Hi2).The minimum isI SO100.

In exposure modes e and g, sensitivity will only be adjusted if shutter speed would otherwise be slower than this value (1⁄4,000–1 s or Auto). Highlight Auto and

press 2 to choose whether the camera gives priority to shutter speed (Slower) or ISO sensitivity (Faster) when Auto is selected.

another example from dpr:

Another great feature of the D800 is the "Auto Minimum Shutter Speed" used in conjunction with "Auto ISO". In this mode, the camera not only selects a maximum ISO automatically, but you can set it so that it automatically selects the minimum shutter speed by detecting the focal length used. So, if I am using a 300mm lens the camera will automatically select 1/focal length, or 1/320sec. However, you can set it so that it will use 1 or 2 stops faster, so, for 1 stop faster it will select 1/640sec and for 2 stops faster it will select 1/1,250sec. Brilliant! I basically have this set all the time at 1/focal length for normal shooting, but select either 1 or 2 stops faster for birds and animals.

amazon just sent me a email with d800e delivery date estimate of june 16 -  can’t wait to test this out.

d800 and e comparison from LL who are med-format shooters over there:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/nikon_d800_d800e_first_comparison.shtml

with all of the excellent wildlife sites out on the web - i found this one to be under the radar and wanted to share it here : http://www.tringa.org/favorites_birds/

This is alan murphy’s fav and i have to say - these are some of the very best wildlife images i’ve seen and there are many out there: http://www.alanmurphyphotography.com/favorites.htm

with osprey in the decline - it was a great opportunity to head up to baxter maine to check out the moose scene - friend rich drove and shown me the area and we luck out with this female/cow moose - thanks rich :-) now i have to get bull moose with giant antlers in the fall.

waited over 3 months with this d800 staring at me every day so i toke it out for some test shots - all the talks on the web from people that does not own one or have not shot with one  said you need prime glass / tripod / fast shutter speed / f/8 / etc to get good images - well BS  since i broke all those riles here -  this morning was typical new england  weather - rain and clouds and i shot hand held with the sigma 120-300mm os with shutter speed that would be worrisome even with a 12 mp camera “1/30 shutter-”  never mind 36 mp - check them out here. - all images are converted from raw to jpeg - no post process involved.

As things would have it - while I was up in maine for the osprey - the long awaited nikon d800 arrived - since i have the d800e on pre-order - this d800 which has been pre-order since early feb. will be going to a friend for the same price as what i got it for -  it would not be going to ebay for 4k - see it here.

some amazing nature/landscape images from the nikon d800:

http://500px.com/GaryJWeathers

OK - I added a new page for test/camera test and results from my  equipment and experience  here

We take everything for granted from the web these days without offering anything back in return.

this is my humble attempt in giving back to the world to those who might have the same inquiring mind of what gear will perform out in the field - real world test and results in all outdoor conditions - not in test studios.

D300s with 500mm vr simples from pbase - very nice work:

http://www.pbase.com/keeliu/birds

The probability of getting a good lens is not what you might  think  after spending a big chuck of change believing both canon or nikon would delivered - surprise - pentax wins:

http://www.lensplay.com/lenses/lens_defect_results.php

5/3/12 - after making some tough decision on a nikon 300mm f/4 afs - 70-200mm f/2.8 and d700 - i cancel all and pull the trigger on the sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 os - after shooting with a f/2.8 - there is no going back for the type of shooting i do and the versatility  of this range is perfect moving forward - safari  and puffins in Machias Seal Island comes to mind - this lens will be serious tested by next week or the following week when the osprey season opens - i’ll be shooting with my old d300 (waiting on the d800 and possible d400 for my upgrade).

I find this tool from dpr to be very useful in comparing iso performance between different cameras - sharing here in case you have not seen it:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/studio-compare

d800 in action from fred miranda - tripod not required ....!!!!!

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1108889

real world test of the nikon d4:

http://www.richardpeters.co.uk/blog/2012/04/26/red-kites-photographing-old-friends-with-a-new-camera/

4/27/12 Nikon d600 - if this rumor holds water - this would break another milestone for FF camera - entry level FF  for about $1500.00 makes the first affordable FF camera in history.

http://nikonrumors.com/2012/04/25/another-full-frame-dslr-on-the-horizont-nikon-d600.aspx/

d600 update from nr - 80 percent now

http://nikonrumors.com/category/nikon-d600/

finally located a real field test of the yet released canon d1x :

http://jaygoodrich-blog.com/2012/04/field-testing-the-canon-1dx/

while looking for some d3 images in pbase - i landed on this photographer’s work - simply amazing work and i’m picky about what i like:

http://www.pbase.com/robateau/recent_photos

life in space with the d3s:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/locations/photography_in_space.shtml

4/21/12 - yet another test on fred miranda of the 5d3 with some amazing images:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/5DIII-D800/

4/20/12 - i could be wrong - but to my mind - the d800 was launch NOT to compete with the canon 5d3 - from all that i’ve seen/read - it’s going after the MF market and it looks like it’s did it with conviction - beating out the mf flagship  in all three categories  - iso - dr - cd - so with this said - i’m not sure why the folks in canon land is comparing these two - “ which I think are designed for different needs/styles of photography “.

anyway - the d53 review is up on dxomark:

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Canon-5D-Mark-III-Review/Comparisons

4/19/12 - wow - 24 mp entry level d3200 from nikon announced with sample images that’s mighty impressive to my eyes:

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d3200/sample.htm

front page here:

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d3200/index.htm

First side by side images of the d800 and the d800e from  luminous landscape review:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/nikon_d800_d800e_first_comparison.shtml

judge for yourself - to my eyes - the d800e has amazing details

Here is a link to the url sent from bob - who I met over the weekend that talks about the use of this calibration tool written by his friend Jim Borden from PA.

http://jandj-b-wildlifephotography.blogspot.com/

Note: the above link is here temporary and it’s for reference only.

people asked me about this new lens/camera calibration  tool that’s computerized - the url is tough to give out so i put it here on my site for ease of access/reference - it’s called focal:

http://www.reikan.co.uk/focal/index.html

rumor no more on the canon 5d3 lcd light leak - official announcement from canon posted today:

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e02480538fc7

4/12/12 - in other news today - rumors of the canon 5d mk3 recall is a shocker with shipment delays - now lets hear it for the d800 if the focusing issues are true.

also of interesting is the release of the 1dx  in mid june - this is not even funny - canon folks are calling the x in the d1x as for the 10 months wait from announcement to deliver - there seems to be issues within canon land lately - even if the 1dx out performs the d4 which i think it would - however - between now till june - it’s certain nikon is working on the d4 update (d4s) just like the d3/d3s and the d3s kick serious butt.

again - interesting times indeed to sit back and enjoy this ride - but i hate to be a contract shooter without a new camera when the olympics is right around the corner.

4/8/12 - Well - as early adopters for most things - both  Canon and nikon  users are reporting issues from lights leaking through the top lcd causing inconsistent exposure (canon) to focusing issues causing left hand side of the image to be soft (nikon) - oh well - can’t blame china on this one - both cameras are made in japan - can we all say - firmware update - recall? i’ll be sure to see what develop from these reports.

Luminous landscape article on the D800 and D8ooe:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/nikon_d800_or_d800e.shtml

http://mansurovs.com/nikon-d800-review

he Nikon D800 is the new king of DxOMark with a score of 95

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/News/DxOMark-news/The-Nikon-D800-is-the-new-king-of-DxOMark-with-a-score-of-95

Nikon D800: The best sensor analyzed on DxOMark!

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Nikon-D800-Review/Sensor-performance

wtf - beating the Phase One IQ180 Digital Back which cost - get this - Price: $43,990 (for back alone).

This is insane and a game changer which i think will shake up the whole camera/dslr industry - for that matter - MF companies should be very worry since this sensor is not only knocking on their doors - it’s tearing it down.

interesting times to be in photography.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III vs Nikon D800 noise (JPEG) (RAW to follow)

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_5D_Mark_III/Canon_5D3_vs_Nikon_D800_noise.shtml

Canon takes the lead here with it’s better in-camera jpeg engine - lets see what raw tell us.

pre-ordered of both the D800/ and e since announcement (2/6/12) expected very soon in my hands ~smiles~

Tested a downloaded trail version of LR4 - not bad - noise reduction and sharpening  in post is better then A3 - however - the UI is not as intuitive as A3 and for someone coming from aperture 2/3 - the switch to L4 is not worth it - workflow wise - all other features are mostly depending on the users case (what they need or don’t).

it seems when northern hawk owls are spotted - the temps without fail are in the teens or below zero - the two times i photographed them - that been the case.

spend some time with a old friend in duxbury beach on the snowy - he’s not only painted pink on his head - but also banded on his right leg.

had some time off and decided to check out bombay hook this past week - while driving down - I detour to Conowingo dam to check out the eagles action - and ended up staying for a few days -the action was pretty much slowing down to a halt - “thanksgiving week starts the season” was the ‘word’ from the locals - overall - it stills was a great time and certainly worth another trip - before heading back home to ma. - i headed over to bombay hook before sunrise to ‘check out the scene” - while the snow geese were gone - the tundra swans were still there - there were PB grebes - shovelers - many winter plumage avocet along with one BN stilt and some marbled godwit - this placed is ‘checked’ on my next trip down.

I’m going to talk about the use of uniwb - for those of you that have not heard - pro’s been using this technique to control clipping highlights for a few years now - i tested this technique and it does appears to work in most cases requiring that you shoot raw - if you shoot in jpeg - move on - there is nothing for you here.

but if you do shoot raw - read on - as most people knows - the histogram you see on your camera reads that info. from the jpeg and not from the raw file - so reading the histogram shooting in raw is silly because it’s inaccurate.

there are some useful info out on the web - and for the most part - it talks about how to do it but does not share their experiences of using this technique personally which i will attempt to do here when time permits - for now - you can wise up and do your own research via google.

So here is my view with shooting with uniwb - it works - but don’t expect miracles.

pro: the key benefit is better control of clipping highlights in high contrast lighting situations or shooting in harsh lights.

con: not able to review your shots in ‘real’ time color-wise  b/c of the ugly green and sometimes forgetting to switch back to other wb mode - but this is not a down fall - because shooting uniwb in low lights is still fine in post processing - that’s all folks - nothing special but worth learning and it’s certainly useful as an extra setting (trick in your bag) to have if/when you need it.

For those who  asked what i use for post processing - i use aperture 3.