Common Merganser with babies

[buzzsaw]

Okay, I'm not stalking these female ducks with babies, they just happen to be near the Smallmouth hotspot.

Oh and a few "sky carp" Cormarants out on the island of [PoorWordUsage].

Let me introduce the leader of the band!! as the choir sings background vocals.

[Tom Wilson]

VERY nice Mike.

[floating minnow]

Wow! Those merganser images are outstanding.

[Steve Foss]

Really nice comps on those mother and chick images. The rusts in the water really match the colors in the birds.

[hobbydog]

The sawbills are really nice but I like that last one of the "chorus of gulls"

[Deitz Dittrich]

very cool picts.. love every last one of them!

[mcary]

Very nice series Mike! Out of curiosity, what did you shoot them with (camera body, lens, etc.)?

[Dbl]

Great shots Mike, I really like 2 and 4, and the singing gulls is great!

[buzzsaw]

Thanks guys! The guys I were fishing with were like "easy photo boy" until they saw the babies and then they were all like COOL look at them on the mama's back etc etc... I tried to make it a point to be at eye level and it almost cost me once as my MinnKota prop went thumpity thump thump up against the rocks on the north side of Indian Point.... I guess I should have raised it up higher.

Michael, I use the Nikon D200 generally outfitted with the Nikkor 80-400mm lens. I will admit I spaced using my polarizer when I was over by the "[PoorWordUsage] island" that was full of Gulls and "sky carp". Oh well, you always learn something after you go back through and start post processing pictures don't you?!

[Headin' North]

I'm a little late on this one Buzz,but those were outstanding.How do you like that Nikon 80-400 VR?

[buzzsaw]

Thanks Headin' North. It's a decent lens, you pretty much get what you pay for with most things and this is no exception. It is semi slow on focusing fly bys and is too slow with a teleconverter on it... I very rarely use a TC. It shoots nice at F7.1 and F8 IMO. I'm getting to know it's strengths with my D200 and that will help get more consistantly decent photo's. I think an important factor is having great wooded habitat to shoot in and being patient enough or smart enough to set up the right area's to get the birds/ducks or whatever to come in close.

I really would like the F4 600mm Nikkor lens and it may happen down the road, we'll see.

[Headin' North]

Thanks for the lens info.I think you mentioned only being at this for about 8 months Buzz.If that's the case,I can only hope my learning curve is as brief.You're absolutely right about setting up an area,habitat and patience.It's like duck hunting with a camera.

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

---

Thanks for the lens info.I think you mentioned only being at this for about 8 months Buzz.If that's the case,I can only hope my learning curve is as brief

---

Thank you for the compliment, I had some help in the beginning from a few guys here that I've mentioned before, however figured out more recently how to "maximize" the images I'm posting to the web. It's an on-going learning experience and thats part of the draw for me as well as trying different things different ways.

It's alot like hunting, just without the killing aspect and I think anybody who is familiar with keeping a low profile in the woods would have some sort of advantage over the city slicker who's afraid of bugs and critters.

[Steve Foss]

The learning curve is definitely flattened out if a person already is a good hunter, bird watcher or naturalist of some type, because those groups already know the habitat, where to find what they're looking for and how to keep their mouths shut, their feet quiet and their ears open.