Instead of watching the Vikings....

[finnbay]

....I sat on the deck working on technique. I've been looking at the work that many members on this forum post and have been drooling over what you can do with songbird photography. I've played with this a little and have never had much luck with the tack sharpness that you guys can achieve. So, sat on the deck and got photos of many birds and a few squirrels. I'm getting better, but still have a way to go. Some examples from today:

[MN Shutterbug]

Excellent photos, every one. They are all nice and sharp. My fav is the third one, the ever elusive chickadee. I'm going to need to find some more mellow ones. Thanks for sharing.

[jonny_redhorse]

Looks like you are doing great to me Ken ....the junco is my favorite.....I did almost the same as you today and stayed close to home with the rain and all....took a few images myself at the suet feeders ...I just put 3 out yesterday and the chickadees,juncos and nuthatches (and squirrels) already found em...only "decent" images are from the nuthatch... they are somewhat grainy... guess I could have used the flash...here's a couple

[finnbay]

Second one is a great shot! Was he swearing at you for being so close? By the way, the second one is an example of what I've been drooling over!

[jonny_redhorse]

lol!...I think I was about 6' or so todayI really think these nuthatches are so neat! both the red-breasted and the white-breasted...I came upon a few last winter on a deer kill... little buggers were crawling right "inside' of the carcass!...amazing to watch em do that!...I was only 3' away and they didn't seem to care of my presence at all...here's a photo of the red-breasted filling his face on deer tallow...

[mmeyer]

Great shots Ken and Jonny. I should've done that instead of getting mad at the Vikings. I sat for a while yesterday and couldn't get anything close. I guess I'll have to hide a bit more. They would come to trees and look but wouldn't come to the feeder.

Thanks for sharing

Mike

[buzzsaw]

Nuthatches are pretty cool little birds, always sounds like they are laughing. I was able to get out and shoot today in the overcast skies, locked in at ISO 800.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

My best nuthatch shot of the day.

[Steve Foss]

Hey Ken, nice work. I can help you with your setup, if you'd like. Give me a call on the cell one of these days and you can come over after school and look at my blind setup. It's easy. biggest thing for that creamy bokeh is to make sure your background is far enough away from the subject.

[finnbay]

Thanks, Steve. I'll take you up on that offer. Will be in touch soon.

[Steve Foss]

No prob, man. With that 300 f2.8L you'll have a leg up on the bokeh, and if you set up your blind so the camera's only a few inches outside the minimum focus distance of the lens, I doubt you'll need either of your TCs to boost power. If so, you'd only need the 1.4.