The Sax-Zim bog tour

[buzzsaw]

We'll me and a friend (Scott) took a trip up to the Bog and met up with Jonny. Now these two guys have been here before and knew the ropes, I was a wide eyed kid in a candy store thinking about all kinds of things. Here are a few of my efforts.

Pine Grosbeak (male)

The female Pine Grosbeak.

All photos were taken in Manual mode, center weighted exposure between ISO 400-800 depending on the available light using the Better Beamer. (1/250 sec)

Then the quiet flying bird, the Gray Jay decided to stop by.

Thats all for now.

[Jim Almquist]

Those are some really good looking shots Mike and so very sharp and colorful considering the lighting. What lens did you use for the shots ?

[finnbay]

Very nice, buzzsaw! Like the backgrounds but also the perches. Fave is the whiskey jack.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Wow,just gorgeous. Those Grosbeaks turned out awesome. For someone like me,who has never owned a flash,can you do a short exp. on the beamers?

[buzzsaw]

First off, thanks for the kind words guys!

Jim, I was using my "go to" lens, the Nikkor 300mm F/2.8 (non VR) lens. I like it alot as it is tack sharp and focuses oh so fast. I also had a Nikkon 1.4x teleconverter on.

Finn, I"m big on doing my best to make the backgrounds nice as I consider them as important as the subject... they all work together to get the image a person sees in his mind.

Mariner, the Better beamer can be found with a Google search (no links allowed) I attached it to my SB800 flash and it basically throws my flash farther than the SB800 can do by itself. In flat light or bad light its a no brainer... on a nice sunny day I'll throw it on after the sun rises higher in the sky to get rid of the shadows and keep the details very visable. They are inexpensive ($35.00)

[Dbl]

You have some beautiful images Mike! I can't imaginge a better result with these. I like the two shots that you see the back of the bird looking over the shoulder, not a pose often seen or captured this well.

[mmeyer]

Mike, those are beautiful! I also like the 2 that are facing away. The detail is superb! I can't wait to use my SB800 in some of those situations.

Thanks fro sharing

[buzzsaw]

 Originally Posted By: Dbl

You have some beautiful images Mike! I can't imaginge a better result with these. I like the two shots that you see the back of the bird looking over the shoulder, not a pose often seen or captured this well.

Thanks, Dan. I like the result based on exposure and clarity etc... but I was too close and didn't leave enough room for a better composition. Thats just me calling a spade a spade... I'm sure Stevo will agree.

[jonny_redhorse]

Superb shots Mike!.....hard to choose a best image...all great!...well,I kinda really like the gray jay I guess ....really glad you guys had a decent day and smiled going back to the cities,a good feeling of well being and some nice pics for the time spent........been hard trying to get on the FM site here!just got on a few minutes ago!...geesh! I was in "FMshock!" 8 hours and not being able to get to FM!

[Steve Foss]

Mike, I think these comps are great. Particularly the two with the birds angling away but looking back toward the camera are excellent. Very nice tight portraits, and the male on the crabapple tree is top notch.

[buzzsaw]

Thanks, Steve. You should have been there.

[Steve Foss]

Too busy making a little jing, buzz. You know.

[buzzsaw]

Jing jang is good brother, Steve. You'll need to join us next time. I'll be back up in about two or three weekends.