Thursday on the Tomahawk

[Steve Foss]

Ken (finnbay) and I were just aching to get back out in the woods after a lot of other commitments lately, so we teamed up this afternoon and hit the Tomahawk Road and bumped along the Forest Service Roads from there to and around Isabella.

Of course, it was Mr. finnbay who found the first cool thing. We'd stopped along the shore of August Lake for a look-see, and we didn't even shut off the car before I heard him say: "Oh, look there, some Indian pipe." Well I'd seen it over the years but had never photographed it, so . . . .

All with either the Canon 30D or Canon 350D, all at iso400.

Northern broken-dash (a species of skipper) on common milkweed

Canon 100 f2.8 macro, 1/800 at f5, -1/3 exposure compensation off evaluative metering, handheld, Al servo, center focus point

Northern broken-dash 2

Canon 100 macro, 1/1250 at f5, -1/3 EC off evaluative, HH, Al servo, CFP

Just who is eating whom? (note small mite on bumblebee)

Canon 100 macro, 1/500 at f5, -2/3 EC off evaluative, HH, Al servo, CFP

Female spruce grouse eyeing intruders with chicks nearby

Canon 400 f5.6L, 1/40 (nope not a typo) at f5.6, monopod

Ruffed grouse chick: Where's my MAMA?!

Canon 400 f5.6L, 1/25 at f5.6, monopod

Fritillary and bumblebee on goldenrod

Canon 400 f5.6L, 1/320 at f5.6, monopod

Under the cedar canopy

Canon 17-40L at 17mm, 1/125 at f4, HH

[finnbay]

Sure did feel good to get out. I didn't get quite as much as you did, Steve, but enough to post a couple.

All photos with the Canon 40D. The first Indian pipe with a 100mm macro, the second with a 17-40L, everything else with the 100-400L. ISO's at 400 except for the spruce grouse @ ISO 800.

Had too much back light to get this one spot on:

[machohorn]

Great work guys

[MN Shutterbug]

Love them grouse, guys.

[Deitz Dittrich]

awesome stuff guys!!! hard to pick a fave!

[polarsusd81]

Awesome shots guys. Love them all.

[Catmendo]

Excellent work gents!

[Steve Foss]

Lovely shots of the fritllary, Ken. I love how they work with goldenrod colors. All that warmth. Great positioning of the flat butterfly within the focal plant to get it all in forucs in the last of the three fritillary shots.

And in the 100-400 you've got Canon's best butterfly lens, IMO.

I looked it up and it's an Atlantis fritillary, BTW. Your last butterfly shot is of a northern crescent.

[Cicada]

All very nice. Particularly, stfcatfish's grouse and finnbay's butterfly (fifth photo down).

[buzzsaw]

Very nice work, guys!

[jonny_redhorse]

All wonderful images Steve and Ken!....that spruce hen kinda is my favorite! ....but then again those butterflies are neat also!

[Dbl]

I agree with the others excellent work here!

[finnbay]

Thanks, all. Focal plane on the butterflies was crucial. Had a lot of shots where the wings were good, but the head and antenna were just enough out of plane to make them unusable. I do like that spruce hen, Steve!

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Good friends and good photos! What more could you ask for?

[Paul]

Looks Good. If it was not supposed to be so stinkin hot tommorow I was thinking about hitting the forest also. Some other day I guess.

[Steve Foss]

Good friends and good photos! What more could you ask for?

Nothing, MM. Nothing at all.

[finnbay]

Quote:

Good friends and good photos! What more could you ask for?

Ditto.