1 Attachment(s)
Making the Most of a Miracle
Though Florida Panther has been seen where I live, the only mammal I get chances with regularly is Marsh Rabbit, and they are butt-ugly ... Read more below.
This image was created on Wednesday 12 August 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. Simply resting my rig on the passenger side window frame, I used the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 10000. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/320 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Somewhat miraculously, the exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. ABW at 7:15am with clouds on the eastern horizon.
Tracking Flexible Spot (M) Continuous AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection.
As for the image, don't be shy; all comments are welcome and appreciated.
A Miraculous Morning!
I was heading south on Orange Avenue near my home at ILE at about 25 mph to look for some wildflowers. Some clouds in the east covered the early sun. About halfway to the end of the road, a Bobcat bolted across the road at full speed about 100 yards in front of my SUV. I slowed considerably as I got to the spot where it ran into the woods — hoping against hope. I glanced to my right as I stopped and was stunned to see the handsome cat sitting in a tiny clearing looking right at me. What were my chances? Slim and none. Or less!
But the right side front window was already down. And the big lens with the 1.4X TC and an a9 ii was resting against the passenger seat. I never even thought about setting up the tripod for many reasons; my only chance would be to lean to my right, rest the big lens on the passenger side window frame, and pray a bit. As I turned the camera on, I instinctively rolled the Control Wheel dial many clicks clockwise with my right thumb to raise the ISO, not knowing or caring where it stopped. The cat just sat there and stared at me. The total time elapsed had been less than 15 seconds.
With the image in the finder miles under-exposed, I noted the shutter speed of 1/2000 sec. I rotated the top-back wheel, again with my right thumb, to lower the shutter speed until I saw some Zebras on the cat. It stopped at 1/320 second as I noted that the ISO was 10,000. I focused on the face, re-composed left a bit to move the cat off center, and fired off 8 frames. Then the cat turned and disappeared. From the moment that I stopped until the Bobcat exited stage left could not have been more than 30 seconds.
One of the things I love most about nature photography and about bird photography in particular, is that you often have so many decisions to make in so little time. When you make them all quickly and correctly, the results can be tremendously satisfying. I was quite proud of myself as I almost always screw up under pressure. But knowing my gear and all of the camera settings and dials intimately allowed me to react quickly and almost instinctively.
Learn how I have been using RawDigger to improve my exposures in the blog post http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2020/...0-in-the-dark/http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2020/...0-in-the-dark/
with love, artie